Conference call (Conference Call Providers)

A conference call is a telephone call in which the calling party wishes to have more than one called party listen in to the audio portion of the call. The conference calls may be designed to allow the called party to participate during the call, or the call may be set up so that the called party merely listens into the call and cannot speak. It is often referred to as an ATC (Audio Tele-Conference).

Conference calls can be designed so that the calling party calls the other participants and adds them to the call. In most cases, the participants are able call into the conference call themselves, by dialing into a special telephone number that connects to a "conference bridge" (a specialized type of equipment that links telephone lines).

Usually, most companies use a specialized service provider who maintains the conference bridge, or who provides the phone numbers and PIN codes that participants dial to access the meeting or conference call.

Three-way calling is available (usually at an extra charge) for most customers on their home or office phone line. To three way call, the first person one wishes to talk to is dialed. Then the Hook flash button is pressed and the other person's phone number is dialed. While it is ringing, flash is pressed again. This will put the three people together. This option allows callers to add a second outgoing call to an already connected call.

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How to Choose a Conference Call Service that's Right for Your Business(Conference Call Providers)

For businesses and organizations that use conference calls frequently, it is important to choose the right conference call service. Today, businesses are going global. Deals are made via conference calls, employees and employees who work off-site communicate through conference calls, meetings or seminars are held using conference calls.

Conference calling offers several options. Thus, when you are looking several conference call services, you should o have a criteria and a clear idea of what your company's or organization's needs are.

Would you like the option of an operator-assisted call or instant conferencing? If your company regularly conduct formal meetings, an operator-assisted call may be the best option. However, if your organization tends to be informal even during meetings or have spontaneous conferences, an instant conferencing option may be the ideal choice. A third option you can consider is web conferencing. Although this kind of conference call is gaining popularity, it will only work for your organization if the people who participate in your calls have the necessary software needed for the call as well as networking capabilities and reliable Internet connection.

You also need to consider if you want additional options such as roll-calls of participants wherein the names of individuals are announced as they join. You also need to consider if you need a conference call option that will let you conduct a moderated question-and-answer session after the conference. If you decide to go with web conferencing, would you want an option that will allow you to show presentations such as slides or movies?

After each conference call, do you want a recording of the call so that other people can listen to it ?. This conference call feature is particularly useful if some people missed the call. A recording of the conference can also help those who were present to listen to it again and refresh their memory.

Lastly, you also need to consider how much the different conference call services are charging. If your call is long and you used several sophisticated options for the call, the fees could be high. Thus, before you sign up for a conference call service, make sure that the company gives you a complete or comprehensive pricing structure.

Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Best Conference Calling Services.com where he provides more information on finding the best deals on audio, web and video conference calling that you can research in your pajamas on his website http://www.bestconferencecallingservices.com

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