Industry eruptions

In the early 1900s, pressure created by outdated regulatory structures developed beneath the surface of the telcom industry and caused the eruption of competitive local exchange carriers (CLEC) into the local market. By 2000, New Paradigm Resource Group predicts that the telecommunications industry will have more than 200 facilities-based local competitors. With each tectonic shift in the CLEC market, existing service providers seize the opportunity to expand their footprints, build out networks and expand into new territories. In 1997, the CLEC industry generated revenues of less than $6 billion, and nearly doubled its revenues in 1998. CLECs are expected to generate revenues of nearly 15 times the 1997 figure by 2001. Beginning with zero access lines in 1996, the CLEC industry has shown amazing strength, capturing more than 5.5 million access lines in just 2 years. The incumbent LEC response to the rapid development of CLECs has been a no-holds-barred resistance to change. In the face of these obstacles, CLECs continue to battle creatively by developing workarounds to avoid many of the headaches of dealing with an RBOC.