Posts Tagged ‘Free Access’

Is a Free Telephone Conference Call Service really Free?

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

So here you are searching for a conference call service provider and there are companies advertising a free telephone conference call service.  Free is good, right?  Why shouldn’t you use a free telephone conference call ervice?  Let’s examine how a free telephone conference call service works and see if you are still interested in trusting your business to a free conference call service.

  • A Free telephone conference call service is not really Free – The Free conference call service companies are advertising on the internet and other places so if they are truly free how are they making money?  These companies make money by working out a deal with a local phone company to terminate calls within their equipment.  That’s because the local phone company makes money when a long distance call terminates on their equipment.  It doesn’t pay a lot but when you consider the volume of calls that can be generated it does add up to enough money to pay for the equipment over time.  The problem is they don’t make enough to provide all of the services a regular conference call service provider does and they are usually a little thin in other areas of their business as well.  The main problem is that you are the one paying the bill.  Because you and your participants are dialing a long distance number to join the conference call.  So it appears free until you get your long distance bill or cell bill and see all the minutes on it.  And if the local number connection was so good why do all of the “Free” conference call companies offer toll free access?
  • Quality – A Free telephone conference call service is not concerned with providing a reliable and quality service to its customers.  It doesn’t have to because it is free.  It is hard to argue with free so people put up with capacity issues, unavailability and noisy connections.  Do you want to trust your important business calls to a free service where quality and reliability are not assured?  Also you will find that many of the features you expect to have on a conference call service are not there on a free telephone conference call service.  They can’t afford the best equipment with the latest features.
  • Support – Lastly, probably the biggest hole in the services for a free telephone conference call service is the support you will receive.  You will find that support is given to their customers that pay for the upgrade to toll free service but little is provided to the free conference call customers.  Its free so who can complain.

If you will look at the free telephone conference call service companies you will see they all offer a toll free service option but at rates higher than Zip Conferencing.  So why fool around with a service that will cost you anyway when you can get a toll free service that is highly reliable and high quality from the start for less money?

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What is a Web Conference Call?

Friday, June 10th, 2011

Conference Call Service Providers that have web conferencing  in their service offering provide the audio component of the web meeting in a couple of ways.  So I thought it would be helpful to explain what a web conference call was and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

  • VOIP conference call – One way to connect with your participants during a web conference call is to have the audio portion of the conference call go through the PC along with the web conferencing component.  The advantage to this is there is typically no additional cost to having parties connect using this method.  The disadvantages are that some people are not set up to listen through their PC or they are at work and can’t disturb the people around them by playing sound through their PC.  And most people do not have the ability to talk through their PC either.  That means it will be difficult to have your audience participate in the conference call.  Another disadvantage is that you are using up bandwidth by talking over the same Internet connection as the web conference.  This can create additional quality issues with the audio portion or web portion of the web conference call.
  • Local Access Number – Most web conferencing providers will provide a local access number to connect to the audio portion of the web conference call over a telephone.  The advantage to this method is that you are allowing participants to connect using a telephone and they don’t have to be on their PC to hear the conference call.  If someone is on the road and can’t access their PC they can still participate.  Also, the quality issue is now solved by separating the PC traffic from the voice traffic.  The disadvantage is that participants have to dial a local number somewhere and may get charged by their telephone company to connect to your conference call.
  • Toll Free Access Number – The toll free access number using a regular telephone conference call that is integrated to the web conference incorporates the advantages of using a regular telephone call with the convenience of a toll free connection.  Now you know that your participants will not see any hidden charges when they connect to your web conference call.

So when you are shopping for a web conferencing service provider you may want to pay attention to the web conference call connection methods they provide.  Zip Conferencing provides local and toll free access numbers using a regular telephone conference call for the maximum quality and convenience.

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An International Conference Call Service with Options

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

Most people are pretty familiar with running or at least attending a conference call.  But what if you have international participants?  What is different about an international conference call service?  How do participants join your conference call if they are out of the country.  Conference call service providers offer a number of ways to connect to a conference call from outside the United States.  Zip Conferencing offers a number of international conference call service options for its customers.

