The world is shrinking and virtually every business has a need to communicate with associates, partners and prospects around the world. Like other ways to communicate, the conference call has had to adapt to this reality and make it easier to allow international participants on the call.
There are a few ways to allow international participants onto a conference call.
- Have an Operator dial out to the participant
- Provide the participant a local number in the US they can dial into
- Provide a local number in a foreign city that connects with the US conference call equipment
- Provide a toll free number that can be accessed in a foreign country
All of these methods can work, but one may be better suited to your conference call needs than the others.
Operator Dial out to the International Participant
Having an operator dial out to your international participants used to be the way all participants connected to a conference call. This method, however, has its draw backs. The participant must be at a predetermined location and phone number so that the operator can reach them. This is the highest cost method to connect a participant to a conference call since an operator is involved in putting the call together.
Provide the participant a local US number they can dial in to connect to the Conference Call
Most people use a toll free number in the US to assemble participants which works great if you are in the US. People outside the US cannot access a US toll free number. But you can provide the local US access number and this number can be used to connect to the conference call from anywhere in the world. The cost to the Moderator or Host of the conference call is low but the participant will pay a toll charge to call into the US just like they were calling any other number in the US.
Provide a local number in a foreign country that is connected to the US conference call equipment
Not all conference call service providers have this option, but it works well for all involved. Basically, in large foreign cities there is a local number in that city that is networked back to the US conference call equipment. This means the international participant only has to call a local number in their city and the US Moderator pays a lower cost to transport that participant back to the US conference call equipment.
Provide a toll free number that is accessible in a foreign country
This option provides the greatest flexibility but does add some additional cost to the conference call. The international participant simply dials a toll free number in their country and they are connected to the conference call in the US. The cost of toll free access is higher than the local number access bu the international participant incurs no cost and does not need to be in a large city to access the number.
So, as you can see the conference call service providers now have a variety of ways to access their conference calls from around the world. www.zipconferencing.com
Tags: Conference Call Service, International Call, International Participants, Optio, Participant, People, Phone Number, Prospects, Service Providers, Toll Free Number