What is the difference between a Local Exchange Carrier (LEC), and an Interexchange carrier (IXC)?

What will be an ideal response?

A company that provides local telephone service to individual customers is called a Local Exchange Carrier (LEC). A company that provides long distance service is called an Interexchange Carrier (IXC).
Classically, LECs owned the central offices and IXCs owned the lines and equipment that interconnected them. Over time, the line between LECs and IXCs has become very blurred.