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"Access" to the local telephone company’s network to make or receive long distance toll calls is generally offered to long distance carriers as a means for those carriers to offer services to their end user customers. Interstate access services are also offered directly to end user customers, including End User Common Line, Digital Subscriber Line Access Services, and other Special Access Services.
Tariff No. 5 contains the rates and regulations applicable to interstate access services offered by those local telephone companies participating in the tariff. The tariff is on file with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is the regulatory agency charged with regulating interstate access services, among other services.
The FCC's rules limit participation in Tariff No. 5 to those local telephone companies classified as incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs). An ILEC is a company that as of February 8, 1996 provided telephone exchange services to the area in which it was authorized to provide service and was permitted to participate as a member of the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA). Under the FCC's rules, competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) are not permitted to participate in or use Tariff No. 5 as their authority to bill for interstate access services provided to their customers.
Participation in Tariff No. 5 and NECA's pool settlements helps to minimize an ILEC's regulatory expenses associated with developing and filing its own tariff. It also helps minimize an ILEC's cost recovery risks through nationwide pooling of costs and revenues. An ILEC has the option of participating in Tariff No. 5 in its entirety, in one or more of the tariff pools, or filing its own tariff with the FCC.
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