(Local Access and Transport Area) The geographic region set up to differentiate local and long distance telephone calls within the U.S. Telephone calls between parties within a LATA (intraLATA) are handled by the local telephone companies and are under the jurisdiction of the state's public utility commission. Calls between LATAs are handled by interexchange carriers (IXCs) and are governed by the FCC. See PUC and FCC.
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| Wikipedia: Local access and transport area |
Local access and transport area (LATA) is a term used in U.S. telecommunications regulation. It represents a geographical area of the United States under the terms of the Modification of Final Judgment (MFJ) that precipitated the breakup of the original AT&T into the "Baby Bells" or created since that time for wireline regulation.
Generally, a LATA represents an area within which a divested Regional Bell operating company (RBOC) is permitted to offer exchange telecommunications and exchange access services. Under the terms of the MFJ, the RBOCs are generally prohibited from providing services that originate in one LATA and terminate in another.
LATA boundaries tend to be drawn around markets, and not necessarily along existing state, province, or even area code borders. Some LATAs cross over state boundaries, such as those for the New York metropolitan area and Greenwich, Connecticut; Chicago, Illinois; Portland, Oregon; and areas between Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. Area codes and LATAs do not necessarily share boundaries; many LATAs exist in multiple area codes, and many area codes exist in multiple LATAs.
Originally, the LATAs were grouped into regions within which one particular RBOC was allowed to provide services. The LATAs in each of these regions are numbered beginning with the same digit. Generally the LATAs were associated with carriers or other indications in the following manner:
| Digit | Area/Use | RBOC |
|---|---|---|
| 0xx | unused | |
| 1xx | New York & New England | NYNEX (now Verizon) |
| 2xx | Mid-Atlantic | Bell Atlantic (now Verizon) |
| 3xx | Great Lakes | Ameritech (now AT&T) |
| 4xx | Southeast | BellSouth (now AT&T) |
| 5xx | South-central | Southwestern Bell (now AT&T) |
| 6xx | Pacific Northwest, Midwest, and Rocky Mountains | US West (now Qwest) |
| 7xx | California and Nevada | Pacific Bell (now AT&T) |
| 8xx | Non-contiguous and international areas | |
| 9xx | Other/Expansion |
In addition to this list, two local carriers were made independent: Cincinnati Bell in the Cincinnati area, and SNET (now AT&T) in Connecticut. These were assigned LATAs in the 9xx range.
Since the breakup of the original AT&T in 1984, however, some amount of deregulation, as well as a number of phone company mergers, have blurred the significance of these regions. A number of new LATAs have been formed within these regions since their inception, most beginning with the digit 9.
LATAs contribute to an often confusing aspect of long distance telephone service. Due to the various and overlapping regulatory limitations and inter-business arrangements, phone companies typically provide differing types of “long distance” service, each with potentially different rates:
Given the complexity of the legal and financial issues involved in each distinction, many long distance companies tend to not explain the details of these different rates, which can lead to billing questions from surprised customers.
In addition, since the term LATA is itself a mouthful, local carriers make up various terms for it, such as “Service Area” by Pacific Bell in California, or “Regional Calling Area” by Verizon in Maryland.
In order to facilitate the sharing of Telcordia telephone routing databases between countries, LATAs were later defined for the provinces of Canada, the other countries and territories of the North American Numbering Plan, and Mexico. Aside from U.S. territories, LATAs have no regulatory purpose in these areas. In 2000, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission eliminated all Canadian provincial LATAs in favor of a single LATA for Canada (888).
No LATAs exist with a second digit of 0 or 1, which distinguished them from traditional area codes.
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Non U.S. states |
The city or place name given with some LATAs is the name given to identify the LATA, not the limit of its boundary. Generally this is the most significant metropolitan area in the LATA. Also, listing under a state does not necessarily limit the LATA's territory to that state; there may be overlaps as well as enclaves. Areas that include notable portions of other states are explained, but not all LATA state overlaps may be detailed.
LATA boundaries are not always solidly defined. Inter-carrier agreements, change proposals to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and new wiring developments into rural areas can and do often alter the effective borders between LATAs. Many sources on LATA boundary information conflict with each other at detailed levels. Telcordia data may provide the most up-to-date details of LATA inclusions.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
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