Telephone company

A telephone company, also known as a telco, telephone service provider, or telecommunications operator, is a type of communications service provider (CSP), and more specifically a telecommunications service provider (TSP), that provides telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications access to consumers and business customers worldwide. Many telephone companies were formerly government organisations or privately held but state-regulated monopolies, as was the case with many other businesses. PTTs are government agencies that are often referred to as such, particularly in Europe (postal, telegraph and telephone services).

Telephone companies are considered common carriers in the United States, and they are often referred to as local exchange carriers in the country. With the introduction of mobile telephony, telephone companies have expanded their offerings to include wireless carriers, often known as mobile network operators.

In today's world, the majority of telephone companies also serve as internet service providers (ISPs), and the difference between a telephone company and an ISP may become obsolete in the future as the industry's present trend toward supplier convergence continues.

Due to the high level of capital investment required by TSPs, most of them were formerly owned and run by the government in the majority of nations. However, nowadays there are many private actors in almost every part of the globe, and even the majority of government-owned corporations have been privatised in certain cases.