Author Archives: 24conference

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Non-Toll Free Conference Call Service (Using a Regular Toll Number)

Non-toll free conference access numbers are just regular 10 digit phone numbers that include the area code.  It is considered a long distance call.  On the other hand, toll free numbers begin with 800, 855, 866, or 877.

If you are dialing into a conference call and it is a long distance number, that is considered a toll call.  Non-toll free conference calling services are, by far, the most popular in the United States.

Estimates on usage indicate that they are used ten times more than 800 conference calling.  There are a number of reasons why there is such a wide disparity of usage between 800 and regular toll conferencing, but the difference centers primarily on pricing.  Simply, having conference call users dial a non-toll, or long distance, access number is much less expensive than providing a toll free number.  In fact, there are plans where you can get unlimited conference usage for a monthly fixed or flat rate, regardless of how many minutes you use.

It should be noted that another reason why non-toll free conference calls are so popular is because most callers don’t have to worry about the cost of a long distance call since most of the phone users in the United States get free long distance, either automatically on their cell phone or bundled with their local telephone service for their landlines. Why spend extra on an 800 number, when it’s free to call long distance anyway?

The upside is that if you are a heavy user, you can save a small fortune using the flat rate conferencing service.  The downside is that if you don’t use the service, you are still required to pay the monthly rate.

You can also get conference services that are calculated on a per minute rate, providing either an 800 or non-toll free access number.  You pay per minute on a pay-as-you-go plan — you only pay for what you use, when you use it.  Most business leaders would it agree that if the purpose of the conference call is for customer service, or sales calls to prospects, it is very important to offer the convenience of a toll free number.

However, if an organization is looking to cut costs and needs conferencing for internal use among employees and associates, then a non-toll free conference number is preferable.  The use of a regular long distance conference access numbers will continue to overshadow the market into the foreseeable future.  In fact, the use might increase as more and more people and organizations get free long distance and long distance rates continue to decline.  It is a very effective and viable way for you to enjoy all the benefits of collaborative conferencing, while at the same time minimizing travel, meeting and telecommunication costs.

You can get more valuable information by calling us at 877-254-2424.


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New York City (NYC) Conference Call Services

If you are interested in getting a local NYC conference call bridge and number, you can get more details and sign up information here.

Getting a conference call service that provides a 646 call in number located in New York City satisfies a number of potential issues and certainly provides many advantages. If you are a business or non-profit located in the Big Apple, this could be an ideal solution to your conferencing needs.

First, if most of your conference participants are calling from the greater New York City area, they can dial a local number to get into the conference call.  This avoids any long distance charges they may otherwise incur by using a call in number located in another state.  Most of the commercial conference bridges are located elsewhere in the U.S.

Second, a local NYC number provides a tremendous convenience for your participants because it is easier to remember.

Third, you can use the service for an amazingly low rate for 2.9 cents per minute, per person — far below what you are probably currently paying for conference service.  If you are a New York City (NYC) business or organization that is looking to cut travel and meeting costs, and are open to the idea of having more of your meetings over the phone to save time, this could be your answer.  Not only that, but your conference participants (also known as conferees or guests) have the good fortune of avoiding long distance fees, and in effect, dialing a “toll free” number (because it’s local) that saves you from being billed per minute charges.  You won’t need an 800 conference call service, because you and your NYC area participants are dialing local anyway.  Of course, if you have people outside of the New York City area who are dialing in, they can dial the 646 number as well.  Or they can dial any one of the dozens of other local numbers across the U.S. and Canada we offer and use the same passcodes and enter the same conference.

All in all, being located in the Big Apple and having a local 646 dial in number for conferences is convenient, cost effective, and presents a very professional image.  It’s something you need to take a look at if you are interested in controlling costs and providing an easier way for your associates and colleagues to communicate and collaborate. For more information on New York City (NYC) conference call services, and for flat rate 646 teleconferencing, you can call us at 877-254-2424 or click here.


