CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier)
Qué es CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier)?
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A CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) is a landline carrier that competes with the region's former monopoly incumbent carrier — the ILEC — and holds numbers and files ports as the carrier of record in its own right. Every carrier of record registers with NECA and receives an OCN (Operating Company Number), the code a port-out request names. When you move a number between providers, the gaining carrier is often a CLEC rather than the incumbent.
More detail
CLEC status is a regulatory classification, not a size claim: a CLEC operates its own switching infrastructure and files with the FCC and state public utility commissions as a regulated telecom carrier, unlike a reseller that rides an underlying carrier's network. It is a stronger, independently verifiable claim than a bare count of SS7/SIP interconnects.
Orbit's number porting endpoints carry the target carrier's OCN in the `target_carrier_ocn` field of the port-out request — the gaining carrier on a port is often a CLEC, and the code tells the donor carrier which carrier of record is claiming the number.
Preguntas frecuentes
- What is the difference between a CLEC and an ILEC?
- An ILEC is the region's original monopoly carrier; a CLEC is any carrier that entered the market after deregulation to compete with it. Both register with NECA and hold OCNs, and either can be the gaining or losing side of a number port.
- Why does CLEC status matter when I evaluate a CPaaS provider?
- Facilities-based carrier status means the provider (or its underlying carrier) operates real switching fabric as a regulated carrier rather than only reselling another carrier's capacity — a claim you can verify against FCC and state public utility commission filings. It affects routing control, porting rights, and how directly your traffic reaches the network.
See also
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