  • Local Number Dial In Access – This international conference call service option is available from most every conference call provider.  Basically when you get a dial in reservation from the conference call service provider they give you a local number here in the United States.  And like any other local number you can dial into this number from anywhere in the world.  The cost to the Host of the call is usually the same as if someone dialed in from somewhere in the United States.  For the participant, however, they will pay whatever toll charges they would normally pay to dial into a local number in the United States.  Depending on where in the world they are this can get quite expensive for the participant.
  • International Local Access – A few conference call service providers, like Zip Conferencing, have local numbers in countries outside the United States that participants can dial into.  The international conference call service company transports the call back to the conference call system in the United States.  That way someone in another country can dial a local number but actually conenct to a call int eh United States.  They only pay for the call in their country and since it is a local call the cost is usuall minimal for free.  The cost to the Host of the call is more than if the participant used the local number in the United States but still less than an international toll free number.
  • International Toll Free Access – The most expensive, but certainly most convenient method for international conference call services is the international toll free number.  Zip Conferencing has toll free numbers in over 40 countries that terminate into their systems in teh United States.  That way the participant dials a toll free number in their country and connect to the conference call in the United States.

The main thing to consider when looking at international conference call service options is whether you want your participant to pay for any portion of the conference call.  The next deciding factor is whether they are near one of the local access point around the world.  And then depending on your relationship with your participant you may want to make sure they get the most convenient no cost option which is toll free.

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Conference Call Pricing Made Easy

Monday, November 8th, 2010

For something like conference calls you would not think that you could have so many way to price the service. Conference call pricing does not need to be so mysterious. There are just a few things to keep in mind when shopping for conference calls so you can be sure you are looking at an apples to apples comparison of conference call pricing.

  • Toll vs. Toll Free – The first thing to verify is whether the conference call pricing you are looking at is for toll or toll free access.  Toll access means that you and your participants have to dial a local number somewhere in the country to connect to the conference call.  You and your participants will be charged by your long distance phone company for calling that number the entire time you are on the conference call.  Depending on what kind of rate plan you may have this can be substantially more than getting a toll free plan.  These hidden charges can be costly and embarrassing.  Do you want your customer to get a bill to join your conference call?  All of the rates quoted for Zip Conferencing are for toll free access.  No hidden charges.
  • Number of Participants – One of the ways that some conference call service companies reduce their conference call pricing is by reducing the number of participants that can join a conference call at any one time.  And you may not need 300 participants at a time like Zip Conferencing offers.  But the reason that other companies limit the number of participants is that they have limited capacity and they are trying to get by with less equipment.  The real problem here is whether any capacity will be available when you need it.  Zip Conferencing maintains an abundance of capacity and is constantly adding to insure the capacity will be there when you need it.
  • Billing – Companies that offer discounts in conference call pricing will limit the choices you have for invoicing as well.  Many of these providers will require you to sign a long term contract or buy a prepaid amount of minutes.  Most will not offer corporate billing where you can pay by company check.  Zip Conferencing has no contracts and also has a pay by company check option for corporate accounts.
  • Features – One if the biggest places where conference call service providers will cut corners is with features.  Conference call pricing with these companies is low but you can’t record the conference call or access many of the features you may be used to.  With Zip Conferencing you can customize your conference call and access a myriad of features just like premium priced conference call services.
  • Customer Service – And of course, if you need customer service with many of the companies with low conference call pricing, you may be out of luck.  With Zip Conferencing we offer customer service 24/7 including operator assistance during the conference call itself.

So if you are looking for good honest conference call pricing made easy try Zip Conferencing.  You will not be disappointed in the quality, reliability or service you receive.

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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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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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Conference Calls make the World a Smaller Place

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

A conference call has the ability to bring people together from great distances so that they can meet when it otherwise would be impossible.  And today, with the globalization of many companies there really is no better option than a conference call to keep your organization going around the world.  And with Zip Conferencing you can even have your participants around the world dial into the conference in their country.  We routinely have customers who will have participants on a conference call that are in Europe, Asia and the US at the same time.  There is not an easier more cost effective solution to hold a meeting with participants in these locations than a conference call.

There are currently 40 cities where you can dial a local number in that city to connect to a conference call with Zip Conferencing that can have participants on it from around the world.  Any size company can look like a large company when you have the ability to have your customer in Paris dial a local number to get on a conference call with you in the United States and you can also share a presentation by using web conferencing as well.  The way it works is there are 40 cities around the world that have a local access number that transports the participant to the United States conferencing center through our network.  So, what looks like a local number to them is actually a connection all the way back in the United States to the conference call. 

Another way to connect from around the world is by using an International Toll Free access number that is available in over 30 countries around the world.  If someone is in France but not local to Paris they can still join the conference call by dialing a toll free number in France and they will get connected to the conference call in the United States with you.  The Toll Free access is a little more expensive but certainly impressive when your customer or prospect is dialing a toll free number outside the United States to join your conference call.

As technology progresses the world continues to get smaller and with an International conference call you can help make the world a lot smaller for your company.

www.zipconferencing.com

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From Russia with Conference Calls

Monday, October 26th, 2009

I guess the cold war has really officially ended.  Zip Conferencing now offers local number access for participants of your conference calls from Moscow and St. Petersburg.  That’s right, you can access our conference calls from Russia. 

