Introduction
Long-distancecallreferstoacalltoaspecificarea,usuallywithanareacodeorprefixthatisdifferentfromalocalcall.Long-distancecallsgenerallychargeadditionalfees,dependingonthecompanythatprovidestheservice,andareoftenaffectedbyfactorssuchasmarketcompetition.Internationalcallsarecallsconnectedtodifferentcountries,andthechargesaregenerallyhigher.Callchargesareusuallypaidbythedialingparty,unlessthereceivingpartyagreestoacceptacollectcall.
Beforedirectlong-distancecallswerelaunchedonthemarketin1951,alllong-distancecallsrequiredtheassistanceofaspeciallong-distanceoperator,evendirectdialcallsbetweenlocalexchangeoffices.Intercitycallsatthattimewereverytime-consumingandcostly,becauseeachcallhadtobehandledbyoperatorsinmultiplecities.Inaddition,thecalltimeoflong-distancecallsalsoneedstoberecordedmanuallyinordertobecharged.
Domesticlong-distancefixednetwork
Itreferstothetelephoneserviceprovidedbetweendifferent"long-distancenumber"areas,thatis,betweendifferentlocaltelephonenetworksthroughlong-distancetelephonenetworks(includingISDNnetworks).Auseronalocaltelephonenetworkcancallauseronthelocaltelephonenetworkinanotherlong-distancenumberingareabyaddingthedomesticlong-distanceprefixandlong-distanceareacode.
Fixednetworkdomesticlong-distancetelephoneservicesincludethefollowingmainbusinesstypes:
End-to-endtwo-wayvoiceservicesacrosslong-distancenumberingareas.
End-to-endfaxservicesandmediumandlow-speeddataservicesacrosslong-distancenumberingareas.
Varioussupplementaryservicessuchascallforwardingacrosslong-distancenumberingareas,three-waycalling,andcallingnumberdisplay.
Theintelligentnetworkserviceacrossthelong-distancenumberingareajointlyprovidedbythelocaltelephonenetwork,long-distancenetworkandintelligentnetwork.
ISDN-basedbearerserviceacrosslong-distancenumberingareas.
Theoperatorsoffixed-linedomesticlong-distancetelephoneservicesmustestablishtheirowndomesticlong-distancetelephonenetworkfacilities,andthetypesofdomesticlong-distancetelephoneservicesprovidedcanbepartorallofthem.Thelocaltelephonenetworkandlong-distancetelephonenetworkthroughwhichadomesticlong-distancetelephoneserviceisprovidedcanbethenetworkofthesameoperatororcanbejointlycompletedbythenetworksofdifferentoperators.
Internationallong-distancefixednetwork
referstointernationaltelephoneservicesprovidedthroughinternationaltelephonenetworks(includingISDNnetworks)betweencountriesorbetweencountriesandregions.AdomestictelephonenetworkusercandialatelephonenetworkuserinanothercountryorregionbydialingtheIDprefixandcountry(region)code.
Fixednetworkinternationallong-distancetelephoneservicesincludethefollowingmainbusinesstypes:
End-to-endtwo-wayvoiceservicesacrosscountriesorregions.
End-to-endfaxservicesandmediumandlow-speeddataservicesacrosscountriesorregions.
Cross-countryorregionalintelligentnetworkservicesjointlyprovidedbylocaltelephonenetworks,long-distancenetworks,internationalnetworksandintelligentnetworks,suchasinternationalclosedusergroupvoiceservices.
ISDN-basedbearerservicesacrosscountriesorregions.
Theinternationalclosedusergroupvoiceserviceprovidedbytheinternationaldedicatedlinebelongstothefixednetworkinternationallong-distancetelephoneservice.
Fixednetworkinternationallong-distancetelephoneserviceoperatorsmustsetuptheirowninternationallong-distancetelephoneservicenetwork,andoperatorswithouttherighttooperateinternationalcommunicationfacilitiesservicesarenotallowedtoconstructinternationaltransmissionfacilities.Internationaltransmissionfacilitiesmustbeleasedfromoperatorswithcorrespondingoperatingrights.Thetypeofinternationallong-distancetelephoneserviceprovidedcanbepartorall.Theprovisionoffixed-lineinternationallong-distancetelephoneservicesmustgothroughaninternationalcommunicationgatewayestablishedwiththeapprovalofthestate.Thelocaltelephonenetwork,thedomesticlong-distancetelephonenetworkandtheinternationalnetworkthroughwhichaninternationallong-distancetelephoneserviceisprovidedcanbethenetworkofthesameoperator,orcanbejointlycompletedbythenetworksofdifferentoperators.