Sometimes, trying to have a face to face meeting between different members of your team can be a true challenge. Perhaps one member is driving into town, another closing a sale with a client in Los Angeles, another setting up a new office in Houston, while you're at the headquarters in New York City. So how do you get everyone together and talking? Perhaps the best choice is to utilize a conference call service.




3 Great Reasons to Use a Conference Call Service For Your Next Meeting

Sometimes, trying to have a face to face meeting between different members of your team can be a true challenge.   Perhaps one member is driving into town, another closing a sale with a client in Los Angeles, another setting up a new office in Houston, while you're at the headquarters in New York City.  So how do you get everyone together and talking?  Perhaps the best choice is to utilize a conference call service.

Different Locations, Same Meeting

A conference calling service is quickly becoming a popular way to bring your colleagues, as well as potential clients, together to have a conference for a number of reasons.  The first, of course, is that it allows people who are in multiple locations to have a real time conversation.

Since everyone would be able to hear each other if they were in the same room, much more can be achieved only if the information was transmitted by e-mail or phone messaging services.

Sound Quality

The second reason why using a conference call service could be a great choice for your next meeting is the quality of the sound. It would simply be unmatched if you were to try and have the same conversation over a speakerphone or even three-way calling.

The reason is the type of technology used by a conference call provider.  Having each participant call into a central location and having the signal amplified and clarified gives the best sound quality.  Basically, when using a conference call provider, each participant sounds like they are the only person on the line.

Overall Cost

A third reason for using a conference call service is the overall cost savings presented with each use.  In most cases, if you factor in the cost of travel, time lost bringing everyone together, as well as the rising cost of long distance, having everyone call into a central location makes much more sense financially.  Add to that the fact that many times the call-in number is toll free, the cost savings simply add up.

The bottom line is using a conference calling service is often a lot more cost effective, and more efficient than many of the other choices available.  If you factor in the difficulty of getting everyone together, figuring out different speakerphones or complicated three way calling, using a conference call service is one of the best options available.

The conference call service is a very important aspect of business today. Discover what makes for a good conference calling service and about conference calling in general at our website.

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If you are continuing education by participating in one of the common continuing education programs, you have likely seen a variety of different teaching methods. Online classes are common, as are CDs or DVDs containing course material that you teach yourself at your own pace. Some people thrive on this type of learning. Others need just a little more human interaction to succeed. Luckily for them, there are continuing education options that provide more real interaction with professors or other students. Conference call services are certainly among these options.




Conference Call Services - An Easy, Convenient Solution

If you are someone who continues education by participating in one of the common continuing education programs, you have likely seen a variety of different teaching methods. Online classes are common, as are CDs or DVDs containing course material that you teach yourself at your own pace. Some people thrive on this type of learning. Others need just a little more human interaction to succeed. Luckily for them, there are continuing education options that provide more real interaction with professors or other students. Among these options are conference call services.

Even if self paced learning materials are not necessarily bad, they are not for everyone. Some may well appreciate, instead, the advantages of conference call systems. E.g., some advantages of conference call services above other ways include ease of technology, cost and convenience.

No special technology is required for a conference call to begin with. Although there exist some Internet based conferencing program, a number of them use too much of a computer's resources and are not a very good option for people with slow connections. Moreover, if the professor and his students use different operating systems they may face problems of compatibility. Conference call services do not need a lot of technological compatibility and allows everyone to take part in the call easily.

A conference call is also quite convenient. Students can join the call no matter where they are located, instead of having to find a computer or carry around a laptop. This in itself is a major improvement over the other systems, such as Internet conferencing, email exchanges, or discussion forums. With conference calls, continuing education students can better fit their schooling into their lifestyle.

Conference call systems have become more affordable than ever. Some telephone providers may offer special deals on conference calling or allow you to set up these calls for free, making it even more inexpensive. Regardless, conference calling is an economical solution that is cost-efficient, especially when compared to meeting in person.

This impressive list of advantages make conference call services an appealing option to consider in the field of continuing education. Professors will appreciate the flexibility and ease of use when preparing lesson plans, and students will appreciate that they can participate in the sessions without hassle or stress. For both parties that will serve your education program, it is a win-win solution.

Conference call services are a viable alternative to teaching methods such as online classes, CDs or DVDs containing course material. They offer advantages such as ease of technology, cost and convenience for a student continues education. Students can participate in a conference call regardless of where they are located, without having to locate a computer or haul around a laptop, thus making a conference call rather convenient. Now continuing education students can fit their schooling into their lifestyle more easily with the help of conference calls. Using these services, a student can enroll him self in varied education programs with ease and added cost benefits.

