(a) Additional Definitions: Section 3 (47 U.S.C. 153) is amended--

(1) in subsection (r)--

(A) by inserting '(A)' after 'means'; and

(B) by inserting before the period at the end the following: ', or (B) comparable service provided through a system of switches, transmission equipment, or other facilities (or combination thereof) by which a subscriber can originate and terminate a telecommunications service'; and

(2) by adding at the end thereof the following:

'(33) Affiliate: The term 'affiliate' means a person that (directly or indirectly) owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with, another person. For purposes of this paragraph, the term 'own' means to own an equity interest (or the equivalent thereof) of more than 10 percent.

'(34) AT&T consent decree: The term 'AT&T Consent Decree' means the order entered August 24, 1982, in the antitrust action styled United States v. Western Electric, Civil Action No. 82-0192, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and includes any judgment or order with respect to such action entered on or after August 24, 1982.

'(35) Bell operating company: The term 'Bell operating company'--

'(A) means any of the following companies: Bell Telephone Company of Nevada, Illinois Bell Telephone Company, Indiana Bell Telephone Company, Incorporated, Michigan Bell Telephone Company, New England Telephone and Telegraph Company, New Jersey Bell Telephone Company, New York Telephone Company, U S West Communications Company, South Central Bell Telephone Company, Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company, Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, The Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania, The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Maryland, The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Virginia, The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of West Virginia, The Diamond State Telephone Company, The Ohio Bell Telephone Company, The Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, or Wisconsin Telephone Company; and

'(B) includes any successor or assign of any such company that provides wireline telephone exchange service; but

'(C) does not include an affiliate of any such company, other than an affiliate described in subparagraph (A) or (B).

'(36) Cable service: The term 'cable service' has the meaning given such term in section 602.

'(37) Cable system: The term 'cable system' has the meaning given such term in section 602.

'(38) Customer premises equipment: The term 'customer premises equipment' means equipment employed on the premises of a person (other than a carrier) to originate, route, or terminate telecommunications.

'(39) Dialing parity: The term 'dialing parity' means that a person that is not an affiliate of a local exchange carrier is able to provide telecommunications services in such a manner that customers have the ability to route automatically, without the use of any access code, their telecommunications to the telecommunications services provider of the customer's designation from among 2 or more telecommunications services providers (including such local exchange carrier).

'(40) Exchange access: The term 'exchange access' means the offering of access to telephone exchange services or facilities for the purpose of the origination or termination of telephone toll services.

'(41) Information service: The term `information service' means the offering of a capability for generating, acquiring, storing, transforming, processing, retrieving, utilizing, or making available information via telecommunications, and includes electronic publishing, but does not include any use of any such capability for the management, control, or operation of a telecommunications system or the management of a telecommunications service.

'(42) Interlata service: The term 'interLATA service' means telecommunications between a point located in a local access and transport area and a point located outside such area.

'(43) Local access and transport area: The term 'local access and transport area' or 'LATA' means a contiguous geographic area--

'(A) established before the date of enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 by a Bell operating company such that no exchange area includes points within more than 1 metropolitan statistical area, consolidated metropolitan statistical area, or State, except as expressly permitted under the AT&T Consent Decree; or

'(B) established or modified by a Bell operating company after such date of enactment and approved by the Commission.

'(44) Local exchange carrier: The term 'local exchange carrier' means any person that is engaged in the provision of telephone exchange service or exchange access. Such term does not include a person insofar as such person is engaged in the provision of a commercial mobile service under section 332(c), except to the extent that the Commission finds that such service should be included in the definition of such term.

'(45) Network element: The term 'network element' means a facility or equipment used in the provision of a telecommunications service. Such term also includes features, functions, and capabilities that are provided by means of such facility or equipment, including subscriber numbers, databases, signaling systems, and information sufficient for billing and collection or used in the transmission, routing, or other provision of a telecommunications service.

'(46) Number portability: The term 'number portability' means the ability of users of telecommunications services to retain, at the same location, existing telecommunications numbers without impairment of quality, reliability, or convenience when switching from one telecommunications carrier to another.

'(47) Rural telephone company: The term 'rural telephone company' means a local exchange carrier operating entity to the extent that such entity--

'(A) provides common carrier service to any local exchange carrier study area that does not include either--

'(i) any incorporated place of 10,000 inhabitants or more, or any part thereof, based on the most recently available population statistics of the Bureau of the Census; or

'(ii) any territory, incorporated or unincorporated, included in an urbanized area, as defined by the Bureau of the Census as of August 10, 1993;

'(B) provides telephone exchange service, including exchange access, to fewer than 50,000 access lines;

'(C) provides telephone exchange service to any local exchange carrier study area with fewer than 100,000 access lines; or

'(D) has less than 15 percent of its access lines in communities of more than 50,000 on the date of enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

'(48) Telecommunications: The term 'telecommunications' means the transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user's choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received.

'(49) Telecommunications carrier: The term 'telecommunications carrier' means any provider of telecommunications services, except that such term does not include aggregators of telecommunications services (as defined in section 226). A telecommunications carrier shall be treated as a common carrier under this Act only to the extent that it is engaged in providing telecommunications services, except that the Commission shall determine whether the provision of fixed and mobile satellite service shall be treated as common carriage.

'(50) Telecommunications equipment: The term 'telecommunications equipment' means equipment, other than customer premises equipment, used by a carrier to provide telecommunications services, and includes software integral to such equipment (including upgrades).

'(51) Telecommunications service: The term 'telecommunications service' means the offering of telecommunications for a fee directly to the public, or to such classes of users as to be effectively available directly to the public, regardless of the facilities used.'.

(b) Common Terminology: Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the terms used in this Act have the meanings provided in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153), as amended by this section.

(c) Stylistic Consistency: Section 3 (47 U.S.C. 153) is amended--

(1) in subsections (e) and (n), by redesignating clauses (1), (2) and (3), as clauses (A), (B), and (C), respectively;

(2) in subsection (w), by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5) as subparagraphs (A) through (E), respectively;

(3) in subsections (y) and (z), by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;

(4) by redesignating subsections (a) through (ff) as paragraphs (1) through (32);

(5) by indenting such paragraphs 2 em spaces;

(6) by inserting after the designation of each such paragraph--

(A) a heading, in a form consistent with the form of the heading of this subsection, consisting of the term defined by such paragraph, or the first term so defined if such paragraph defines more than one term; and

(B) the words 'The term';

(7) by changing the first letter of each defined term in such paragraphs from a capital to a lower case letter (except for 'United States', 'State', 'State commission', and 'Great Lakes Agreement'); and

(8) by reordering such paragraphs and the additional paragraphs added by subsection (a) in alphabetical order based on the headings of such paragraphs and renumbering such paragraphs as so reordered.

(d) Conforming Amendments: The Act is amended--

(1) in section 225(a)(1), by striking 'section 3(h)' and inserting 'section 3';

(2) in section 332(d), by striking 'section 3(n)' each place it appears and inserting 'section 3'; and

(3) in sections 621(d)(3), 636(d), and 637(a)(2), by striking 'section 3(v)' and inserting 'section 3'.