The administrative rules applying to telecommunications companies define companies based on the number of access lines served by the company, relative to the total number of access lines in the state.

A company is defined as a Class A company if it serves 2 percent or more of the state's access lines (see WAC 480-120-021 and WAC 480-120-034).

A Class B company serves less than 2 percent of the lines. Class B companies are exempt from some reporting requirements that apply to larger companies.

The number of access lines served by a local exchange company includes the number of access lines served in this state by any affiliate of that local exchange company (see RCW 80.04.530).

As of December 31, 2009, the total number of access lines served by local exchange companies in Washington was: 2,447,000.

This count comes from reports filed by Washington telecom companies at the Federal Communications Commission.

Based on this count, Class A and Class B companies are defined as: