Posts Tagged ‘Conference Call’

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Conference Call Bridge

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

A conference call bridge is the name for the piece of telecommunications equipment that enables multiple participants from various telephone connections to be placed into the same call to create a conference call.  If you do a significant amount of conference calling you may think that buying your own conference call bridge would end up being a good investment because you could reduce your costs for conference calls.  Here are a few things that you will need to consider if you think about buying a conference call bridge yourself.

  • Equipment Cost - First thing is the cost of the equipment.  The cost of conference call bridges has come down over the years but the cost of a conference call bridge like the ones used by conference call service companies is still hundreds of thousands of dollars. 
  • Telecommunications Connections - You will need to dedicate telecommunications connections to the conference call bridge.  There is a cost to just maintain the connections to the conference call bridge.
  • Equipment Maintenance- You will need to pay the manufacturer of the conference call bridge equipment a maintenance fee to keep the hardware and software up to date.
  • Support Cost - You will need to pay for support on the conference call bridge equipment in case there is an issue.  Typically this may be included for the first year in your maintenance cost.
  • Internal Support - You will need someone in your organization to maintain the conference call bridge.  No matter how self serving the equipment is you will need someone to play administrator for the conference call bridge.
  • Long Distance Cost - There is a variable telecommunications cost for having toll free access and you will need to pay the long distance connection per minute charges for your participants to get to the conference call bridge.

So when you add up all of the cost to run your own conference call bridge you may find that the cost per minute to operate your own equipment may be higher than if you use a conference call service.  Especially now that the conference call rates are as low as they are it really is hard to justify having your own conference call bridge.

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Free Conference Call Services

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

So, you think you want free conference call services?  Think again!  Like most things in life, nothing really comes for free.  And before you risk your reputation and business you will want to understand what free conference call services are all about. 

When the first free conference call service was introduced everyone in the conference call industry kind of shrugged and figured everyone would understand the deficiencies with the service and steer clear of them.  Well, free conference call services have survived because everyone likes something “free” so its attraction can not be underestimated.  But, is it truly free?  And what is the difference between free conference call services and paid conference call services?  Here are the details behind free conference call services.

  • Free Doesn’t mean No Cost- True, after the conference call is over you may not owe the free conference call service provider anything, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t cost you anything.  That is because all free conference call service providers give you a local number to access your conference call.  That “local” number is usually not local for anyone on the conference call which means you and you participants have to make a long distance call to connect to your conference.  Do you want your customer or prospect to get long distance charges on their phone bill for attending your conference call?
  • Will it be available when you dial in - The way a free conference call service company makes money is by getting the termination fee for having you call into a location where long distance providers pay the local telephone company to terminate the call.  The amount they are paid is very small so they can’t afford the best conference call equipment and have a limitation on capacity.  There is no guarantee that when you call in for your conference call that the capacity will be there for you.  Do you want to chance having the conference call available?
  • Toll Free at a Price - You can usually get a toll free access number for your conference call, but you will pay for it.  And if you find that if you shopped around the competition you could find a better toll free conference call rate from a company with better features and more reliable conference call equipment.
  • Support is Not Free - And if you need any support, how much support do you expect if the service is free? 

So, if you want to make sure your conference call is there when you need and not get hit with hidden charges you may want to examine what it means to be a free conference call service.

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Audio Conferencing Services

Monday, March 15th, 2010

A term used in the teleconferencing industry to describe telephone conference calls is audio conferencing.  We adopted this term to distinguish the normal conference call from a web conference.  And truth be told the term “audio” is used to describe something you listen to so it makes sense.  It is just not a word that people use everyday so many times people are confused when I talk about audio conferencing. 

Audio conferencing is just another way of saying conference call and specifically is describing a conference call on a telephone whose main communication method is using sound/speech over the telephone.  An audio conference today has become a fairly standard offering as far as the way it works and many of its features.  Generally, an audio conference is held by dialing an access number and then putting in a pass code when you are connected to the conference call service equipment.  The conference call service equipment then places you in the appropriate conference call based on the pass code you input.  Basically all of the participants that enter that code will be placed into the same conference call.  Most conference call services will provide a separate pass code for the Host of the call so they can access certain features within the conference call.

The most common features available to the Host on a conference call are the ability to mute all participants, raise and lower the volume and disconnect some or all of the participants.  Some conference call service companies will offer additional features like the ability to conduct a roll call and even record the conference call.  Zip Conferencing offers these features and more.

So, if you hear of someone referring to an Audio Conference you know it is just a plain old conference call.

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International Conference Calls

Friday, March 12th, 2010

As US Businesses expand into international markets and the world continues to shrink we get more and more inquiries from people who want to do international conference calls.  It used to be that we would get a company that had a participant in England or somewhere in Western Europe, but now participants are all over the world and it is only natural that companies would like to do an international conference call.  So, what are the options if you have participants for a conference call in an international location?  Well, there really are three options available from conference call service companies to do international conference calls.

  • Local US Number - Since the international participant cannot dial a US toll free number, most conference call service companies also provide a local US number to dial in order to access the conference call.  Since it is a local US number the international conference call participant can dial it from anywhere in the world and access the conference call.  The only catch with this method of access is that the international participant is going to pay long distance toll charges to dial a US number and will pay those charges to their long distance phone company for the entire time they are on the conference call.  If the participant is an employee and has a good calling plan to dial the US this may be the least expensive option.  Usually the cost to the Host of the conference call is the same or less than the toll free access for US participants.
  • Local In-Country Number - Some conference call service companies have set up local access in foreign countries where the international participant can dial in to a US conference call by dialing a local number where they are located.  So, if the participant was in London, for example, they would dial a local London phone number and the conference call service company then transports the caller to the US conference call via their network.  The international participant usually doesn’t have to pay any charges to access a local number and the Host of the conference call in the US usually pays a little more than the local US number access but less than an international toll free number.
  • International Toll Free Number - An international toll free number is by the far the most convenient, but also the most expensive option for access to an international conference call.  There is no universal toll free access available so you need to dial a specific toll free number from a particular country.  But you can dial the number anywhere in that country and the participant will pay nothing to access the US conference call.  But this type of access is the most expensive for the Host of the conference call.  If the participant for the conference call is a customer or a prospective customer and you want to make sure they do not spend anything to access your conference call then this might be the best option for you.

International conference calls are now widely used and there are a variety of ways to connect to the call from around the world.  Zip Conferencing offers all three types of access with over 40 local numbers and 40 toll free numbers around the world providing access throughout all major markets around the world.

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Conference Call Price Comparison

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

It would be very easy to offer a conference call price comparison if conference calling prices were like long distance calling.  Long distance calling is all pretty much the same and priced the same.  A long distance call simply connects you to another location and every company prices that connection on a per minute basis, or used to anyway.  But the point is there is not a lot of difference in the service or price of the service.  For a conference call price comparison you need to understand the differences in the services so you can understand the pricing.  Only then can you do an apples to apples price comparison.  Here are the main areas where you need to investigate a conference call service companies offer.

  • Toll or Toll Free - One of the ways many conference call service companies  offer a low rate is by providing a low rate for Toll Access to the conference call.  The problem with this type of access is that you and your participants are incurring hidden charges in the form of long distance charges for connecting to this local or toll number which is not local to you.  Especially if you are inviting customers to the call you do not want them to incur any toll charges to connect to your conference call.
  • Flat Rate - Some conference call service companies offer a flat monthly rate for unlimited conference calls.  There are two issues with this type of conference call access.  The first is you are usually limited in the number of participants who can join the call.  The second is you are going to access the conference call via a toll or local number and incur those long distance charges.  Toll free access is like a long distance call and costs the conference call service company so you will not see it offered for a flat rate.
  • Monthly Subscription Plans - Some conference call service companies offer a discount if you subscribe to a monthly plan.  You should take advantage of these plans if you can but make sure to select a plan that fits your usage pattern and calculate the rate based on the minutes you will do for comparison purposes.
  • Volume Discounts - Some conference call service companies offer a volume discount based on reaching a certain amount of volume.  This is good, but make sure your price comparison is based on your usage pattern as many people do not generate as much conference call volume as they think.

The best way to do a conference call price comparison is to first determine what your usage is or is going to be and then boil down offers to a per minute rate.  I would recommend you only use the toll free rate for comparison purposes as this is the way that most people will use the service.  Conference call service companies offer a wide variety of features so you should also make sure they have the features you are looking for as well.

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