Local Access And Transport Area (LATA) is a term defined in United States telecommunications regulation. A LATA is a geographical area of the United States under the terms of the Modification of Final Judgment (MFJ) entered by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in Civil Action number 82-0192 or any other geographic area designated as a LATA in the National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc., Tariff FCC No. 4, 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 or 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:
In addition to this list, two local carriers were made independent: Cincinnati Bell in the Cincinnati area, and SNET (a former unit of AT&T, sold to Frontier) in Connecticut. These were assigned LATAs in the 9xx range. Since the breakup of the Bell System 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:
within same LATA, within same state within same LATA, between different states between different LATAs, within same state between different LATAs, between different states 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. Local carriers have various alternative terms for LATAs such as “Service Area” by Pacific Bell in California, or “Regional Calling Area” by Verizon in Maryland. 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.
List of LATAs
US state LATAs 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. In some cases, a LATA is named after the largest phone exchange in the LATA that was historically served by an RBOC. For example, the largest city in the Pahrump LATA in Nevada is Las Vegas. Since Las Vegas was not historically served by an RBOC, the LATA is named after the smaller town of Pahrump, which was historically served by Nevada Bell (now AT&T Inc.). 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.
Alabama 476 Birmingham 477 Huntsville 478 Montgomery Includes Georgetown, Georgia 480 Mobile Includes areas of Mississippi north of Pascagoula Includes parts of northern Escambia County, Florida, in the Century and Walnut Hill areas
Alaska 832
Arizona 666 Phoenix Includes Winterhaven, California Includes Spirit Mountain, Nevada Includes Glen Canyon, Utah 668 Tucson Includes Rodeo and Virden, New Mexico 980 Navajo Nation (Arizona portion) Includes southwestern San Juan County, Utah
Arkansas 526 Fort Smith Includes part of Oklahoma from Pocola to Moffett Includes section of Oklahoma from Colcord to Watts Includes small part of Barry County, Missouri Includes area of Oklahoma near Maysville, Arkansas Includes area of Oklahoma near Uniontown, Arkansas 528 Little Rock Includes Watson, Oklahoma 530 Pine Bluff Includes Junction City, Louisiana
California 722 San Francisco 724 Chico 726 Sacramento 728 Fresno 730 Los Angeles Includes La Paz County, Arizona 732 San Diego 734 Bakersfield 736 Monterey 738 Stockton 740 San Luis Obispo 973 Palm Springs
Colorado 656 Denver 658 Colorado Springs
Connecticut 920
Washington, D.C. 236 Includes the west portion of the West Bay of Maryland, as far north as Damascus, Maryland (roughly Montgomery, Prince George's, Charles, and St. Mary's counties of Maryland) Includes the northeasternmost portion of Virginia, from Sterling to just north of Fredericksburg (roughly Northern Virginia)
Florida
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