The world continues to shrink and businesses continue to expand so it is only normal to have enough demand for conference call services in places all over the world including Russia.  In fact there are participants on our conference calls from all corners of the globe.  That is why over time we have continues to expand the coverage of our network to include access from every major city in the world.  There are a couple of ways to access conference calls from outside the United States.

Toll Number Access – The most common way to access a conference call from outside the United States has always been by using the toll or local number provided with a conference call.  That is because the toll free number is not accessible from outside the Untied States, but you can call a local number in the United States from anywhere.  The one drawback to this type of access is that the participants have to pay the long distance charges to access the call from outside the Untied States.  Which if it is an internal company call this may not be a bad thing, but you certainly don’t want a customer or prospect to have to pay to join your call.

International Local Access – Zip Conferencing provides access through local numbers in a number of large cites internationally.  That way if a participant is in that city they simply have to call a local number in their city to get on a conference call in the United States.  Thay way they also don’t need to pay any long distacne charges to access the conference call.  It is just like any other local call to them.

International Toll Free Access – For participants who are not located in a major city that has a local access number, they can dial into the conference call using an International Toll Free access number.  No matter where they are in that country they can dial the toll free access number in their country and not incur any charges to access the conference call.  The only drawback to this service is that it is the most expensive way to access an international conference call.

The bottom line is that there are now many options on how to access a conference call from an international location.  And now with the addition of Moscow and St. Petersburg, there are very few locations that do not have an access number.

www.zipconferencing.com

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Conference Calls are Still a Great Value

Monday, October 19th, 2009

There have been many predictions ofValue the conference calls’ demise over the years.  First, the video conference was going to be on everyone’s desktop and people wouldn’t bother with regular conference calls anymore.  Then services came along that purported to provide free conference calls.  Then everyone was going to be speaking into their PCs and wouldn’t use a phone anymore.  And on, and on.  The fact that conference calls done over the telephone are not only still here but doing so well is the basic fact that there is no better value if you want to have a high quality connection and be able to speak to a group of people at a distance.

Video conferencing has been around for a long time.  So why aren’t we all looking at each other during our calls already.  There are probably many reasons.  But first and foremost it is not as easy as a conference call and not necessarily available to everyone.  I mean these days it is hard to buy a PC without a webcam attached, but many people don’t use them or know how to use them.  And the quality of the connection still has a lot to be desired.  If anything, the call can be more distracting than anything.  And then you have the whole social aspect.  The fact that most people don’t feel comfortable having their image in front of themselves and broadcast to many people.  It will be quite a while before video conferencing is as easy to use as a telephone.

I’ve addressed the concept of the free conference call in other posts, but in short nothing is really free.  You simply can’t get a high quality conference call with toll free access for nothing.  And toll free access for your participants is simply the right thing to do.  And if you want to make sure the call is there when you need it to be and want a good sound would you trust it to a free  service?

And we are also still a long way away from having an integrated device on our desktop that does all of our phone tasks as well.  Can you do it today?  Of course, but the complexities of getting it done is worse than getting the video camera to work and if you still have to connect to people using a telephone you still have to connect to the telephone network to do a conference call so you really aren’t gaining anything unless you eliminate that aspect. 

One of the big drivers for new technology is saving money.  Today, the costs of conference calls have come down to the point where it is difficult to justify putting up with any inconvenience to try to save a little money.  Let’s face it, everyone has a telephone and that is really all you need to have and know how to use in order to join a conference call.  And you will get a clear, high quality connection without any issues. 

So, given all the choices that are out there, conference calls continue to grow because they still deliver the best value for the money.

www.zipconferencing.com

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Conference Call Service Reviews

Monday, September 28th, 2009

So, what makes for a good conference call service?  Is there a difference in conference call service providers?  What are the main things that you should make sure you get in a conference call service.

I have been in the conference call service business for over 14 years, so I know a lot about what goes on behind the scenes in a conference call service company.  But, for the average user, has no idea and so many of the conference call service providers look the same from the outside how would anyone know the difference?  Maybe I can shed some light on some of the main things to look for in a conference call service company so you know what to look for and what to watch out for when selecting a provider.

  • Services
  • Quality
  • Reliability
  • Support

Services

First, you should make sure that the conference call service provider you are looking at has the service to match your needs.  You will need to know how many conference calls per month your company does.  This is easily calculated by finding out what the average number of people on a conference call is and how long, in minutes that they are typically on the conference call.  If most calls have 4 – 5 people for about an hour you simply take the number of participants (4) times the number of minutes (60 for an hour) and you will see that you generate 240 minutes per conference call.  Then by taking the number of conference calls per week that you do you can determine the number of minutes per month.  If you do about 3 conference calls per week then 3 times 240 times 4 weeks in a month gives you 2,880 conference call minutes per month.

