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The settlement of the Justice Department suit against AT&T resulted in the break up of the the Bell System on Jan. 1, 1984 and the establishment of new rules for Long Distance service documented in the Modified Final Judgment (MFJ).  It called for the the separation of Local service, handled by Local Exchange Companies (LECs), and Long Distance service, handled by Interexchange carriers (IXCs also abbreviated ICs or IECs).   The LECs are the 22 Bell Operating Companies (BOCs) (Pacific Bell, New York Telephone, ...) grouped into 7 Regional Bell Holding Companies (RBHCs) (Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, Bell South, NYNEX, Pacific Telesis, Southwestern Bell and U.S. West) plus 1,400 independent telephone companies. The IXCs are companies like AT&T, MCI, US Sprint and over 300 others (most of them are local companies that resell the services of the national carriers).
      The MFJ also redefined the local calling area or exchange to encompass larger regional calling areas called Local Access & Transport Areas (LATAs).   The LATAs were set up to be roughly equivalent to Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs) which are used by the government for reporting census data.  LATAs may be larger or smaller than Area Codes.  (There are 197 LATAs and 116 Area Codes in the USA).  Calls within a LATA can be handled by your LEC (whether or not it is in the same Area Code); calls between LATAs must be routed through an IXC, except for certain corridor arrangements (e.g. NE. New Jersey to New York City). 
      Part of the MFJ called for equal access in areas served by central offices with electronic switches (about 90% of all lines in 1990).  This allows you to chose a Preferred Interexchange Carrier (PIC) for your phone lines, which will be used automatically for Long Distance calls with "One Plus" dialing (dial 1 plus the number you are calling).  Most metropolitan areas have from 10 to 20 or more IXCs to chose from.  You can ask the IXC you prefer whether they serve your area, or get a list from your local phone company.  You can dial 1 (700) 555-4141 to find the default IXC for the line you are using, or dial 00 and ask the IXC operator which company they are.   One thing to be aware of, is certain pay phones in places like airports and some hotel phones are served by small IXCs that charge more than double the rates of the larger IXCs. 
     Equal access also allows you to reach any IXC by dialing a 5 digit access code instead of the 12 or more digits required in the past.  This code (Ten Plus dialing) is 10 + the Carrier Identification Code (CIC).  (CICs:  AT&T-288, MCI-222, US Sprint-333)  This can be used to access another IXC when ones lines are busy or when calling from a hotel or pay phone.  (e.g. dial 10222 - 0 - [Tel. Num.] to make a credit card call over MCI).  This may require that you have an account with that IXC, although many will allow you to make calls and bill it back through your local company.  In places where the access code doesn't work your IXC company may have an 800 number for placing calls through one of their operators.

          ACNA*                                   New Accounts (800):
Co.       Code  Headquarters      Customer Service Residence Business
AT&T       ATX  New York, NY      1 (800) 222-0300  222-0300 222-0400
MCI        MCI  Washington DC     1 (800) 444-2222  333-5000 333-5000
US Sprint  UTC  Kansas City, MO   1 (800) 877-4646  877-4000 366-1900
Telecom*USA †   Atlanta, GA       1 (800) 476-1234  1 (800) 537-6257
                Cedar Rapids,IA   1 (800) 383-3333  1 (800) 728-8888
ALC/Allnet ALN  Birmingham, MI    1 (800) 482-4848  1 (800) 783-2020
   
* ACNA - Access Customer Name Abbreviation

MCI and US Sprint each have between 8 and 15% of the market and AT&T has over 60% of the market based on 1989 revenues. The other companies have less than 2% of the market each, but they are growing through mergers & acquisitions.

† Telecom*USA was bought by MCI in 1990 pending Justice Dept. review.

 National Telecommunications Network, a consortium of 7 companies (Williams Telecommunication, Telecom*USA, Advanced Telecommunications Corp. (ATC), Rochester Communications (RCI), Litel Communications Inc, Consolidated Network Inc., Microtel) would rank 4th in total revenues.