With names like "Nickel Nights" and "Seven Cents Anytime," it can be a real challenge to keep up with the latest long-distance telephone offers.

NewsChannel5 says that Consumer Reports has looked past the hype to examine long-distance calling deals from companies large and small.

You've seem the commercials from the big three long-distance companies, but Consumer Reports says don't make your decision based on these low per-minute rate.

"A lot of plans have monthly fees so they may have low per-minute rates, but by the time you factor in the monthly fee you're really paying a much higher per-minute rate," Ellen Braitman of Consumer Reports says.

For instance, AT&T's One Rate 7 Cents plan has a catch -- a $5.95 monthly fee.

With Sprint's Nickel plan, the rub is, 10 cents a minute for daytime calls and a $5.95 monthly fee.

And with MCI's plan there are several hitches: 7 cents weekdays and a $4.95 monthly fee or 25 cents weekdays with a $5 minimum plus a $1.95 monthly fee.

About 80 percent of consumers are using AT&T, MCI and Sprint, but there are hundreds of other companies out there, and what they want you to do is look beyond the big three carriers and consider all the choices.

Consumer Reports says some good choices include Ultra Call. It charges 6.9 cents a minute, 24 hours a day with no monthly minimum or monthly fee.

And GTC Telecom charges 5 cents a minute, but you have to have your calls billed to your credit card or there's a monthly fee of $1.95.

Rates change frequently, so consumers should review their service at least once a year to make sure they're getting the best deal.