Telecommunications glossary

Telecom glossary - P

Payphone

A public (or private) telephone that accepts coins or encoded credit cards.

Person-to-Person

Operator assisted phone call - only billed if the specified person is available.

PIC - Primary Interexchange Carrier

The IEC that 1+ calls are routed to. Specified by ANI.

PIC Charges

A LEC charge for changing the PIC. Often paid by the new IEC. If a LEC sends a PIC charge to a customer, the new IEC will typically credit the customer's account.

PIC Freeze

A PIC Freeze prevents the long distance from being switched for the specified ANIs. Useful to prevent slamming, or the unauthorized switching of long distance services.

PIC Request

A request record sent to a LEC asking for an ANI to be activated, deactivated or changed in some way.

PIC Response

A response record sent by a LEC (corresponding to a previous PIC Request) with a response code that indicates whether the request was performed. (Some LECs return non-standard PIC Response codes.)

PICC

National Access Fee, Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Charge, Presubscribed Line Charge, Regulatory Related Charge, or Carrier Line Charge. Pronounced "pixie." This charge started on January 1, 1998 as part of the FCC overhaul of telephone fees. Long distance companies pay a flat fee to the local telephone company when you pre-subscribe your telephone line to their long distance service. (Sometimes referred to "Dial 1" or "Plus 1" service) The charge is designed to compensate the local telephone companies for the costs associated with providing "local loop" service. If a consumer or business has not selected a long distance company for its telephone lines, the local telephone company may bill for the PICC. Although every long distance company is charged the same flat rate per line, long distance companies are allowed to recharge you for this in any way they see fit, and each company uses a different method to charge this carrier specific fee. It is normally not presented to you in such a way that you would think it is a competitive pricing issue. But it is! Some companies do not charge this fee at all, and some charge a carrier specific flat fee. This is NOT a tax. Again, please note that on July 1, 2000 the FCC ruled that long distance companies no longer will have to pay this fee to local companies for residential lines, or single line businesses. The charge continues for multiple line businesses. Many long distance companies are still charging you for this, even though they aren't paying it anymore!

 

See PICC and USF Fees At A Glance

Point Of Presence - POP

The physical access location interface between a local exchange carrier and an Interexchange Carrier fiber network. The point to which the telephone company terminates a subscriber's circuit for long distance service or leased line communications.

Point-To-Point

Non-switched, dedicated communication circuit.

POP - (See Point Of Presence)

 

POTS - Plain Old Telephone Service

 

Primary Interexchange Carrier

The long distance company that is automatically accessed when a customer dials 1+.

Private Line

Uses dedicated circuits to connect customer's equipment at both ends of the line. Does not provide any switching capability (unless supported by customer premise equipment). Usually includes two local loops and an IEC circuit.

Provisioning

The process by which a requested (ordered) service is designed, implemented and tracked (providing the subcomponent parts).

PUC - Public Utilities Commission

The agency regulating intrastate phone service.