Unbundled Network Element-Platform

A type of phone service, created by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, in which phone service providers use the local switching and transmission platform of the Bell networks. The former regional Bell operating companies were forced to allow competitors to use the Bell network to increase competition. UNE-P lets emerging telecom providers offer services without owning or building their own network infrastructure or making large capital investments. Regulatory battles over UNE-P service and fees are common between the former Bells and new competitors. The former Bell companies don’t want to share their networks because doing so directly takes away from profits. Tele-communications is a high-margin business, and profit margins are reduced because much of the Bell’s costs are largely fixed.