Affordable Conference Call – How You Should Plan To Get Most Out of It

Advancement of internet and VoIP, made affordable conference call a realty. Due to low cost, all kinds of conference calling like audio, video are fast becoming popular in our daily social or professional life.

Here you will get information on how low cost audio, video conference call has really reduces monthly household and business phone bill. You will find simple advises on how to select conference call providers.

Affordable conference call made communication simple and cheap with guaranteed quality of services. Now conference calls are within budget to small business owners as well as family with tight budget. Affordability of conference call made it popular amongst students' community and for amongst senior people whose children or other family members are staying abroad.

Organization can buy costly equipment to be installed in their own premises, which provide maximum security or can use equipment on lease and pay as they use.

Why conference call made high impact on daily life?

1. Quick support to customer is the most important parameters for any enterprise. Just imagine, while there was no conference calling facility, people need to travel to customer place to support or for any sales discussion but now using a simple audio conference call , same can be achieved within an hour time.

2. Sometimes corporate requires brainstorming session to address a particular challenge. Earlier, it used to take a lot of time, as people need to travel from different parts of the world to attend the meeting. This includes travel cost and time. Now, the same can be achieved using a dedicated video conference call. If there are no stringent security requirements, it can be achieved easily with web based conference calling functionality like netmeeting.

3. Biggest benefits of low cost conference calling are working managers need not to worry for the expense incurred. Due to low cost, employees are now empowered to take quick decision to use different conference call equipments.

4. People who are traveling can remain in touch with their near ones at home. Inmates of a family can all join in a conference call to greet somebody or to have a simple chat. Affordable net based conference call makes all these possible. Some people also use conference calls for social reasons.

5. Audio and video conferences are extremely helpful for patients as they can consult specialist doctors without any hassles of traveling. There are occasions, where doctors from different parts of the country supervise a critical operation using video conference facility.

How you can also take advantage of conference call in your family life

You should educate your family members to use yahoo netmeeting, instant massager or google talk. You can easily keep contact with them, chat with them and even can physically see them from your laptop sitting in hotel room or airport.

Many conference call service providers are willing and able to create customized affordable plans for small businesses houses. You just have to take the time to shop around for the best phone rates, and the type of service plan that best suits your individual business needs.

Source:http://www.buzzle.com/

The Best Service For Your Audio and Video Conference Call

There are a great deal advantages to incorporating audio and video conference calls into your daily business communication strategy. Audio and viedo Conferencing One of those advantages encompass making truly that your staff receives the same data, that the data is delivered in real time, that your customers are kept apprised of strategies that affect their bottom line, etc. Conference Call Hosting One convenient way of accomplishing these communication objectives is through an audio and video
conference calling.

When selecting your provider to be responsible for these audio and video conference calls it is significant to take into consideration a number of factors. In addition it is significant that you keep in mind the pricing of this service.

Factors In Choosing Your Audio Conference Call Provider

One of the key factors in choosing your audio conference call provider is to determine what your teleconferencing needs are. Dial In Conference Call These needs can be based on whether you be forced to have an international teleconferencing line set up, lot of minutes you estimate that will be needed for teleconferencing purposes, the number of individuals that can be on the call at any given time, whether you wish to utilize facilitator services, etc.

Another critical component in selecting your audio conference call provider is to investigate the varied companies that offer conferencing call services. Team Collaboration Particular attention should be given to the technological equipment that they utilize. Their equipment ought to provide the proper bandwidth for performance, thinkable use of fiber optics for clarity, noise reduction, optimal use of switching equipment, etc. Since communication is a critical component in the successful operation of any business, an meaningful factor to contemplate, before selecting your audio conference call provider, is their level of providing service which is of the highest superiority. For example, if you are in the midst of an important teleconference call with a customer and other staff members and the call is "dropped," this could have serious consequences.

Therefore, it is significant to do determine the quality of service that the audio conference call company provides. Ordinarily when you contact the provider they will provide letters of endorsement from satisfied customers. Premiere Conference You can accept these letters at face value or you can and also ask if it would be acceptable to contact these companies to ask secondary questions.

source:http://www.conferencecallconnections.com/

Automated VideoConferencing - ACT Teleconferencing Launches ReadyConnect Video in the UK

DENVER, COLO. - ACT Teleconferencing, Inc. a worldwide provider of audio, video and web-based conferencing products, today announced the introduction of ReadyConnect Video, a cutting-edge reservationless videoconferencing technology, to its UK customers. On Wednesday 17th May, ACT's senior management is meeting with its UK clients to demonstrate ReadyConnect Video at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, in London.

