How to make easy and inexpensive conference calls
The proliferation of fiber combined with IP (Internet Protocol) technology has revolutionized the telecommunications industry over last decade. Services that were once province of large organizations are now available to small businesses for a pittance.
One of the best examples of this is Freeconference.com, a company that offers free conference calls for up to 150 participants. Participants can be anywhere in the world and pay nothing more than their regular long-distance (or local) charge. Participants can be notified via e-mail so that they know the dial-in number and access code. Calls can also be set up on the spur of the moment.
In addition to the freebie
option, they also offer a toll-free number whereby the conference organizer pays 10 cents per minute for each participant in the conference.
Why do this if you can do it for free? If you're setting up a long distance conference call and you don't want the participants to pay for it, you pay for their calls. At 10 cents a person per minute, it most likely won't break the bank.
If you use Freeconference's Web-Scheduled Premium 800 service, they will provide a long distance dial-in telephone number for use by callers who are outside the United States and Canada.
In order to use it, the conference organizer needs to provide first name, last name and e-mail address. Freeconference says it will not sell or disclose information to third parties without your consent.
I believe this is a good service for any organization that needs to confer on the phone occasionally.