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Pay-As-You-Go Phone Conference Calling Service

Pay-as-you-go phone conference calling is an ideal program for conference call users.  The reason:  You only pay for what you use.

You can get more information about our pay-as-you-go conference plans here.

Rather than purchasing bundled plans that provide services you may not need or want, pay as you go conferencing rates are based on the exact number of minutes you use — no more, no less.  Ironically, the large corporations who are heavy conference users, still operate with pay as you go per minute conference plans, even though they would be much better off switching to unlimited flat rate conference plans.

Again, pay as you go conferencing plans are best suited for business and organizations who use conferencing on a limited or occasional basis.  There are two primary pay-as-you-go conference services:

1) Toll free conference service:  Participants of your conference call dial a toll free number, key in a passcode, and they are instantly placed into your conference call session.

2) Non-toll free conference service:  Your participants dial a long distance number.  This is ideal for internal company calls or situations where having a toll free number is not important.  Needless to say, toll-free costs slightly more than non-toll free.  So, one of the things you need to decide before getting a conference service is to determine if you want toll free, or non-toll free.

Unlike operator assisted conference calls, most pay-as-you-go plans require no operator or help to set up.  No operators are necessary, and you don’t have to make reservations — your conference lines are open 24/7 and you can conduct a conference anytime you want.  You can keep the same passcodes and use them continuously, or if you want, change them on a regular basis.

There are no long term contracts or commitments and you can discontinue the service at any time without obligation.  Better yet, there are no set up fees and you can set up an account to use immediately, or at a later date, at no cost.

With pay as you go conference call service, you can save as much as 60% on your usual cost of conferencing.  You can get more information by calling us at 877-254-2424.  We look forward to serving you.


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Per Minute Conference Calling Service (Pay Per Use)

Per minute conference calling, also known as pay-as-you-go, is a service that you can obtain without the need to purchase any hardware or software.Charges are based on the number of minutes you use — no more or less. The number of minutes you use is based on the number of people on the call and the length of the call. For instance, 10 people on a conference call that lasts 10 minutes would consume a total of 100 conference minutes. In another example, 5 people on the call for 60 minutes would total 300 minutes. Per minute conference calling services usually have two different per minute rates. One rate for toll free service, and another rate for toll service. Toll free conferencing service is a little more expensive than non-toll free service because it provides more convenience, and adds a level of professionalism, especially if you are using your conferences for sales purposes to prospects or customers. You wouldn't want your sales prospects to go to the added expensive of dialing a long distance number. Dialing an 800 number for a conference call gives everyone a strong impression that you consider the call is important and that you are not taking it casually. (Since all the actual 800 numbers have been taken, you will probably be assigned an 866, 877 or 888 toll free number to place your calls.) On the other hand, toll service is very popular because it is priced less than toll free and because a high number of users have free long distance anyway, bundled with their local phone service or cell phone plan. For non-toll free service, you call a regular long distance number with an area code. If there is a charge, you would be billed a long distance fee from your carrier, such as AT&T, or Sprint or Qwest. Non-toll free service, otherwise known as toll service, is very convenient for internal business or internal organizational calls. The vast majority of conference call users in the United States use non-toll free conferencing. Among the users of toll conference calling are independent network marketers who use it for audio business presentations and opportunity plans for recruitment purposes. Network marketers also use it for product announcements and sales promotion activities. Overall, this method is the ideal solution for the occasional user because you are only charged for what you use. If a couple of months go by and you don't use the service at all, there is no charge. In contrast, heavy or regular conference users are probably more suited for flat rate conference calls which provide unlimited calling for a fixed monthly rate. Nonetheless, per minute conference calling services will continue to provide hundreds of thousands of businesses and individuals a convenient way to communicate and collaborate for years to come. You can see a sample of how this particular service works by clicking here: http://24conference.com/payasyougoconference Give us a call today and we'll answer all your questions and help you pick the right plan.


