Usually one telephone company, known as the wireline incumbent, owns the telephone lines in a particular location. Incumbents have structural advantages over challengers. In the case of Wireline Incumbent Carriers, this segment captured 52 percent, or $20.9 billion, of total communications service revenues in 2004. Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs) include Bell Canada, Telus, Aliant, MTS, and SaskTel. This segment also comprises 40 independent telephone companies operating in Quebec, Ontario, and Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
This data was taken from the Statistics Canada publication on telecommunications service providers, Survey of Telecommunications Service Providers, and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) publication on broadcast distribution, Broadcast Distribution – Statistical and Financial Summaries, augmented by data found on specific company Web sites.
Verizon Communications is the largest of thousands of wireline incumbents in the United States.