The UK event is a continuation of the global road show that originated in Asia Pacific. The Company successfully launched ReadyConnect Video in Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia in March. Throughout the summer, the Company will introduce this innovative videoconferencing product at events throughout the U.S. and Canada.

"We are very excited about introducing ReadyConnect Video to our UK customers. After receiving a positive response from our customers in Asia Pac, we look forward to introducing the product to our clients over here," said ACT President and Chief Executive Officer Gene Warren. "This product is a natural extension of our global platform and existing audio and video conferencing products."

An automated service, ReadyConnect Video eliminates the need for advance scheduling and the heavy technical support required by traditional videoconferencing. The product is available 24-hours, offers a user-friendly interface, and the ability to archive and stream presentations. To host a videoconference call with slides, users merely log on to the Internet-it is that simple! Participants without videoconferencing equipment can join a conference Call via the telephone or the Internet.

About ACT Teleconferencing

Established in 1990, ACT Teleconferencing, Inc. is a leading independent worldwide provider of audio, video and web-based conferencing products and services to corporations, educational organizations, and governments worldwide. ACT is the only conferencing company with integrated global audio and videoconferencing platforms that provide uniform international services, customized uniform billing, managed services, and local language services. The Company's headquarters are located in Denver, Colorado, with operations in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S., and virtual locations in Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, Poland and South Africa.
Source:http://www.newsaboutav.com/ACTTeleconferencingReadyConnectVideo.html

Where Talk is Cheap

There are a number of vendors that offer free conference calling for calls made in and between the USA and Canada. The limits
generally are on the number of participants and the time frame.Some vendors limit the conference calls to 50 participants,
while most allow up to 100 to attend. Time frames are generallyone to three hours, with one hour being the usual. Where the
cost comes in with these free USA and Canada free conferencecalling meetings is not with the vendor, but rather with the
phone carriers. There is no toll free number to dial in withthese free conference calling vendors so you may incur a long
distance charge when you call within the USA or Canada.

Some vendors allow you to reserve your free conference calling within the USA and Canada, while others only offer audio
conferencing that is reservationless. Let’s look at one vendor offering USA or Canada free conference calling.

If you’re wondering what the catch is with this free conference calling with this and other vendors, and you don’t think it
could possibly be free, think again. Just as with other free “come-ons” in any other industry or market, free is an
enticement. This vendor, like the others, offers the free conferencing calling in the USA and Canada in hopes that you’ll
purchase some upgrades such as digital recordings, operator assistance for question and answer sessions and surveys as well
as reports. They also make additional money selling conference call toll free numbers and contracts with larger corporations.

Another additional fee is for a greater number of participants.One vendor who looked at allows up to 50 participants with its
audio only free conference calling in USA and Canada. The number used to call in is a toll call for long distance participants.
Should a client wish to invite additional participants the prices are $75 per month for dial in codes for up to 100
participants, $100 a month if you’d like to invite up to 200,and $150 a month for a conference call among 500 participants.

From iPhone Hype to iPhone VoIP

As iPhone Atlas reports (how quickly an iPhone-blog community is springing up) when Talkety calls you, it asks you to enter a verification code, probably to prevent the service from being used for VoIP spam. iPhone Atlas also notes good voice quality on Talkety calls but also some latency.
A Few More Features

Talkety has several other features that aim to attract both Apple and Windows users:

1. A Talkety Firefox extension allows users to call phone numbers they find on Web sites by right-clicking (or Ctrl-clicking, for Mac users) the number and selecting Talkety from the resulting pop-up menu. The only drawback here is that you must set Firefox to allow pop-ups.
2. Apple users will enjoy a dashboard widget that enables fast Talkety calling even with no browser open, while Windows users will appreciate an Outlook plug-in that serves a similar function: letting users make calls directly from their Outlook contact list.
3. Talkety has several other features, including the ability to import from and synchronize addresses with Apple’s Address Book and other vCard-based systems.

You Must Pay

Note that Talkety’s consumer and business accounts both cost money. For example, consumer-account users get 30 free minutes for starters, then have to pay for calls at Talkety’s rates . But in exchange for parting with some money, you are getting mobile-to-mobile VoIP on phones that have Web browsers — and for much less than the cost of either landline or mobile calls.

