Carriers typically pay fees to other carriers to connect calls on their networks.

They argued that the rates Telmex charged to connect long-distance calls to the local network were too high.

Instead, she drove to the company office in Wilmington and served as an operator, helping connect person-to-person calls.

It could also hurt overseas phone companies that rely on fees from American carriers to connect international calls.

The conference bridge then connects multiple calls to one another.

The biggest differences among them are in the networks they use to connect calls - and in their customer service.

Operators were not only responsible for connecting, monitoring and disconnecting calls.

This would give the buyer a national platform for connecting long-distance calls, and also big clients, including the government.

Access Management, the division responsible for connecting long-distance calls to local phone companies, was in the worst shape.

The commission has also moved to push down the arbitrarily high rates that foreign telephone companies charge for connecting international calls.