Local telephone service is the provision of telecommunications networks and services within a limited geographic region. Traditionally, local telephone service was provided by small companies based in given cities and towns as opposed to larger, national or international companies. Telephone calls outside of the local area provided for by these companies were patched through long distance networks that were, until de-regulation, operation mainly by AT&T. Some providers of local services were regional Bell operating companies, but not all local telephone companies were a regional Bell operating company or tied to one at the local level, especially after de-regulation of 1996. After de-regulation, these regional Bell operating companies continued providing the same technical services despite