Long Distance Services

Long Distance Telephone Services is also known by: Long-haul Private-line Services, WATS, Wide-area Telephone Service, Wholesale Long-haul Private-line Services. 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.

In the United States, long distance can refer to two different classes of calls that are not local calls. The most common class of long-distance 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 term, and the one for which long-distance carriers are usually chosen by telephone customers.

Another form of long-distance, increasingly relevant to more U.S. states, is known as inter-LATA intrastate long distance. This refers to a calling area outside of the customer’s LATA but within the 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, or may be provided at different rates.