atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Telecom Service & Providers LEC zones

Anyone know what they refer to? It seems like they're mileage based from somewhere, but where?
We were pricing a PRI (which we are not going to do due to cost ) and found out that were we in "zone one" it would be about $300 a month cheaper, thus in our price range. More for my curiousity than anything else, since we don't have the luxury of moving to another city to get cheap dialtone

I think it has to do with the LATA, and where you are with relationship to the CO's in the LATA. Try Google for LATA calling zones, to see if you get a better explination. Someone may be by that know more about it.

Chad:

Unfortunately, zones really can't be easily tracked by any means by the consumer. These are frequently referred to as "rate centers" by phone companies. You can have different rate centers within the same central office, my business being an example. If you have a 541 or 550 number, you are considered to be Alexandria and can call into Maryland as a local call (there is an additional monthly charge for this). If you have a 339 or 546 number, you are in an area that can call deeper South into Virginia, but Maryland calls are long distance. This despite the fact that all of these numbers still reside in and are processed by the same central office switch.

I guess what I am saying is that it's not the physical location of the central office switch or even the boundary line that matters. It's the NXX (first three digits of your phone number) that determines your zone, the rate you will pay, and whether or not your customers can reach you through a local call.

We have areas where there are different LEC's, with different rate centers, serving addresses across the street or even next door to each other. Boundaries for central offices, rate centers and LEC territories are clearly-defined, but invisible to the typical customer. They are not straight lines, and they don't always follow city, county or Zip code boundaries. They sometimes even cross state borders, but not as frequently.

It pays to ask the question more than once as to which rate center your physical telephone number will be part of. If you assume and are not correct, you may miss out on more favorable billing rates. These rate centers or zone boundaries are regulated by the state, the carriers are not allowed to adjust them. It's the same for every provider.

Still, the provider that you choose may not have a "point of presence" within the zone that your business is located, and if so, they may require that you get service from their nearest zone. This can cause the monthly rate and calling plans to change. That's usually where the confusion originates.