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Here are three forms of conference calling services that businesses can choose from in order to save money on their conference calling needs.




Three Forms Of Conference Calling Services

All businesses, be it a small business or a world wide business, are beginning to use conference calling. What is a conference call service and what different forms of them are there? Below you will find the definition of a conference calling service and the different forms of them.

Conference calling services have revolutionized the way that businesses are run and have now allowed businesses to be ran all over the world from one place. This means that customers, associates, and even business partners are now able to communicate without having to travel half way around the world!

There are three main types of conference call and are: audio conferencing, web conferencing and video conferencing are.

The most popular form of conference calling used is audio conferencing. The reason this is the most popular form is because it has been around for the longest and its cost effectiveness saves the company money. This is also the easiest form to use because all you need is a telephone. The only problem businesses have found is they are unable to see the people they are talking with and they are unable to see any images or information instantly.

The newest of the three forms of conferencing is web conferencing. This form of conferencing uses webcams to broadcast the conference over the internet. The biggest bonus of this conference is that all the participants are able to send all files, text messages, and visual aids instantly so that all participants are able to see them. The great thing about web conferencing is that you get all the great benefits of audio and video conferencing and you gain the ability to share files instantly.

The third form of conference calling is video conferencing. This is probably the most expensive of all the forms because of the cost of the equipment which means only the big companies use this form. Changes in technology have brought the cost down a little bit allowing smaller companies to use this form but many try to avoid it. To perform a video conference call you need to have a television and a camera on every end of the call which allows all of the members to hear and see each other but it is expensive. Video conferencing is effective if you plan to hold meetings frequently but you should expect to have many problems with equipment.

Those are the three forms of conference calling services that businesses can choose from.

Increase your profits and cut your communication costs with discount video conference calling located at http://www.bestconferencecallingservices.com , a popular conference calling website that specializes in providing low cost audio, video and web conference calling solutions

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The Conference Call -Saves time, saves money.




Conference Call Services

When I think back about how I used to communicate with my business associates 10 years ago it boggles my mind that conference calling wasn't a part of my tool set. It's easy to look back and critique the inefficiencies of the past but I simply couldn't operate without a conference call system today.

Anyone in sales can appreciate the many benefits. It wasn't long ago that I was logging thousands of air miles to simply make presentations that can now be accomplished with a conference call or even a web conference. Business owners really gained tremendous benefits, thus saving costs and improving productivity significantly Results. For example, what once took 15 hours can now be accomplished in 30 minutes.

The ability to communicate with a few as three and as many as a thousand people at once appeals to the smart businessman and it's not uncommon for small business owners to host conference calls as well.

So how much does it cost to host your own conference call? Well that depends. Some providers are still charging a premium and they appear to be living off their existing customer base because the costs have plummeted. I've actually used free conference call providers and had no issues. The call quality and features are in line with paid services, however if you're looking to provide your clients a toll-free number to call then you're going to need a paid service. Additionally, paid conference call providers typically offer a larger conference size.

So how expensive are paid conference calls? Like anything, the costs vary but on average it's about 10 cents per minute per participant on a toll-free line. That may not seem like much but if you have 150 people on the line it's costing you $15 per minute and that's just under a grand for an hours worth of talk time so it's important that your agenda is planned out.

At first glance paid conference calls may seem a bit steep but consider the cost to fly 150 people to a conference center, add hotel charges and of course, down time, and at point conference calling looks to be a bargain and perhaps free conference calls are the best deal in town.

So if your manager is still living in the stone ages, find a tactful way to recommend conference calling as a cost savings measure. Take a few minutes to create a cost analysis based upon the number of participants in your company and it's an easy sell. And don't forget, make sure you take the credit!

Joe Barrett owns and operates http://www.conferencecallingreviews.com

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We have all heard the expression "there is no such thing as a free lunch" but with so many companies purporting to offer free conference call services is the famous idiom outdated? The answer depends on how you define the term "free". After much research into this subject I have managed to come to some interesting conclusions.




Are Free Conference Call Services Really Free?

We have all heard the expression "there is no such thing as a free lunch" but with so many companies purporting to offer free conference call services is the famous idiom outdated?

The answer depends on how you define the term "free". After much research into this subject I have managed to come to some interesting conclusions. I have looked at the following available options to assess their effectiveness for business conference calls.

