In telecommunications, interconnection is the physical linking of a carrier's network with equipment or facilities not belonging to that network. The term may refer to a connection between a carrier's facilities and the equipment belonging to its customer, or to a connection between two or more carriers.
In United States regulatory law, interconnection is specifically defined (47 C.F.R. 51.5) as "the linking of two or more networks for the mutual exchange of traffic."
One of the primary tools used by regulators to introduce competition in telecommunications markets has been to impose interconnection requirements on dominant carriers.
History
United States
Under the
Bell System
The Bell System was a system of telecommunication companies, led by the Bell Telephone Company and later by the AT&T Corporation, American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), that dominated the telephone services industry in North America fo ...
monopoly (post
Communications Act of 1934
The Communications Act of 1934 is a United States federal law signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 19, 1934, and codified as Chapter 5 of Title 47 of the United States Code, et seq. The act replaced the Federal Radio Commission w ...
), the Bell System owned the phones and did not allow interconnection, either of separate phones (or other
terminal equipment
In telecommunications, the term terminal equipment has the following meanings:
* Communications equipment at either end of a communications link, used to permit the stations involved to accomplish the mission for which the link was established.
* ...
) or of other networks; a popular saying was "Ma Bell has you by the calls".
This began to change in the landmark case
Hush-A-Phone v. United States 956
Year 956 ( CMLVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* Summer – Emperor Constantine VII appoints Nikephoros Phokas to commander of the Byzantine field army (''Domestic o ...
which allowed some non-Bell owned equipment to be connected to the network, and was followed by a number of other cases, regulatory decisions, and legislation that led to the transformation of the American
long distance telephone
A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...
industry from a
monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...
to a competitive business.
This further changed in
FCC's ''
Carterfone
The Carterfone is a device invented by Thomas Carter. It connects a two-way radio system to the telephone system, allowing someone on the radio to talk to someone on the phone. This makes it a direct predecessor to today's autopatch. The conne ...
'' decision in 1968, which required the Bell System companies to permit interconnection by radio-telephone operators.
Today the standard electrical connector for interconnection in the US, and much of the world, is the
registered jack
A registered jack (RJ) is a standardized telecommunication network interface device, network interface for connecting voice and data equipment to a computer service provided by a local exchange carrier or long distance carrier. Registered inter ...
family of standards, especially
RJ11. This was introduced by the Bell System in the 1970s, following a 1976 FCC order. Since then, it has gained popularity worldwide, and is
a de facto international standard.
Europe
Outside of the U.S., Interconnection or "Interconnect regimes" also take into account the associated commercial arrangements. As an example of the use of commercial arrangements, the focus by the EU has been on "encouraging" incumbents to offer bundles of network features that will enable competitors to provide services that compete directly with the incumbent. Further the interconnect regime decided upon by the regulator has a major impact on the development/rate of growth of market segments. According to Source8 (an EU based consultancy) two examples from the UK of this are:
* The decision about revenue sharing on local rate numbers was a contributory factor in the explosive growth in dial internet.
* The asynchronous reciprocity that exists between fixed and mobile termination rates.
See also
*
Customer-premises equipment
In telecommunications, a customer-premises equipment or customer-provided equipment (CPE) is any terminal and associated equipment located at a subscriber's premises and connected with a carrier's telecommunication circuit at the demarcation p ...
*
Demarcation point
In telephony, the demarcation point is the point at which the public switched telephone network ends and connects with the customer's on-premises wiring. It is the dividing line which determines who is responsible for installation and mainte ...
*
Forced-access regulation
*
Registered jack
A registered jack (RJ) is a standardized telecommunication network interface device, network interface for connecting voice and data equipment to a computer service provided by a local exchange carrier or long distance carrier. Registered inter ...
*
Terminal equipment
In telecommunications, the term terminal equipment has the following meanings:
* Communications equipment at either end of a communications link, used to permit the stations involved to accomplish the mission for which the link was established.
* ...
*
Termination rates
US regulation
*
:United States federal communications legislation
References
Telecom Antitrust Handbook by American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law, section "Example: Telephone Network Interconnection"
p. 381��382
{{Telecommunications
Network architecture
Telecommunications law