Telecommunications companies are defined as either Class A or Class B based on the number of access lines served by the company in relation to the total number of access lines in the state.
The number of access lines served by a local exchange company includes the number of access lines served by any affiliate of that local exchange company.
Access Lines Served in Washington
As of Dec. 31, 2010, the number of access lines served by local exchange companies in Washington was 2,225,000. This count comes from reports filed by Washington telecommunications companies with the Federal Communications Commission.
Class A: 44,500 Access Lines or More
A company is defined as a Class A company if it serves 2% or more of the state's access lines.
Class B: 44,499 Access Lines or Fewer
A Class B company serves less than 2% of the lines. Class B companies are exempt from some reporting requirements that apply to the larger Class A companies.