This read-only INTEGER reports the Bearer Class of the call, one of bcobA(1), bcobC(2), bcobX(3), or vp(4) (VP Service), the ATM Forum classification of the underlying transport service the call is using. An administrator checks this to understand what kind of ATM Adaptation Layer/bearer service a specific call negotiated, which affects how its traffic parameters should be interpreted. For example, a call reporting bcobX(3) indicates a bearer class where traffic parameters are used transparently without further ATM Forum-defined interpretation, distinguishing it from the more constrained bcobA or bcobC classes.