Illinois Independent Telephone Ass'n v. Illinois Commerce Commission

This case involves questions concerning the conditions under which long-distance telephone carriers may provide service between points located in the same market service area (MSA). Several provisions of the Universal Telephone Service Protection Law of 1985 (Protection Law) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 1112/3, pars. 13 — 100 through 13 — 803) provide the principal bases for the contentions of the parties.

Many technical terms peculiar to the telecommunications industry pervade this opinion. These terms are defined in our recent opinion in GTE MTO, Inc. v. Illinois Commerce Comm’n (1988), 166…