What is LATA?
LATA stands for Local Access and Transport Area and is a technical term related to the regulation of telecommunications within the United States. The LATA has to do with the specific geographic area in which the United States is included according to the Final Judgment Modification (MFJ). The MFJ accelerated the division of the main company AT&T, creating the “Baby Bells” and was the beginning of the regulation of the wire lines.
In general, LATA corresponds to a geographic area within which the Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC) can sell access services to the exchange and exchange telecommunications. The terms of the MFJ state that RBOCs generally cannot offer services that begin within one LATA and end in a different one.
LATA boundaries are generally defined around markets rather than area codes, states, and provinces. Some of LATA’s boundaries cross state lines, such as the New York metropolitan area and Greenwich, Connecticut, as well as Portland, Oregon; Chicago, Illinois and also the areas between West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia. LATAs and area codes do not necessarily use the same limits. Although it does occur, there are cases where there are many area codes within multiple LATAs and where there are many LATAs within multiple area codes.
Initially, LATAs had been categorized into multiple zones where a single RBOC would have been allowed to offer services. Within each of these zones, LATAs are numbered with the same first digit. Carriers and LATAs were generally associated with each other and used specific numerical indicators. However, there are certain regulations, such as the fact that LATAs cannot have a second digit of 0 or 1, separating them from the original area codes.
No matter what LATA or area code a call originated from, if you want to find out whose number is on your caller ID or find out who owns a phone number [http://www.whoownsthisphonenumber.com] for another reason, just use an online reverse phone lookup service. These searches are easy to use and will conveniently provide you with the information you are looking for.