长途电话，是指打出特定地区的电话，通常有不同于本地电话的区号或冠码。长途电话一般会收取额外的费用，视提供服务的公司而定，且常受市场竞争等因素影响。国际电话是连接不同国家的电话，收费一般更高。电话费通常由拨号方支付，除非接听方同意接受收费通话（Collect call）。

在直拨长途电话1951年推出市场之前，所有的长途电话都需要通过一个特殊的长途接线员协助，即使是本地交换局内之间的直拨电话。当时的城际通话是非常耗时和成本昂贵的，因为每一通电话都需要由多个城市的接线员进行处理。而且长途电话的通话时间也需要人手记录以便收费。

In telecommunications, a long-distance call or trunk call is a telephone call made outside a defined local area, usually to another city. These calls are typically characterized by their higher per-minute cost ("national rate" or "overseas rate" instead of local rate), by terminating at a destination served by a different local telephone exchange or by being carried over intercity trunks or interexchange carriers instead of a direct line between two adjacent exchanges. A long-distance call is not necessarily synonymous with a call to another telephone area code.