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A LEC is a telephone company that operates within a local area called the LATA (local access and transport area). The ILECs (incumbent LECs) are the result of the breakup of AT&T in 1984, which created seven independent RBOCs (Regional Bell Operating Companies) in the U.S. These included Pacific Bell, NYNEX, GTE, and others, but mergers and consolidations have changed the original gang of seven to a few larger companies that are now more appropriately called ILECs, rather than RBOCs. Most ILECs operate across a number of LATAs.