Now that you know how much conferencing you do you should confirm the features that the conference call service provider offers to make sure it is what you expect.  Most conference calls that you have probably used in the past are the type that is called reservationless.  You are assigned a toll free access number and a passcode to get into the conference call.  Unless you want your participants to have to pay long distance charges while they access your conference calls you should make sure that the access is toll free.

There are a number of other features that you may or may not need so you should make a list of the things you need in a conference call service and confirm that the provider you are looking at does offer them because not all conference call service providers offer the same services.  A few features to consider are recording of conference calls, transcription, host controls, online account access and volume control on the conference call.

Quality

Quality really comes down to one simple thing.  Does the conference call sound good?  The sound on a conference call is really based on two factors, the conference call equipment itself and the network that connects the conference call equipment to the telephone network itself.  Since there are many options for a conference call service provider to choose from here, your best indication of quality is the conference call itself.  Can you clearly hear the participants, etc.  Most conference call service companies will offer a free trial of some sort to hear the quality of the conference call.

Reliability

Reliability is a tough thing to measure when looking at a conference call service company.  But you can find out a little about their infrastructure to give you an idea of how reliable their network may prove to be.  Does the company have more than one piece of conference call equipment?  If there is a problem on the conference call equipment your conference call is on can they move your conference call to another piece of equipment?  What long distance network are they using?  A major provider like AT&T or Sprint will have a network that provides some redundancy in the event of a problem where a smaller provider may not. 

Support

And finally, support.  You may never need to lean on a conference call service provider’s support team, but if you do will they be there when you need them?  Does the conference call service company offer 24/7 support?  Do they assign a representative to your account to provide a contact in case you have questions or issues that need to be addressed?  What about online support?  Does the conference call service company offer online self help in the form of a searchable database, user guides and account access tools so that you can make changes to your conference calls yourself?

So, when you are reviewing conference call service companies, remember that price alone should not be the only thing you look at to determine which company is right for you.

www.zipconferencing.com

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Conference Call Access – Toll or Toll Free

Monday, August 31st, 2009

There are two basic ways to connect to a conference call, through a toll or toll free phone number.  Which one is best for you? 

Originally, the way you were connected to a conference call was to have the conference call operator call out to you and connect you to the conference call.  You didn’t have to worry about access numbers or codes, you simply waited for the call from the operator to come to you and connect you to the conference call.  These types of calls still exist, but they are generally expensive since an operator is involved in the process.  They are also not very convenient or even realistic in today’s environment when you could just as easily be joining the conference call from your cell phone while travelling.  So, when the reservationless type conference call was invented where you dial an access number and put in a passcode to connect to the conference call there were two main ways to connect, a toll free access number or a toll access number.  Ten years ago the cost of telecommunications was much higher and the cost of toll free access was much higher.  So, having an alternative made a lot of sense to some people.  Let’s examine both w2ays to connect to a conference call and see if having the local or toll connection still makes sense.

Toll or Local Access – A toll or local access number for a conference call is simply a number that is local to where the conference call equipment is located.  Since the conference call service company does not have to pay any long distance charges to get you connected to the equipment they can offer a lower rate to you.  Another advantage of this type of conference call access number is the fact that you access this number from anywhere in the world.  The disadvantage of this type of conference call access number is that you and your participants have to pay a toll charge to call this number.  Let’s say the conference call equipment is in Boston, MA and you are calling from California.  You will pay your long distance phone company a per minute charge to be connected tot he conference call quipment and the toll access charge to the conference call service company.  If you do not want you customer, prospect or employee to incur any charges for attending your conference call then you should not use this type of number.

Toll Free Access – A toll free access number for a conference call is an 800, 866 or 877 number that you would dial to connect to the conference call.  The conference call service company is typically going to charge a little more for this type of access because they are paying the long distance charges to connect you to the conference call.  The advantage on this type of number is that you or your participants do not have to pay any access charges to your long distance company to access the conference call.  This type of call is good if you do not want your participants to incur any hcarges to attend your conference call.

As prices for long distance have declined over the years there has become a smaller difference between the cost of local versus toll free access.  Today some companies, like Zip Conferencing, have rates so low that there is no difference between the cost of local and toll free access to the conference call.  And with rates less than 5 cents per minute it is hard to justify the reason to go with a local number since all of your participants will have to pay to get to your conference call.  The most convenient and now the lowest cost method to access a conference call these days is using a toll free access number.  www.zipconferencing.com

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