On Monday night, WTAE's Wendy Bell showed long-distance telephone customers how to cut their bills in half without any gimmicks or catches.

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Watch Wendy Bell's Report

The response was overwhelming. Hundreds of viewers have e-mailed ThePittsburghChannel.com looking for the information.

Each of the big three -- Sprint, AT&T and WorldCom -- charges federal, state and local taxes, along with a univeral service fee, and sometimes a monthly fee. But they don't include all those extras in their advertised rates. Some of the 10-10 services don't include the universal service fee in their ads either.

Bell looked on the Internet and found several companies that are cheaper. They have the same kinds of fees as the big three, except those fees are lower.

For example, compare WorldCom's popular 5-cent plan to the 4.9-cent rate offered by a company called Powernet Global. Fees nearly triple the WorldCom rate to more than 14 cents a minute, but they only add about a penny to Powernet's rate. Also, WorldCom offers 100 fewer minutes.

Here are a few other companies Bell found on the Internet. Click on their names to visit their Web sites:

Enhanced Communications Group

CogniWorld

Pioneer Telephone

Total Call International

Zone LD

Unitel

Capsule Communications

Different providers offer different benefits, so consumers will have to do a little research to find the best plan for their calling needs.