While regular Talkety accounts only let users make conference call with two other people, a Talkety Pro account for business users expands the conference-calling service ability up to 50 people at once. A Talkety Pro account costs a minimum of €10/month — yes, that’s euros, don’t be intimidated — which translates to about $13.60 per month right now. That price includes up to 500 minutes of what Talkety calls 'International Flatrate,' which allows you to call more than 20 countries, regardless of where you are located, for a flat per-minute rate. Those rates can range from a low of $0.0164 per minute to call within Germany to $0.0363 per minute to call Iceland, with only Turkey coming in higher at $0.0519 per minute.

The advantage here is not the rate, which is low enough, but the fact that Talkety increases the transparency of international-call pricing. In addition, the company is happy to invoice you each month rather than demanding you have money in a Talkety account, in the extraordinary case that your phone calls take longer than you expect.

Talkety is trying to be the first service on the block to promote iPhone-friendly VoIP. If you have a new iPhone, it couldn’t hurt to try Talkety VoIP on it, and potentially make calls for quite a bit less than Ma Bell charges.
Source:http://www.voip-news.com

FCC Referees Dispute Over Free Conference Calling

Large telecom carriers complained that free conferencing and similar voice services are a scam that take advantage of a loophole in long-distance price regulations. Small providers of the services complained that the carriers have no right to block their customers' calls.
Late Thursday, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission stepped into the dispute, giving both sides something to cheer about.
The FCC ruled that large carriers cannot resort to the "self-help" measure of blocking calls without its permission. But the agency also said it was suspending the termination fees charged by 39 rural carriers due to "substantial questions raised" about the legality of the long-distance termination fees they collect.
The dispute began early this year, when AT&T Inc., Qwest Communications International Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp. filed lawsuits against two rural local exchange carriers (LECs) and 10 chat-line service operators in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. In March, complained that the three telecom carriers were blocking customers from calling its service.
Conference calling gives its customers free voice conferencing services when they dial a long-distance number provided by the company.
Here's how it works: Under legacy telecom regulations, telecom carriers must pay termination fees when their customers make a long-distance call to a telephone number controlled by a local exchange carrier (LEC). The termination fees vary greatly, from about US$0.01 to $0.13 per minute, with rural LECs generally collecting higher fees.
Conference Calling and similar businesses make money by sending long-distance traffic to LECs with relatively high termination fees and splitting the termination fees with the LECs. Customers calling the service generally have to pay long-distance fees.
Other businesses using the same model include free voice mail services, sex chat lines and services that forward international calls.
AT&T, in an April letter to the FCC, complained that these "traffic-pumping arrangements ... are scams, pure and simple." One rural Iowa LEC changed its termination fees and went from charging AT&T about $2,000 a month to more than $2 million in a single month, wrote James Cicconi, AT&T's senior executive vice president for external and legislative affairs.
"The end result is millions of calls to the advertised phone numbers, millions of dollars in monthly access charge billings, and enormous windfalls both to the ... LEC and the calling service provider, all funded by and their customers, the vast majority of whom never call and want nothing to do with these services," Cicconi wrote.
Alex Cory, CEO of FreeConference parent company Global Conference Partners, said some abuse of termination fees may exist, but his company isn't one of the abusers. FreeConference uses large LECs that generally have termination fees in the $0.03 to $0.04 range, while carriers like AT&T collect close to $0.08 per minute for a long-distance call, he said.
Even with the termination fees LEC partners collect, the long-distance carriers still make money, he said. "Essentially, this is a revenue-sharing business," Cory said. "I continue to be bewildered that the major carriers aren't interested in business models profitable to them."
The major carriers have complained because Conference Calling offers a cheaper service than their own conferencing products, Cory said. "They were looking to shut down competition," he said.
Conference Calling complained to the FCC that AT&T and other carriers were violating the agency's common carrier rules by blocking calls from its customers. FreeConference filed a lawsuit against AT&T in March, but later withdrew it when after it said AT&T stopped blocking its calls. FreeConference continues to have problems with quality of service on telephone networks operated by major carriers, Cory said.
Source:

A Conference Call is usually needed for those organizations that need more then one calling party to listen to their talk. In these types of telephone calls the calling party often interacts with one party and is so designed that another party can listen to the call.