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Business Conference Calls Save Time and Money

With the new emphasis on business cost cutting, large and small businesses are embracing conference calling as the best way to streamline communications, limit travel costs and avoid meetings that can sap precious time.

Business conference calling is by far the most convenient way to collaborate and the fastest way to move projects and proposals forward.  And yet, there are still companies that have yet to adopt phone conferencing as part of their culture.

Conferencing is simple and inexpensive.  Telecommunication costs have been plummeting for the past 30 years and calls that used to cost 25 to 50 cents per minute can now be made for next to nothing.  On the other hand. travel costs have gone up dramatically during that same time period.  So, when it comes to saving time and money you can either travel across town, or across the country, or just pick up the phone.

Conference services come in all shapes and sizes and can be tailored to fit any size budget or needs.  There is no need these days to purchase or maintain expensive hardware since there are many services available that can provide access to reliable conference bridges for much less.  In the vast majority of cases, your cost per minute of usage is much less when you buy the service versus when you buy the equipment, particularly if you have to pay staff to maintain it.

When you open a conferencing account, you get a call-in number and two passcodes.  Everyone will call the same call-in number, which can be a toll free or non-toll free number. Then, you will be prompted to put in your assigned passcode.  Conference leaders, called hosts or moderators, will punch in their passcode and conference participants, also known as guests or conferees, will key in their passcodes.  The reason there are separate passcodes is because conference leaders have access to several commands that control various aspects of the conference.

But that’s not to say that only one person can be the conference leader.  In fact, any number of people can call in using the leader’s passcode.  One example where this would be needed is when two or three people will be talking or presenting.  When one of the leaders keys a number to begin “conference or lecture mode” — all the participants will be muted and only those who called in with the leader’s code will be heard.

Conference services vary from unlimited flat rate conference services to pay as you go conferencing where you are charged per minute of usage.

All in all, you’ll find conference calling for business an economical way to avoid meeting and travel costs and to expedite projects that need attention.  Best of all, colleagues can call from anywhere — from behind their desks, from the golf course club house, or from their home swimming pool!  No more “I can’t make the meeting” excuses!

For more valuable information on business conference call options, give us a call at 877-254-2424.


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Multi-line Conference Call Service for Multiple Parties

Setting up a multi-line conference is easy, especially if you use one of our services that enable you to host any number of guests to your conference call.  This is how it works:  Everyone simply dials a conference number and is asked to put in a seven-digit passcode, followed by the # sign.  Actually, you will get two passcodes — one for the host(s) to use, and one for your guests.  That’s it!

As soon as people enter the conference they can start talking to each other, unless of course, you set up your account with “music on hold” which means that your guests will be listening to music until you (or someone) dials in with the host passcode. It doesn’t cost anything to set up your new conference account to get your dial-in number and your passcodes, that you can use at anytime.  Your account is “reservationless” which means it is open 24/7 and you don’t need any reservations to use the conference service.

How much does a multi-line conference cost?  There are a number of plans that can fit any budget.  For example, with the Pay-As-You-Go plan you are charged after your call, and your cost is based on a per-minute rate, per person.  10 people on the conference for 10 minutes would equal 100 minutes.  You would then multiple 100 minutes by your per minute rate which can vary from 2.9 to 5.9 cents, depending on your preferences — for instance, having a toll free dial in number versus a non-toll free number.

You can click here for more details and to set up a Pay-as-You-Go conference service within minutes.  Another option is to get a Flat Rate account that provides you unlimited usage for a fixed rate every month.  You can have everyone dial a non-toll free number and talk as long as you want.  This is a popular service because cell phones offer their users free long distance, so there is no extra cost to dialing a non-toll free number.  Many people have long distance bundled with their local service as well.

If you are having an important conference call for business, you may want to consider the Operator Conference Call service that provides the highest level of convenience and professionalism.  Our operators dial out to your guests so the only thing they have to do is answer the phone.  Yes, it costs more, but if your call is a high profile sales call, a report to investors, a legal call, or any other type of critically important conference, you’ll want to consider using our operators.  Check out Operator Conference at the top of this page.

