EER LIBRARY Introduction Telecom Calling In simpler times, the word "telecommunications" might conjure an image of a telephone - and not much else. These days, telecom is an industry encompassing everything from local and long-distance phone services to wireless communication, Internet access, and cable and digital television. In the U.S., total spending for telecom services reached more than $720 billion in 2004, and is expected to hit the $1 trillion mark in 2007, according to the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). Internationally, the TIA predicts telecom spending, estimated at $1.5 trillion in 2004, to top $2 trillion by 2007. For whom the bell tolls Established in 1877 as American Bell, AT&T enjoyed the largest share of the industry pie for nearly a century, thanks to the government's belief that the utility constituted a "natural" monopoly. That monopoly crumbled in 1969, when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allowed other companies to play in Ma Bell's sandbox. Companies like MCI were quick to get in the game. But monopolies don't disappear overnight - to encourage competition in the long-distance market, the Department of Justice followed up with an antitrust suit against AT&T in 1974, eventually resulting in the division of AT&T into a long-distance retailer and seven regional Bell operating companies (RBOCs), which would compete in the local call market as incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs). The final breakup took place in 1984. The industry thrived under the breakup, exploding into hundreds of smaller competitors, lowering the cost of long-distance calling dramatically. While AT&T held about 70 percent of the market in 1984, it holds about a third today, according to Hoover's. Still, it's these so-called "Tier 1" carriers - AT&T, Sprint and WorldCom - that make up the bulk of the long-distance market. Visit Vault at www.vault.com for insider company profiles, expert advice, VAULT CAREER career message boards, expert resume reviews, the Vault Job Board and more. LIBRARY Vau