You Say You Want an Evolution Entering its fifth year, the Telecom Act is forced to change with the times.
Evolution hurts, but it moves forward relentlessly.
Five years after the passage of the landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996, CLECs have risen and fallen. Seven Bell companies have dwindled to four. Long-distance companies have become mere telecom superstores, selling a little of everything, most of which has become commoditized. Technology has morphed through myriad mutations, as have user markets. The line blurred between local and long distance-and often between the companies that offered those services.