Meanwhile, we stand ready to serve you with the top rated customer service department in the industry.  Give us a call at 877-254-2424 and let us know how we can help.


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Conference Call International Dial-Out

Need to have our operators dial-out to your international participants to place them in an important conference?  That’s easy!  Just give us their names and phone numbers and the time you want your conference call to start, and we’ll do the rest.  Here are the per minute rates for our operators to dial-out to your guests anywhere in the world.  (Calls to cell phones have added surcharges.)

Country Country Code Rate Per Minute in U.S. Currency
Afghanistan 93 0.74
Albania 355 0.36
Algeria 213 0.38
American Samoa 684 0.29
Andorra 376 0.22
Angola 244 0.41
Anguilla 0.40
Antarctica 672,240 0.57
Antiqua 268 0.38
Argentina 54 0.21
Armenia 374 0.33
Aruba 297 0.33
Ascension Island 247 0.83
Australia 61 0.21
Austria 43 0.24
Azerbaijan 994 0.40
Bahamas 242 0.26
Bahrain 973 0.42
Bangladesh 880 0.40
Barbados 246 0.37
Belarus 375 0.37
Belgium 32 0.21
Belize 501 0.42
Benin 229 0.31
Bermuda  (not international) 441 0.30
Bhutan 975 0.45
Bolivia 591 0.31
Bosnia/Herzegovina 387 0.47
Botswana 267 0.37
Brazil 55 0.24
British Virgin Islands 284 0.37
Brunei 673 0.23
Bulgaria 359 0.29
Burkina Fasso 226 0.41
Burundi 257 0.42
Cambodia 855 0.57
Cameroon 237 0.48
Cape Verde Islands 238 0.59
Cayman Islands 345 0.31
Central African Rep 236 0.63
Chad Rep 235 0.74
Chile 56 0.21
China 86 0.22
Christmas & Cocos Islands 61 n/a
Columbia 57 0.29
Comoros & Mayotted Island 269 n/a
Congo, Republic of 242 0.38
Cook Islands 682 1.35
Costa Rica 506 0.28
Croatia 385 0.24
Cuba 53 1.60
Cyprus 357 0.22
Czech Rep 420 0.21
Denmark 45 0.21
Diego Garcia 246 1.55
Djibouti 253 0.68
Dominica 767 0.35
Dominican Republic 809 0.26
Ecuador 593 0.38
Egypt 20 0.46
El Salvador 503 0.30
Equatorial Guinea 240 0.52
Eritrea 291 0.60
Estonia 372 0.24
Ethiopia 251 0.63
Faeroe Islands 298 0.44
Falkland Islands 500 1.22
Fiji Islands 679 0.55
Finland 358 0.22
France 33 0.21
French Antilles 596 0.31
French Guiana 594 0.40
French Polynesia 689 0.48
Gabon Republic 241 0.35
Gambia 220 0.44
Georgia 995 0.31
Germany 49 0.21
Ghana 233 0.28
Gibraltar 350 0.25
Greece 30 0.21
Greenland 299 1.25
Grenada 473 0.37
Guadeloupe 590 0.30
Guam 671 0.24
Guatemala 502 0.33
Guinea 224 0.38
Guinea-Bissau 245 2.15
Guyana 592 0.59
Haiti 509 0.49
Honduras 504 0.68
Hong Kong 852 0.21
Hungary 36 0.21
Iceland 354 0.22
India 91 0.37
Indonesia 62 0.30
IMMARSAT – Atlantic East 871,872,873,874 14.00
International Networks 882 n/a
Iran 98 0.38
