Like anyone else who has been in a technology business for a while you tend to develop your own language. I am no different. I have been in the telecommunications industry since 1981 and if any industry has its own language telecommunications certainly does. The glossary for all the telecommunications acronyms being used would probably be 4 inches thick. It really is its own language. Teleconferencing as an off shoot of telecommunications is certainly guilty of this too but certainly not so bad. But for those novices to teleconferencing, otherwise known as conference calls, I thought it might be helpful to explain a few of the main terms used in the industry to help you better understand what you are dealing with.
- Access Code (Also known as the Pass Code) -
The personal access code that allows you to join a conference call. There are both Host and Guest codes used to access a conference call.
-
Access Phone Number – The telephone number used to reach the teleconferencing equipment where you input your Access Code to enter your conference call.
-
Bridge - The piece of equipment that performs the act of connecting multiple callers on a singe conference call.
-
CSP- This is the acronym for Conference Service Provider. It refer to the companies that provide conference call services.
-
Digital Record and Playback – A service offered by conference call service companies that allows you to record your conference call and play it back at a later time.
-
Host – The leader or Moderator of the conference call.
-
Mute- The Mute function on a conference call allows the participants to turn off the ability to be heard during the conference call. The Host also has the abilitiy to Mute all participants.
-
Reservationless - Reservationless means that no scheduling, reservation or advanced notification is required for this type of conference call. Once you have the Access number and Pass Code you can hold a conference call whenever you want.
-
Teleconferencing - Otherwise known as conference calling or audio conferencing, it refers to a telephone call where 3 or more people are connected and able to talk to each other at the same time.
This is by no means a complete list of terms used in the conference call service, or teleconferencing industry but this sampling should get you well on your way to being fluent in teleconferencing speak.
