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Over the period, there was a progressive increase in the total length of UK calls using national and international lines (NaIL) and mobile phones, while a curve was seen in the figures for local fixed-line (LFL) calls.

Should I use full capital letters (NAIL) or only capitalize the letters from the main words (NaIL)?

Also, if later in the essay, I want to write local fixed lines instead of local fixed-line, can I still use the abbreviation LFL?

(Note: Using initial letters only like this makes it so much easier for me to report data in the next paragraphs. However, I'm not sure if that makes my writing look sloppy. So, if it doesn't, ignore this note; if it does, please let me know)

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    You're making up the acronyms / initialisms yourself, so I guess you get to decide whether you want to include "A for and" so you can make the "word" NAIL. Since you've defined what the short forms mean anyway, if you're short of space you could always just reduce them to N and L for simplicity. After all, you could have just labeled them "Type 1" and "Type 2", and you wouldn't necessarily keep repeating the word "Type" if you refer to them often. Commented May 18, 2024 at 2:50
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    Uncapitalized letters are usually reserved for when you've included more than just the first letter because you want the acronym to spell something. Commented May 18, 2024 at 2:53
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    For whom is the report? If an organization requests a report, likely there are existing standards for abbreviations and acronyms. Use those that the organization provides. Commented May 19, 2024 at 5:29

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Because you are creating the acronym, you can choose which letters to include, though it is more common to include all the letters than leave some out. For example: RTFM, BTB, WYSIWYG, FOMO.

You're defining "local fixed-line" as an adjective (LFL). "Local fixed lines" is a noun and a separate logical entity; you can't use one acronym to mean both.

As others have said, if your organization provides guidance or a style guide, follow it.

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