Iraq 964 0.41
Ireland 353 0.21
Israel 972 0.21
Italy 39 0.21
Ivory Coast 225 0.45
Jamaica 876 0.28
Japan 81 0.21
Jordan 962 0.42
Kazakhstan 7 0.43
Kenya 254 0.50
Kiribati 686 1.25
Korea, N. (Dem Peoples Rep) 850 0.95
Korea, S. (Republic of) 82 0.21
Korea, S. Seoul 0.62
Kuwait 965 0.31
Kyrgyzstan 731 0.34
Laos 856 0.28
Latvia 371 0.35
Lebanon 961 0.38
Lesotho 266 0.58
Liberia 231 0.59
Libya 218 0.53
Liechtenstein 75 0.24
Lithuania 370 0.29
Luxembourg 352 0.21
Macau 853 0.25
Macedonia 389 0.34
Madagascar 261 0.46
Malawi 265 0.26
Malaysia 60 0.21
Maldives Rep 960 0.53
Mali 223 0.45
Malta 356 0.36
Marisat-Atl Ocean East 871 n/a
Marisat-Atl Ocean West 874 n/a
Marisat-Indian Ocean 873 n/a
Marisat-Pacific Ocean 872 n/a
Marshall Islands 692 0.60
Mauritania, Islamic Rep 222 0.57
Mauritius 230 0.55
Mayotte Island 269 0.70
Mexico 52 0.24
Micronesia 691 0.56
Moldova 373 0.39
Monaco 377 0.22
Mongolia 976 0.27
Montserrat 664 0.42
Morocco 212 0.47
Mozambique 258 0.40
Myanmar (Formerly Burma) 95 0.75
Namibia 264 0.34
Nauru 674 1.75
Nepal 977 0.83
Netherlands 31 0.23
Nevis Island  & St. Kitts 869
New Caledonia 687 0.58
New Zealand 64 0.20
Nicaragua 505 0.41
Niger Republic 227 0.47
Nigeria 234 0.28
Niue 683 1.15
Norfolk Island 672 2.30
Norway 47 0.21
Oman 968 0.49
Pakistan 92 0.47
Palau 680 0.83
Palestine 970 0.48
Panama 507 0.26
Papua New Guinea 675 1.60
Paraguay 595 0.33
Peru 51 0.29
Philippines 63 0.40
Poland 48 0.21
Portugal 351 0.21
Qatar 974 0.60
Reunion Island 262 0.82
Romania 40 0.32
Russia 7 0.30
Rwanda 250 0.41
San Marino 378 0.21
Sao Tome 239 1.40
Saudi Arabia 966 0.49
Senegal Republic 221 0.41
Serbia 0.38
Seychelles Islands 248 0.41
Sierra Leone 232 0.67
Singapore 65 0.21
Slovakia 42 0.28
Slovenia 386 0.24
Solomon Islands 677 2.35
Somalia 252 1.04
South Africa 27 0.26
Spain 34 0.21
Sri Lanka 94 0.38
St Helena 290 1.77
St Kitts/Nevis 869 0.46
St Lucia 758 0.38
St Pierre/Miqueion 508 0.44
St Vincent/Grenadines 784 0.38
Sudan 249 0.39
Suriname 597 0.50
Swaziland 268 0.48
Sweden 46 0.21
Switzerland 41 0.23
Syria 963 0.62
Taiwan 886 0.21
Tadjikistan 737, 743 0.41
Tanzania 255 0.50
Thailand 66 0.24
Togo 228 0.36
Tokelau 690 2.75
Tonga Island 676 0.55
Trinidad & Tobago 868 0.32
Tunisia 216 0.48
Turk & Caicos 649 0.38
Turkey 90 0.39
Turkmenistan 99, 736 0.41
Tuvalu 688 1.05
Uganda 256 0.35
Ukraine 380 0.32
United Arab Emirates 971 0.50
United Kingdom 44 0.21
Uruguay 598 0.31
Uzbekistan 998 0.33
Vanuatu, Republic of 678 2.15
Venezuela 58 0.21
Vietnam 84 0.49
Wallis & Futuna Island 681 2.10
Western Samoa 685 0.84
Yemen Arab Republic 967 0.47
Yugoslavia 381 n/a
Zaire 243 0.92
Zambia 260 0.30
Zimbabwe 263 0.32

