et's introduce a necessarily painful component of telephony. Next, we delve into the Byzantine world of telecom regulation. Chapter 3 Questions Why was it called "The Bell System?" What is the difference between a BOC, an RBOC, and an ILEC? Who were the three principal inventors working on the earliest telephones? What was the Kingsbury Commitment? What was the Communications Act of 1934? Why was it important? What was Computer Enquiry II? The Divestiture of AT&T in 1984 was far reaching. Was it a good idea? Have the results of it been positive? What is a central office? What is the difference between an NPA and an NXX? How many telephone numbers are there in a single NXX? How many in an NPA? Why? Explain the difference between a local switch and a tandem switch. "SS7 is perhaps the single most important component of the modern telephone network." Explain. Is twisted pair the only option for a local loop? Explain the differences between D1, D4, and ESF. What is SONET? How important is it in the modern network? Explain the basic differences between a traditional, circuit- switched network and a VoIP network. Downloaded from Digital Engineering Library @ McGraw-Hill (www.digitalengineeringlibrary.com) Copyright © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Any use is subject to the Terms of Use as given at the website. CHAPTER Byzantine World of Telecom Regulation The Byzantine World of Telecom Regulation Chapter 4 It had been a long and painful process, but starting today they would enjoy the fruits of their collective labors. Today, telecomm regulation had a whole new face, one that would redefine the way incumbent service providers, their competitors, and the customers they serve interact. So radically different was it that it had taken 3 years to force the changes through Congress and another two to get the FCC to rally around the changes. In his newly created cabinet-level role as Secretary of Telecommuni- cations and Information Technology, Roy Marcus had worked hard to bring about a sweeping rewrite