Long distance
Long distance in telecommunications, refers to telephone calls made outside a certain area, usually characterized by an area code outside of a local call area. Long-distance calls usually carry long-distance charges which, within certain nations, vary between phone companies and are the subject of much competition from different phone card compaines. International calls are calls made between different countries, and usually carry much higher charges unless you use discount phone cards that have lower calling rates. These long distance phone calls are charged to the calling party unless the called party accepts a collect call. But of course with a calling card this is not a concern. Another option is that some phone cards include a free 800-number so that family and friends can all you and you pay for the call.
Categories and calling charges
In the United States, long distance can refer to two different classes of phone calls that are not local calls. The most common class of long-distance calling is often called interstate long-distance, though the more accurate term is inter-LATA interstate long distance. This is the form of long-distance most commonly meant by the toll calling, and the one for which long-distance carriers are usually chosen by telephone customers when they need to call to someone in another state.
Another form of long-distance phone call that is relevant more to those in US states, is known as inter-LATA intrastate long distance. This refers to a calling area outside of the customer’s LATA but within the phone customer's state. While technically and legally long-distance, this calling area is not necessarily served by the same carrier used for "regular" long distance calls, or may be provided at different rates that may be quite a bit higher than calls made to more distant locations. In many cases customer confusion occurs, due to rate or carrier distinctions, a local long-distance call can be billed at a higher per-minute rate than interstate long-distance calls, despite being a shorter distance. But this confusion and seeming price gouging is to be expected from most phone companies as a normal practice. And they wonder why people turn more and more to phone card providers and services like Skype...!
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