How Does Telephone Conferencing Work?
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How Does Telephone Conferencing Work?
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As the rate of global communications and the distance by which business partners do business increases, it becomes cumbersome to have face-to-face meetings daily, monthly or even annually. Telephone conferencing, also known as audio conferencing or teleconferencing, allows businesses to spend money and time more efficiently by allowing multiple parties in different locations to communicate.
What is Telephone Conferencing?
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Telephone conferencing uses conventional telephone services, allowing people to connect simultaneously. The main difference between conventional use of telephones and telephone conferencing is that with telephone conferencing, the users are not limited to two participants.
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How does it work?
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During a telephone conference, callers connect to a conference bridge, a secure server that allows multiple people's telephone lines to communicate to one another.
Kay Johnson, a writer for All-Conferencing.com, explains that if all parties are in the same office building, they connect through a PBX, or private branch exchange. Johnson states, "This is a miniature telephone network within that organization. All connections remain open for the duration of the call. Because only one person will speak at a time typically, technically only one part of the connection is in use at any given time."Another type of audio conference call allows for even greater distance capabilities. Called VoIP, or voice over internet protocol, this method transforms analog audio signal into digital data, then transmits the data over the Internet.
Different Types of Audio Conferencing services
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There are three types of telephone conference companies: dial-in, reservationless, and operator-attended.
Dial-in telephone conferencing is when the callers call a designated telephone number and pass code given to all invited participants. Once having called in, participants enter the pass code via touch-tone.
Reservationless conference calls allow businesses to allow participants within the United States and/or Canada to dial into the conference call toll free. The hosting company will pay the fees incurred by the call, including long-distance fees. This method also uses a pass code.
Operator-assisted conference calls come with many different options for the customer company, including faxing/emailing documents to participants, bringing participants into the call ("operator dial out"), introducing callers, moderating questions and answers, troubleshooting, roll call, translating, post call close, and much more. These services support the flow and professional nature of the call.
Benefits of Telephone Conferencing
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Telephone conferencing requires only the technical use of the telephone, saving companies substantially when compared with the fees from travel, hotels and time spent away from the office. For tips of planning a telephone conference, see "Telephone Conference Call Tips By Nancy White" in the Resources section.
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