Tony Danza says he dials 10-10-321 and saves 50 percent.
So do John Lithgow and Oscar De La Hoya.Christopher Lloyd and Dennis Miller say they can call anywhere in the United States for less than a buck with 10-10-220.
Sugar Ray Leonard is even in on the 10-10 slugfest with the DimeLine.
So what's all the Don King-size hype about? Can these services save you money?
The simple answer: yes, if you know how to beat the system. With a little price checking, these services, known as dial-arounds because they bypass normal long distance carriers, can be the quick jab in a long-distance punch combination.
But knowing when to jab can make the difference between winning or landing flat on your back.
"Long distance carriers know that customers don't know squat about this," said Robert Self, author and publisher of "Long Distance for Less," considered by many to be the bible of long distance. "In order to sell they bring out
one point. We call it hook marketing."
Apparently many consumers are biting.
Dial-arounds generated $2 billion of revenue in 1998, according to the Yankee Group, a telecommunications research firm in Boston. According to the Federal Communications Commission, 11 percent of U.S. households used dial-arounds during that time.
Some local long-distance carriers also are noticing the growth. In January, Salt Lake-based Access Long Distance imposed a $4.95 minimum use fee for customers who make less than $15 worth of long-distance calls a month. Why? Partly because Access was afraid customers were dialing around, said marketing manager Wendy Young.
Because dial-arounds will not release figures for regional use, there is no way of knowing how many Utahns actually dial around. The Yankee Group, however, estimates that, nationally, the industry will grow by anywhere from $500 million to $1 billion in 1999.
But such growth has generated a few gripes.
In February the FCC began looking into how dial-arounds were advertising their services after the agency received 250 complaints in six months. According to FCC documents, "These commercials may not be disclosing important pricing information, such as monthly fees or minimum charges."
Since then, most companies have started listing all rates and charges on their Web sites. But early on, before Tony Danza and John Lithgow were ever preaching the benefits of dialing a few extra digits, small dial-around companies were slowly surfacing.
"Dial-arounds have actually been in existence since 1984," Self said.
That was the year consumers were allowed to choose a company other than AT&T as a long-distance carrier.
Fliers gradually started arriving by mail, advertising a new way to save on long distance by dialing a few extra digits.
The concept gradually grew.
"Once they came up with this idea, they can then take AT&T customers," said R.L. Smith, FCC public utilities specialist. "So what happens is AT&T may have all the customers, but they don't get any usage."
MCI WorldCom noticed the damage to its customer base and decided to hit back. Through its subsidiary, Telecom USA, MCI launched the first nationally advertised dial-around service, 10-321 (now 10-10-321) in 1997.
"A couple of years ago these small dial-arounds were beginning to chip away at our business," said Telecom USA spokeswoman Teresa Byrne. "It was the kind of thing where MCI could have buried its head in the sand or done something."
The number caught on and Telecom USA unveiled its second dial-around, 10-10-220, last September.
"They've grown extremely rapidly," Byrne said.
The national attention MCI brought to dial-arounds boosted the whole industry.
"They've brought a lot of attention to it," said Ken Myers, director of consumer marketing for Telco, which runs 10-10-297 and 10-10-457. "It's just helped the category grow. As the tide has risen, all boats rise."
Afraid of being left out of the dial-around tidal wave, AT&T launched Lucky Dog 10-10-345 in October 1998.
"If nothing else, 10-10-345 has legitimized the business," said Fred Voit, senior analyst in consumer communications at the Yankee Group. "When that one entered the fray, a lot of other ones had to enter the way they did business."
That meant simple rates and no monthly fees. Some dial-arounds, like World XChange's 10-10-502, charge a $4.95 monthly fee, even if a person makes just one 20-second phone call. According to Self, the average long-distance call lasts seven to eight minutes, and 35 percent of such calls are less than a minute.
"So you would never use these services to call your girlfriend if you always get her answering machine," Self said.
But how can consumers avoid paying five bucks to talk to a recording?
"It's not as complicated as people think," Self said. "It's just that people don't know anything and feel overwhelmed, and carriers aren't going out of their way to tell you anything."
The FCC suggests six questions to ask when shopping for a dial-around:
What rates are you currently paying for your long-distance service?
What are the the basic rates for the dial-around service?
Are there any monthly fees for the dial-around?
Will you be charged a monthly minimum?
Is there a per-call rate in addition to the per-minute rate?
Is there a per-call minimum for the dial-around?
Self also suggests that consumers analyze their calling patterns for three months to determine when they call, who they call and how long their calls last. Callers can then do one of two things: pick the service that matches their patterns, or change their patterns to match the best service.
Rates and fees are now listed on most dial-around Web sites. Other Web sites, like (1010Phonerates.
com), have comparisons and links to each dial-around site (see accompanying article).
Finally, Self suggests, users should make sure they are getting the deal they were promised. Dial-around charges are listed on local phone bills each month.
And even if a customer does save, most in the long-distance business agree dial-arounds are not always the cheapest answer.
"Dial-around has just become an alternative that people know about," said AT&T spokesman Ritch Blasi, "but there's still so many alternatives that provide a better deal."
The key, according to Self, is complementing a normal long-distance carrier service with dial-arounds. MCI's One Savings plan, for example, offers 5-cent Sundays, but it charges 25 cents a minute for daytime calls Monday through Friday.
"Unless I make a gross mistake, I'll use a dial-around service during that time," Self said.
Some, like Telco's 10-10-502, charge 10 cents a minute anytime, any day with no fees.
"The point is, with dial-around services you need to be careful," Self said. "You should only use a dial-around service when it is going to save you money."