The Telecommunications Act of 1996 specified three ways that competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) in the United States can provide competing local telephone service: build and interconnect, bundled wholesale purchase, and unbundled service. Securing unbundled service from the incumbent LECs (ILECs) essentially was a matter of selecting from a menu of network elements, including local loops, local exchange and tandem switches (including software features), interoffice transmission facilities, signaling and call-related database facilities, operations support systems (OSSs) and information, and operator and directory assistance facilities. See also CLEC, CO, database, ILEC, local loop, OSS, signaling and control, tandem switch, and Telecommunications Act of 1996.