1. Free conference calls using Skype
2. Free telephone conferencing using non-geographic numbers (NGN's)

Free conference calls using Skype

Many of you reading this will hear the Skype so you can make free voice calls via the Internet (Voice over Internet Protocol, or VOIP for short). If have a PC or laptop and a good quality headset connected to a broadband internet service with sufficient bandwidth then you can hold a conference call with a limited number of participants without paying a thing.

The incremental cost of the conference call is zero, but the setup costs are considerable unless you already have the equipment described above. As the cost of computer equipment falls and bandwidths get better, more people than ever now have the required platform and hence Skype is an ideal solution for some people.

Our experiences with in call quality with Skype vary considerably. During quiet times when our internet connection is not busy we get excellent results in call quality, however it can be somewhat unreliable so we don't consider it robust enough for important business calls or ones where there are a large number of people.

Skype summary: The actual conference calls are free, but you need to have invested in the computer equipment and internet connection first. Limited number of participants and lack of reliability make it unsuitable for key business conference calls, where reliability is a must. There are other VOIP services that may be more reliable and economical then Skype, here are some other VOIP services compared

Free telephone conferencing using non-geographic numbers (NGN's)

This type of free telephone conferencing allows audio conferencing participants to dial into a non-geographic telephone number to hold their conference call. It's important that you understand what a non-geographic number is and how telephone operators - or "telcos" - charge for calls to them.

As the name suggests, a non-geographic telephone number (NGN) is a telephone number that does not terminate at any fixed location. Instead, when you call an NGN, the telco redirects the call to a "real" telephone number. In the USA the most famous type of NGN is the 1-800 free phone number. When you call a 1-800 number you have no idea where the operator who takes your call is located, they could be anywhere in the world.

Of course, telcos are not in the business of giving away free calls, so someone somewhere has to pay. In the case of the 1-800 number, the company you are calling pays the telco for the cost of the call.

Another type of NGN is a premium rate number. In the UK there are an array of different number ranges some of which cost callers as much as 1.50GBP (nearly 3.00USD!) per minute per call, such as this service. These are often used for "adult" services and chat lines. Companies wishing to promote a premium rate service hire a premium rate number from the telco and advertise their services with the intention of generating large numbers of calls to that number.

When customers call the premium NGN, the telco bills the customer for the call and gives a percentage of the call revenue back to the company who rents the NGN from them. In effect the telco and the company renting the NGN are sharing the revenue from the call. The important point to note here is that customers pay the telco not the company who is renting the premium NGN.

Teleconferencing companies who offer free telephone conference call services use this mode. The commission which the telco pays the audio conference service provider is used to pay for running the conference bridge, advertise the service and (sometimes) to make a profit.

Some telephone conferencing companies advertise this type of audio conference as being a totally free service. But there is almost certainly a charge for the call taking place. Therefore, to benefit from this type of conference call service you need to find an operator who can host a call at an affordable rate with a reliable connection.

This is the closest thing you can get to a truly free telephone conferencing, as they use the cheapest type of revenue generating NGN available in the UK. Namely, one that begins with the dialling code 0844. Some other companies use 0870 or 0871 numbers which are more expensive.

NGN summary: NGN based free teleconferencing services can be useful for small companies and individuals with moderate audio conferencing requirements, however these type of services are usually very basic and not suitable for larger organisations. For larger businesses, supporting greater numbers of participants, teleconferencing services tend to be a better option. As they are more likely to offer the support needed to make the call run uninterrupted on a clear line.

Peter Bennett is CEO of a large UK teleconferencing company; Ozone Conferencing. Peter took extracts from Ozone Conferencing's free conference calls service for this article.

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While most legal depositions are conducted face to face, in front of lawyers and a court reporter, an increasing number of depositions are taking place over the phone and Internet with desktop webcams. Due to the fact that witnesses are scattered over the country and in an effort to conserve time by avoiding travel, many lawyers are opting to just sit at their desks and depose the parties over the phone. It's easier, much faster, and the results are the same.




Deposition Conference Call Service

While most legal depositions are conducted face to face, in front of lawyers and a court reporter, an increasing number of depositions are taking place over the phone and Internet with desktop webcams.

Due to the fact that witnesses are scattered over the country and in an effort to conserve time by avoiding travel, many lawyers are opting to just sit at their desks and depose the parties over the phone. It's easier, much faster, and the results are the same.

While a few high end law firms host full fledged video conference facilities, the vast majority of lawyers have no access to sophisticated equipment. These facilities can cost up to several hundred thousand dollars and require the support of a full time technician. Of course, if the opposing party doesn't have access to similar facilities in their hometown, then the whole effort is useless.

