Local Calls

These calls appear on the bill from your local telephone company.  They are calls that are to destinations within your Local Access Transport Area (LATA).  There are usually two types: (1) Zone calls (calls that are within a few miles) and (2) Service Area calls (calls that farther than just a few miles but still carried by your local telephone company).  You should include the Service Area calls in your accumulation of minutes.  Ignore the Zone calls -- your local telephone company will transport these calls even if you change long distance carriers.

State

These are calls outside your LATA but within your state.  They are carried by your long distance carrier.  You need to break these calling minutes out separately because state rates are usually different than national rates. 

USA

These are calls outside the state.  They are usually priced differently than calls within your state.

Directory Assistance

Include the calls to long distance information (555-1212) your long distance carrier billed you for.

Inbound

These are inbound calls you pay for -- such as calls to your 800 and 888 numbers.  They should be shown separately on your telephone bill.

Taxes, Surcharges and Access Fees

Various governmental agencies impose taxes and surcharges to fund or subsidize specific services.  Further, long distance carriers are charged certain fees to access the local telephone companies' facilities.  These charges are normally not included in the per minute rates quoted by long distance carriers.  When comparing long distance rates, exclude these additional charges when calculating your existing per minute calling rates.

Area Code and Exchange

This is the first six digits of your ten digit telephone number.

Other Issues

Be sure your existing carrier (and those you receive quotes from) bill "minutes" and not "units".  Some carriers attempt to disguise their rates by changing the basic billing unit.  In our experience, legitimate carriers bill by the minute measured in 6 second increments.