The telephone call is usually a two way process where one party calls and the other party responds but in a Conference Call more than party can listen to the call. It can be set up in two ways. A Conference Call can be set up in two different ways. It can be so set up that the called party can only listen to the call or it may also be designed in such a way that the third party is able to interact with the other participants in the call. These kinds of calls that are set up are usually called Audio Tele-Conference or ATC calls. There are also such modes where some of the callers can call in themselves and get added to the Conference Call automatically so that they can participate in the conference that is going on. This automatic log in is done with the help of a conference bridge. This is a particular kind of electronic equipment that connects different phone lines together. The participants have to call into a conference bridge or what they can also do is they can use a particular number to call that would be set up especially for providing

this service.
Many of the organizations and companies that use the facility of the Conference Call take it from a service provider. These service providers are specially equipped with the kind of facilities and advanced technology that is required for a Conference Call. The service providers have to offer a conference bridge and also different telephone numbers that are needed to gain entry to a meeting or a conference via a Conference Call. A Conference Call is also termed as a three way call and is provided by the service provider usually at an extra charge to the customer. These services are provided either to the customer at his home or to offices on their phone lines. In these services the caller is allowed to add up a second out going call to the call that is already connected to another call. These Conference Calls can be used by various organizations. Varieties of businesses use the conference call facility in order to connect to those clients who are located very far. Communication becomes real easy when it is done through the system of Conference Calls. For both internal operations within the organization and communication outside the company a Conference Call is a wonderful application that can prove to be very useful. When one is doing a sales presentation, or team meetings are organized for individuals who are working for the same company but in different locations.

Source:http://www.encyclocentral.com

Cellular carriers block conference calls

Are you familiar with FreeConferenceCall? It’s a plain old telephone service that lets you set up multiparty teleconferences free of charge at your own personal dial-in number.

Recently, however, it appears that cellular carriers AT&T/Cingular and Sprint Nextel have been blocking mobile calls to FreeConferenceCall numbers. The issue seems to be that independent phone companies in rural locations charge heftier termination fees to complete phone calls than do incumbent carriers in major metro areas. This is allowable so that the small telcos can recover costs in what are low-population (and thus low-revenue) locations.

The provider passing the traffic to the terminating local phone company—for example, a mobile network operator such as Cingular or Sprint—pays the termination fee. Apparently, FreeConferenceCall is helping local phone companies bring in scads more revenue by having its conference call numbers terminate in those rural areas with the comparatively high termination fees. As a result, this is costing the cellular carriers more than they budgeted for.

AT&T is actually suing a number of the independent phone companies for fraud and last week filed a letter with the FCC asking that the agency discourage such practices.

In a statement, AT&T said: “Ultimately, our goal is to address a serious and growing abuse of the regulatory process that is harmful to consumers. It is harmful to consumers because it threatens our ability to offer affordable unlimited calling plans.”

Sprint has been cagier: As of this writing, Sprint users reported being blocked from their FreeConferenceCall numbers, but Sprint help desk staff didn’t acknowledge any deliberate blockages.

Now, from the customer standpoint: This seems another example of the cellular carriers’ ferocious attempts to protect their “walled gardens”—closed networks in which the carriers dictate what resources its subscribers can access. According to FreeConferenceCall, a Cingular spokesperson has gone on record and stated that their terms of service "gives them the right to block any number they wish.”

Some FreeConferenceCall users chatting on the company’s Web site about this issue say there is nothing in their terms and services that give them a heads up that calls can be blocked at the will of the mobile operator. Others have terminated their Cingular contracts.

Source:http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/wireless/2007/0409wireless2.html

Get connected to as many participants through conference callings easily

When the need for a conference call arises, the last thing you have time to worry about is whether or not your service provider can handle the number of participants that need to attend, or if the integrity of the call will be disrupted in some

way during the course of the conference calls , as a result of poor service. You also don't need the added stress of whether or not a line will be available at the time during which your conference is scheduled to take place.

you've just become aware of some critical information that needs to be shared with a number of other individuals around the world without delay. There's no time to schedule a telephone conference or go through a lot of red tape with conference call service provider. In addition, you don't have the budget to pay buckets of money for a conference call that includes participants who are overseas. Yet, you've got to get everyone into the loop as fast as possible, regardless of the circumstances, and discuss the information in detail.

While this may seem like an extreme set of circumstances, it happens all too often, in both the small and large business environment. Those who don't currently have a conference calling service provider in place may find themselves up against the

proverbial wall when just such a scenario rears its ugly head. Fortunately, there's now a way to overcome all of these obstacles by using a service provider that offers features that will meet all of these needs.

Since you must plan for the need for conference calls at some point in your future, it's best to choose a provider that can give you a full-service package from the beginning, rather than spend a lot of time shopping around and comparing benefits among a large number of providers. Your best plan of action, then, is to set up an account with a service provider that

offers conference calling without the need for advanced reservations, that has the capability of accepting a large number of participants within the framework of one call and that doesn't charge extra for overseas calls. Believe it or not, these are

available and, in addition, can offer 24/7 phone access to meet all of your conference call needs.

