A structural business entity formed when a traditional telecom provider splits its operations. The netco maintains the cables, towers, switches, and data centers, selling wholesale capacity. This leaves the retail and customer-facing operations to a separate service company. Regulators often force this split to ensure fair competition on the physical wires.
We've to wait for the netco engineers to clear the fault in the local loop before we can restore the customer.
Also heard as
- network company
Do not mix it up with
- Servco: A netco handles the physical infrastructure and wholesale access, whereas a servco handles retail billing and customer service.
Related terms
Servco
The customer service and retail division of a telecommunications company.
Cableco
A telecommunications company that primarily operates a coaxial cable network for television and broadband services.
ILEC
The established regional telephone company that owned the original copper wire monopoly before market deregulation.