A U.S. telecom term, which stands for local access and transport area. A LATA is a particular area that is covered by one or more local telephone companies, called local exchange carriers (LECs). IntraLATA is a connection between two local exchanges within the same LATA. InterLATA, which essen-tially is long distance service, is a connection between a carrier in one LATA to a carrier in another LATA. Rules governing what companies can provide both types of service were established in the Telecommunications Act of 1996.