MCI + Verizon. AT&T + SBC. With the merger of major telephone communication players, one must ask the question: What about competition?

The Telecommunication Act of 1996 was created to promote competition. It allowed companies to build their own networks and switches so they could compete against already established carriers, such as AT&T and Verizon. It also mandated that companies could purchase services from the established carriers (those doing business before the Act was passed) at wholesale prices and resell them to consumers. These local-area companies are known as Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLEC). They can offer any mix of local and long distance telephone services (including Voice over Internet Protocol