Conference calls have revolutionised the way people communicate with others located in different geographical locations. By allowing three or more people to communicate simultaneously no matter where they are located, conference call services have truly made a difference in business and personal communications.
A teleconference works by connecting all the individual callers to a conference bridge which is a sophisticated server maintained by the teleconferencing service provider. The bridge acts like a telephone that is capable of answering multiple telephone calls at the same time. Conferencing services also include advanced features such as call recording, audience polls and surveys, in addition to the basic call conferencing facility.
There are many conferencing solutions available in the market. Depending on your monthly teleconferencing requirements, you may choose the best package that fits your budget.
Some common audio conferencing features and options are described below:
Flat Rate You can make unlimited voice conference calls for a fixed monthly fee with this option. For businesses whose telephone conferencing volume is on the higher side, this is the ideal option. Many businesses have a world wide presence these days. Even team members of the same project may be located in different parts of the globe. For constant team updates and short but frequent calls on a regular basis, a flat rate plan is ideal.
Prepaid This is the pay-as-you-go option. If your phone conferencing requirement is not that high, you may choose to opt for this plan. You need to pay only for the minutes that you have used. This is an ideal option for small businesses that have more of a local presence, but may need to make an occasional business call to colleagues or business partners located away from the head office.
Free Plans There are even free conferencing plans where the customer has to pay only for the telephone call. There are no surcharges for the conferencing facility. This mode of audio conferencing significantly reduces business expenses.
Other options There are also other options and add on features that service providers offer to customers. You can record a custom greeting message to be played to each person who joins the call; you may record calls and play them back later; you may also grant restricted access to certain users to limit access to confidential business information.
Conference calling has allowed businesses to drive costs down to a significant extent. Businesses make huge cost saving while operating more efficiently through audio conferencing.