Conference calls set up by a conference call service are inherently different from the 3 or 4 person calls you might be able to set up from your in house telephone system. When using your own phone system, you may experience an uneven balance in volume from one line to the next which will become increasingly exaggerated as you add callers, finally making it impossible to conduct your meeting. This usually happens when you get to 4 or more participants.
With a professionally set up conference call, each participant’s telephone line is routed through sophisticated equipment called a "bridge". This bridging equipment receives and enhances each line electronically, evening out the volume levels, and then sends the electronic voice signal back out to each listening ear. This allows everyone participating to sound just like they would in a regular 1 to 1 call. This way even hundreds of people can be connected in a single call.
In order to achieve this, each participants first needs to dial into the bridge. The conference call company gives the call host a conference call dial-in telephone number. The host distributes that dial-in number to all the intended participants along with the participant passcode and the date/time of the call. At the pre-arranged date/time, all participants dial that phone number and are joined into their conference.
ALL conference calls have 2 components that can be paid for separately or together:
- The cost for the use of the bridge.
- The cost for the long distance phone call into the bridge
Our two different plans give you the choice of paying for both parts (Per Minute Plan) or paying for only the use of the bridge (Flat Rate Plan).
Per Minute Service
If you want your participants to have an 800 number to dial in with (at no cost to them), you will pay for both the use of the bridge and the participants' long distance call to the bridge. This service is charged by the minute because US and Canadian participants will dial an 800 number at no expense to themselves. The cost for their phone lines into the bridge, as well as the cost for the use of the bridge is borne entirely by the host.
You can have both domestic and international callers on the same conference call. Because 800 numbers do not work overseas, we provide you a local area code dial-in number for your international participants who will bear the long-distance cost to dial into the US. In addition, we have International toll-free numbers available in dozens of countries and operator assisted dial-out services to any country.
Flat Rate Unlimited Service
The host chooses to pay for only the bridge use. That reduces his/her cost dramatically because all participants are dialing area code 712 and are paying for their own long distance call into the bridge. The host pays for the bridge use portion and the participants will be billed for the long distance portion on their own, regular phone bill.