Regarding video conferencing, the trend is moving away from the expensive conference rooms, video equipment and network connections. With broadband connectivity available to almost everyone, video conferencing is evolving toward the greater use of small desktop webcams that are now routinely included on computer and laptops. These cameras generally cost less than 50 U.S. dollars, camera, conference services, the figures can be from any source.

Still, 95% of the deposition conferences are conducted over the phone and that seems to be the preferred method at the present time since there is universal access to telephones and no special hardware is needed. It's the simplest approach and can be set up quickly and easily.

There are several service bureaus who specialize in hosting deposition conference calls. There are no set up fees and generally speaking, billing is done on a pay as you go basis. You only pay for the time on the system you actually use. This is an ideal method of payment, especially for occasional users.

This is how it works: The opposing law firms each set up an account with the selected deposition conference call service. Once the account is opened, the coordinating law firm informs the service the time the call will take place. The service can dial-out and call each participant, or the participants can call into a toll free number themselves. Either way, the conference service will have an operator organizing the call to make sure all the parties are present.

A new feature has been included recently that provides a tremendous convenience to the respective law firms. It's called "individualized billing." Each law firm is billed separately for its portion of the cost for the deposition conference call. So it is no longer necessary for one law firm to send another law firm an invoice. Each law firm is billed, and each law firm pays its own share of the conference expense directly to the conference service.

While court reporters are on the conference to record the call for future transcript, the calls can also be digitally recorded for download.

Overall, because of the speed and convenience of conducting depositions over the phone, you'll see more and more law offices adopting this method to expedite cases. Travel costs will be cut dramatically and lawyers will be able to use their time more productively.

For more information on how to set up a legal deposition conference call, you click here for a service that specializes in this field: http://www.24conference.com/legal_conference_call.php

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Conference call services allow you to reach out to more people across boundaries. It not only saves time but also saves your money.




Conference Call Services - Various Types and Ways to Select One

Conference call services can be one of the cost effective way to establish a communication. Establishing contact with more than two people simultaneously, irrespective of the geographical location at anytime, has made conference calling one of the most sought after communication solutions. It not only saves time but also money (spent on traveling, accommodation, establishing multiple meetings and many more). Moreover, it is very important to select the right kind of conferencing services from the numerous service providers in the market. Thus, the different types of conferencing services available and those who are familiar with would be compliant with your requirements.

Various Conference Call Services

Conference calling started with phone conferencing, where a speaker could call up more than one listener. However, with the advent of technology and internet, conferencing has upgraded to various formats.

Phone conferencing

In a meeting if there is no need for any kind of visual interaction phone then conferencing is the best and cheapest solution. Most phone conferencing vendors offering this facility lets their clients to pay in accordance with the usage. There are two kinds of services available, broadcast and question & answer conference. In case of broadcast conference, the listeners can only listen to the speaker with no interaction. While question and answer service allows the participants to interact.

Video conferencing

In this service more than two people communicate from different locations via audio and video through two-way transmissions. It is also known as video teleconferencing. For data transmission internet is utilized.

Web conferencing

In this conferencing facility, one can conduct various kinds of meetings (ranging from presentations, online training sessions, online seminars or webinar) live shows and play recorded videos. In this mode of application each one of the participants can interact with anyone present in the session. Various tools and software are available to enhance and equip people to undertake these conference call services. The attendees of the conference are sent an email containing the link with which they can access the conference session.

How to select the service?

Since there are so many options available on conference call services, here are few ways how you can select the ones that would suit your needs.

Audio or Visual

Audio conferences are easier and less expensive, while visuals often pose hindrance with streaming of the videos, slow chat sessions and many more. However, video conferencing lets the client and other attendees to put forth a point or a data in a more comprehensive way.

Billing

Flat rate plan - a sum of money is asked from the clients irrespective of the duration or the number of people joining the conference.

Another one is based on number of people joining the conference. The vendor charges according to that.
Time plan is based on the duration of the conference; the client is billed on per minute basis.

Reservation or non-reservation

If you hold regular conference at a specific time with large number of people, it is always advisable to have reservation conferencing. For this you need to have a planned conference, where the operator will help you as well as the attendees. While in non-reservation conference you have your freedom.

Free conferencing

There are many online services that allow free conferencing. However, when faced with problems there are no operators to help in the conference.

One just needs to conduct a research and select conference call services to save the money while benefiting from it.

Hope Dever is currently associated with a renouned online conference call services provider. His knowledge would help people to select a conference calling service.

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