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Communication News

September 2011

Conference Call Bridge Cost and Rates: How Much?

Submitted by lees on Fri, 2011-09-30 08:59

Author: Lee Simonson

 

Costs and rates for using telephone conference call bridges and services vary greatly and depend on the type, format and number of people on the conference call.
 
The different types of services can be seen across the top of this page.  Generally speaking, costs can be categorized into per-minute costs or monthly fixed rate costs.  Per-minute costs are usually billed after your conference call, while discounted flat or fixed rate costs are pre-paid.
 
Per minute conference costs are calculated on a per-minute, per-person basis.  In other words, 5 people on the conference call for 10 minutes, equals 50 total minutes.  50 mintues times 7.9 cents per minute equals $3.95.  That's how much a 5 person, 10 minute, conference call would cost.  If you were using a Local Access dial-in number, your costs could be substantially less.
 
Flat rate plans offer substantial savings, however, the major disadvantage is that they don't offer a toll-free access number.  Each person calling into the conference must dial a long distance number.  (Dialing a long distance number may not be an issue if your conference call users are calling from a cell phone or have free long distance bundled with their regular phone service.)
 
The huge advantage to flat rate conferencing is that it offers unlimited usage -- there is no timer on the conferenc bridge.  You can have as many conference calls as you like, and talk as long as you want.
 
On the high end of conference call costs is the professional managed Operator Conference Call -- a service that has operators calling out to the conference participants and then introducing them into the conference call.  This is for high profile or critically important conferences such as legal depositions, investor relations, corporate press conferences, sales presentations and deal-closings.
 
Overall, there is a conference service that will fit your budget.  Give us a call and let us know what your looking to do in particular, and we can help you sort through your options quickly.  Call us 877-254-2424.

10, 15, 20, 25 Person Phone Conference Call: How to Set Up

Submitted by lees on Sun, 2011-09-25 09:47

Author: Lee Simonson

 

You can easily accommodate 10, 15, 20, or 25 people, on a telephone conference call.  Setting up an account is easy and if you are corporation, business or non-profit, you can have your first conference call today.
 
You have a variety of options and features to choose from so it's not difficult to find the right plan that not only fits your budget but also meets your needs.
 
Here is a quick checklist of things you should look at:
 
1)  If it's important for you to have your participants dial a toll-free number then you should look at our Pay As You Go conference service.  If you need toll-free service on a consistent and stready basis, you can get discounted toll-free minutes with our pre-paid Supersaver 800 Service.
 
2)  If toll-free service is not important, and your participants don't mind dialing a long distance number to get into your conference, then you should check out our pre-paid Flat Rate Teleconferencing Service.  That gives you unlimited talking minutes every month for a fixed rate.
 
3)  If your participants are from large cities, we have over 100 local dial-in numbers across the U.S. and Canada.  (For example, your New York City participants can call a New York City number, while your Houston participants can call a Houston number -- everyone will end up in the same conference call.)  This provides a tremendous convenience and is very cost effective.  It's called our Local Access Conferencing Service and users report that is has dramatically cut their conferencing costs.
 
Across the top of this page, you'll see links to our various conferencing services.  Regardless of which one you choose, you can have full confidence that once you set up your account in a few minutes, you'll be able to have any number of people sharing your conference -- be it 10, 15, 20, 25, or even more -- who will join you in your collaborative efforts to get more accomplished in less time.

Audio Conferencing Services: Teleconferencing for Corporate Applications

Submitted by lees on Fri, 2011-09-23 15:05

Author: Lee Simonson

 

Audio conferencing services for corporations and business are available in several different plans and formats.  Quality audio phone conferencing, a staple in the business world, will remain the most popular and preferred method to collaborate well into the future because it's easy (no reservations are required) and fast (on-demand) and simple to set up.  People may be using the latest smartphones to have a conference, but the underlying model remains the same as it did decades ago -- two or more people talking on the phone. 
 
At the top of this webpage, you'll see several different audio conferencing options, ranging from pay-as-you-go conference services to discounted pre-paid flat rate and toll free phone conferencing.  Also, professionally managed conference calls with operator assistance are also available, in addition to services that enables you and your participants to dial a local number, called Local Access Conferencing.
 
Here is a quick rundown on the audio conferencing features and advantages of each:
 
Traditional Audio Conferencing (toll-free and non-toll free):  Tried and true, traditional audio conferencing is used extensively by most corporations, businesses and non-profits today on an outsourced basis.  (Unless your conferencing costs more than $2000 per month, it's best to outsource conferencing, versus purchasing and maintaining your own hardware and lines.)  Costs are calculated on a per minute, per person, basis.   (i.e. 5 callers on the conference for 5 minutes = 25 minutes.)  You never pay for more than what you use and the lines are always open 24/7.  The hosts and guests call the conference bridge number and then put in their passcodes.  There is no monthly minimum, so if you don't use it, there is no charge.  You can choose from a toll free dial-in number, or a long distance number (slightly cheaper.)  
 
Toll-Free Audio Conferencing (pre-paid discounted):  This service is modeled after wireless plans which provide a set number of minutes each month, so if you can anticipate ahead of time how many toll free conference minutes you'll be using, you can cut expenses considerably.  Better yet, there is no long term contract and you can purchase the service on a month-to-month basis, adjusting your account to accomodate your next month's usage.  Needless to say, this is a very popular option that provides all of the benefits and convenience of having a toll-free dial in number, and works exceptionally well if you know how many total of conferencing minutes you average every month.  Take a look at your current invoice and compare rates.
 
Local Meet Me Conferencing (calling a local dial-in number):  We have over one hundred local numbers in the United States and Canada that you can use for your conference dial-in number.  This is our Local Access or Local Meet Me service and it's the best thing to happen in the audio conferencing industry in a long time.  Let's say you were organizing a conference call and you had callers in Philadelphia, Detroit, San Antonio, Denver and San Diego.  With Local Meet Me you can give each of your conference guests a local number in their specific area to call.  They don't have to dial long distance and you don't have to pay the extra expense of providing a toll free number.  And regardless of where they are calling from, they all end up in the same conference!  This is charged on a very low per-minute basis (2.9 cents per minute, per person) and is modeled after the pay-as-you-go plan. You are only charged for what you use and there are no monthly minimums.
 
Operator Managed Audio Conference:  This is top-of-the-line conferencng at its best.  Professionally trained operators provide full service and can call out to each of your participants and place them into the conference.  Your guests just have to answer the phone.  The operators can also provide different levels of service as well, including coordinating Q&A sessions, and managing legal and investor relation calls.  Another aspect is to having everyone call in themselves and have an operator greet them, gathering contact information from the callers.  That information can then be given the host.  The operator can then introduce each person to the conference as they enter.  A very nice professoinal touch!  This is an ideal set up for important high-profile calls or critical sales calls when you want to close the sale.
 
Fixed Rate Conference Service (pre-paid unlimited use):  Fixed Rate conferencing is ideal for heavy users because you get unlimited usage.  You can conference anytime you want, for as long as you want.  Everyone dials a long distance access number (we have a New York City 212 access number and others in the Mid-West) to get into the conference call.
 
While advances in video conferencing have been impressive, the vast majority of people who conference prefer an audio conference for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that they don't particular care to broadcast their image over the Internet.  (No studies have been conducted that we are aware of, but anecdotally, most people tell us they self-consciously just don't like the way they look on camera.)
 
Overall, as companies look to save costs and boost productivity, audio conferencing services are near the top of the list to trim the need for physical meetings which eat into valuable time.  Give us a call today to find out how we can help.