Intralata Phone Calls - Coverage Area And Rates

Ever since AT&T disintegrated, the telecommunication customers have been spoiled with numerous choices, sometimes making it difficult to choose the right plan. Of all the terms related to telecommunications the IntraLATA or Intra-Local Access and Transport Area word has confused many people with high telephone bills.

For the common user it has to do with local calls and yet customers have received exorbitant bills for calling within the state or region. Here are some guidelines to understand the process and choose accordingly.

LATA has its own geographical boundaries which comprises of available market or customer base, rather than any district, state or province or area code and each of them come under a Regional Bell Operating Company or RBOC.

An IntraLATA call is within the boundary of that particular service company; it may or may not always be in the same area code of the caller. When a call is made to a number apparently within the same district or area, it may become a local toll call with high charges, as the called number may fall under the jurisdiction of another service provider.

Such calls when made to subscribers in other service provider areas take the help of Local Exchange Carrier or LEC and not the IXC or InterXchange Carrier. The calls made through the LEC become costly compared to calls made through IXC and this comparative difference in rates effect the billing.

The reason for this difference between IXC and LEC calls is that the calls through LEC do not have a competitive market as do the IXC calls, which automatically makes them expensive calls. The pricing difference can best be defined by a simple example - a call from Dallas to Yakima will cost less than a call from Dallas to Fort Worth.

The market is becoming competitive now and some carriers are offering calling plans which have same charges for local and local toll calls. The new plans suit customers who need to make many such calls in a month and not for every subscriber. The line charges are also very expensive, so it is best to choose the plan best suited to your needs.