Before, people had a choice when it came to their phone service, and that was AT&T. However, after the dissolution of AT&T’s monopoly in the 1980s, more telephone service options became available for local and long distance calls. Even now though, people are still a bit confused when it comes to LATA, IntraLATA and InterLATA phone calls and what is best for phone bill management.

Geographic phone regions are known as Local Access Transport Areas, or LATAs. They focus on different markets, rather than being defined by state lines or area codes. In fact, some LATAs transpire over different limits. LATAs are run by regional bell operating companies.

Phone calls made within a LATA are considered IntraLATA phone calls. They are commonly referred to as local toll calls. Due to the great assumption that proximity phone calls should not be as expensive as calls at farther distances, IntraLATA calls are now the same price as a local call.

When calling between two LATA regions, it is known as an InterLATA phone call. Many phone companies consider this a long distance phone call. Due to the fact that LATA boundaries are crossed, the use of an InterXchange Carrier is required.

Cheap IntraLATA packages should be consulted if many phone calls are made within a LATA region. The price of calls between two LATA regions has also decreased and the market has become much larger.

An Intra or InterLATA package can be chosen once a person determines the location of most daily phone calls. If there are problems determining what is best, a telecommunications consultant is helpful in determining what is best. A good package will provide people with the necessary capabilities to make their phone calls at an affordable price.