Local Access Telephone Areas (LATAs) identify a telephone call’s carrier type. LATAInfo offers a map database of these LATAs, allowing you to easily differentiate calls carried by a Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) from those carried by a long-distance provider. The LATAInfo database covers the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.
LATAInfo is a map database of Local Access Transport Areas (LATAs) across the United States. LATAs are geographic regions unique to the telecommunications industry. They are used to determine whether a telephone call is carried by a Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) or a long-distance provider. In general, each LATA contains a single metropolitan area. All telephone calls within a specific LATA are routed by LECs. However, telephone calls between two parties in different LATAs must, by law, be ‘transported’ by a long-distance carrier.
LATAInfo converts information on the nation’s local access and long-distance markets – previously available only in tabular format – into a concise, easy-to-use map.
By combining the information in LATAInfo with demographic, business, and customer data, you can identify the best markets for growth in local telecommunications traffic. Applying this type of analysis enables you to make better-informed decisions, control costs, identify marketing opportunities, and enhance profitability.
In the figure above, showing these data layers together allows you to determine which exchange areas in Virginia can route calls to each other without the need for a long distance carrier.