s were highly regulated. Their activities were watched by the FCC, the DOJ and, above all, the state public utility commissions (PUCs are known by other names in some states). The PUCs were tasked with the dual responsibility of keeping phone rates affordable and telephone companies profitable enough to provide high-quality service. The goal of this delicate balancing act continued to be the provision of universal service. Over the years, telephone service became truly universal. More than 96% of U.S. households have telephones. A new concern arose, however. In the process of making telephone service universally affordable, regulators had effectively discouraged the largest phone companies from investing in network upgrades. The local loop (POTS) was narrowband and analog. POTS service is not compatible with the requirements high-bandwidth applications (e.g., multimedia). Congress, the FCC, and other administrative branches of the U.S. government studied how to introduce competition to the local loop in order to stimulate a complete overhaul. The New PSTN On February 6, 1996, Congress passed the Telecommunications Competition and Deregulation Act of 1996. The Deregulation Act was aimed at promoting competition in local loop, cable television, and long distance service. It blurs the distinction between types of carriers (e.g., LEC, IXC, cable television, and electrical utility). Today anyone can file to be a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) and, in the future, local exchange carriers (the Regional Bell Operating Companies or RBOCs and independents such as GTE) will be able to provide long distance service. Cable television service is up for grabs since the act overturned restrictions that prohibit RBOC/cable television cross-ownership. Electrical utility (power) companies can also pursue the local access market. One popular method for merging telecommunications and electrical networks is to embed fiber optics technology (which uses optical signaling) into the core of an electrical cable. Electrical and op