The Concepts Of Conference Calling

      Conference call is the way of letting more than two people to communicate simultaneously over the phone when they are not near. It can save everyone’s time and money who gather together just to attend the meeting. It can be designed so as the called person can or cannot listen to the conversation but he will be able to listen to it. A typical conference call can handle more than 5 persons at a time. There are services which can handle about 10 individuals at a time!

   Conference calls are much less expensive than having face to face conversations thereby avoiding the unnecessary travel and other expenses. They are provided by certain service providers. They provide cheap calling rates which can be paid as fixed monthly charges or as a pre-paid service. Free conference calls is a new approach in which the caller pays either a flat rate or per minute charges or both. The providers of these free conference calls compensate through traffic pumping arrangements. They are also able to bill the participants individually. Web conferencing is the most popular method of conferencing nowadays where one can communicate with others over the internet with a very low cost and with a high quality video conferencing. Web conferencing is a useful tool for prospering the business by real time video conferencing over the internet.

     Conference calls have developed itself to a standard tool in analysing the company’s growth, sharing information, demonstrating them and conducting meetings. They are easy to use user friendly services. Calls can be made with high-quality video conferencing however it depends on the respective service providers. These can also be used effectively for social services for meeting new people at different places through group calling but they are mostly used for business purposes.

   In spite of all these advantages there are several disadvantages also associated with these services. Firstly, the speed with which it functions. It may vary from place to place and from service providers. Second limitation is the reduced call quality and clarity varying with the service providers. This is due to the lack of technological advancement. Another limitation is the lack of proper security and billing process availed to the users.

There are many ways through which businesses today can communicate effectively via conference calling. Web conferencing allows you to conduct meetings wherever you are with anyone just like a meeting in a room. Thus conference calls reduce the gap between people by allowing them to communicate even when they are far apart.