 


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Free Downloadable Conference Call Recordings Now Available

We now offer free downloadable conference call recordings.  With this feature, you can record your conference at will, and then download your recordings and use them anyway you want — you can post them to your website, forward them to your colleagues, customers or prospects, or just save your recordings to your harddrive for later use, possibly to burn to CDs. Better yet, the service feature is free and comes bundled with the conference plan you choose.  You can get toll free, non-toll free, per minute, pay-as-you-go conferencing, or you can get the unlimited flat rate conferencing plan — whatever suits your particular needs.  They all come with free downloadable conference recordings. How do you initiate your conference recording?  It's easy.  As soon as you are ready to start recording, you simply press *2 on your phone keypad.  Then follow the prompts.  When you want to stop recording, you just press *2 again, and the system will stop recording.  (Look at it as "toggling" back and forth.)  Then, when you want to access your recording to listen or download, you simply go online to our Digital Podium platform (we'll send you the link) and then put in your host passcode.  Then you just "Click to Download" and you're all set. Conference recordings are becoming more important, especially in the small business and non-profit sectors.  Many consulting and/or educational businesses use recordings on their websites to provide examples of their services and enable prospects to better understand what type of service or product they are considering.  So recordings can be used not only to provide valuable information, but to also generate sales and revenues. Again, this is a free service and comes bundled with the conference plan you choose.  (It is not available on the local access or the pre-paid Supersaver toll free plans.)  If you have any questions, please give us a call at 877-254-2424 and we'll walk you through the process.  When you choose Pay As You Go, or Flat Rate conference services, you can select the feature option on the Sign Up Now order pages.  We're proud to be able to provide you the latest cutting edge conference technology that will help your business or organization suceed. 


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How Much Does a Conference Bridge Cost?

How much does a conference bridge cost?  It’s a very common question and there are two easy answers, depending on your situation:

1)  If you are looking to buy and install your own conference bridge hardware and software, you need to be a very heavy user — at least $2000 a month in conference call expenses — to make it worthwhile.  We buy, sell and rent dedicated conference call bridges and would be happy to provide you a quote.  Just give us a call at 877-254-2424 and we’ll be happy to help.

2)  You don’t need to buy a conference bridge to have a conference call.  The cheapest and most effective way to conduct a conference call is to use a conference service on a pay-as-you-go basis that gives you access to our conference bridges which are already installed and operating.  It’s like buying a time-share rather than the condo.  We have several conferencing plans to choose from.  You can check them out here.

99% of all businesses and non-profits outsource their conferencing to services like ours because it is much more cost effective and there is no need to install additional phone lines, sign long term maintenance contracts, hire staff  to monitor and organize usage, not to mention the upfront capital costs associated with purchasing conference hardware which can run into the tens, or hundreds, of thousands of dollars.

Our advice is to keep things simple.  Time and time again, we’ve seen occasions when companies get diverted from their core mission and start spending time and money trying to internalize technology because they “want to keep it inhouse.”  All of a sudden, they get themselves into the conference call business, only to find out later it wasn’t worth the investment.  A perfect example of this is video conferencing:  Companies have spent hundreds of thousands trying to put in fancy hardware, only to find out that the trend is “desktop video” using a $25 webcam and an “in the cloud” service costing only pennies a minute.

If you are corporate enterprise and you’ve made the decision to install a new inhouse conference bridge, we stand ready to assist you with your purchase or rental.  However, if you are a small to medium operation, we highly recommend that you continue to do what you do best, while letting us take care of your conference needs.  You’ll find that outsourcing not only saves you money, but the convenience and the time you save, especially with reservationless conference calling, will make your dealings and collaboration projects much more pleasant and easy.

We look forward to helping you set up the custom conferencing plan that best meets your needs and budget.


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Conference Call Bridge Cost and Rates: How Much?

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 we offer can be seen on the elsewhere on this page or on our menu.

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 minutes times 4.9 cents per minute equals $2.45.  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 conference 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.