Providers such as can help you to set up an account that offers those features and more, at good rates that don't mask any hidden fees, with billing that you won't need your accountant to help you to understand. Better yet, if you have specific needs, service providers such as this one will help to customize your account so that you'll receive a comprehensive service package that includes all of their regular benefits.



source:http://www.icallglobe.com/articles/conferencecalls.html

How To get cheap conference calling card

Approximately 500 million calling cards have been sold annually over the past decade. Calling cards may be purchased anywhere from convenience stores to gas stations. Calling cards may also be purchased online. With the Internet you have a much easier way to shop around and compare so you'll be able to get the best deals.

Prepaid phone cards came as a great advancement for communications, particularly for long distance calling. Calling cards give you an affordable way to keep in touch with your loved one's and friends or business associates. The prepaid International long distance card has brought people in different parts of the world closer together. Low priced calling cards have made it affordable to stay in touch. Prepaid phone cards can also be very handy during emergencies.

When you are considering which calling card to buy, you need to be aware that they are not all the same. The rates and fees charged to the card can vary widely. You will want to read the terms and compare the services for any phone card before deciding to make a purchase. Than may sound easier than it is to be done.

Calling card marketers tend to stress the cost per minute rate on the packaging, advertising copy, and on the card itself. Unfortunately, the cost per minute doesn't give you an accurate picture of what you will actually pay. Several surcharge fees, such as for pay phone usage, can be added to the price of using a phone card. As a general rule the lower the cost per minute rate is, the higher other surcharges may be.

Many calling cards will have a per call charge, or connection fee. Often this charge can be high enough to significantly increase your actual per minute cost. A lot of cards will also have a higher surcharge for International long distance calls. This fee can tack on several dollars to a single phone call. Other surcharges can include tax and account maintenance fees.

Before you make that final decision on which prepaid calling card to get you will want to think about your calling habits. If you make frequent, short calls the best card for you would be one that has the lowest per-connection and "minimum rounding" fees.

If you make less calls and talk longer you need a card with the lowest per minute rates, but with some surcharges, which will give you a bargain for your money. The average person makes different types of calls and may want to carry a calling card of each situation.

A prepaid calling card can give you many advantages. Just be certain to compare services before choosing which card to use so you will get the maximum benefit from your calling card.

Source:http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/How-to-Choose-the-Best-Prepaid-Calling-Card/173009

Verizon Introduces Three New Fixed-Mobile Convergence Services to Enhance Business Mobility

To make it easier for businesses and government agencies to enhance employee mobility and productivity, Verizon is introducing three new fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) services. The services help on-the-go professionals seamlessly bridge wireline and wireless networks.

The services, unveiled today at the NXTcomm trade show in Chicago, are: Wireless Office, PBX Mobile Extension and Mobile Conference Connection.

Features include: a single phone number that simultaneously rings to an office, home and cell phone; a unified mailbox that consolidates voicemail from multiple devices; and instant conference calls that can be organized and initiated with just a few clicks on any Research in Motion BlackBerry or Microsoft Windows Mobile smart phone or PDA.

The new services are part of Verizon's overall mobility strategy, which builds on the power of the company's expansive, world-class wireline and wireless networks and advanced collaboration techniques.

The services are also the latest additions to Verizon's comprehensive suite of Mobility offerings, which enable professionals to seamlessly and securely conduct business while away from the office. The offerings include: wireless voice and data, managed wireless LAN, and Secure Gateway, which provides mobile users with access to their company's virtual private network.

In addition, the Mobility services feature Verizon's advanced collaboration tools including conferencing services (audio conference service, Web conference service and video conference service), secure instant messaging and managed e-mail.

"Now, more than ever, busy professionals are demanding new tools to help stay on top of their business, both in and out of the office," said John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon. "By bridging its world-class wired and wireless networks, Verizon is helping to enhance mobility and productivity in today's fast-paced, mobile work environment."

According to Forrester Research, 23 percent of large-business professionals are frequent travelers who spend significant time away from their offices and conduct increasing amounts of business on the move. As a result, businesses each year are spending more on mobile devices while also focusing greater attention on asset management and liability.

With Wireless Office and PBX Mobile Extension, Employees' Offices Can Follow Where They Go

Wireless Office and PBX Mobile Extension provide wireless phone users with the same capabilities available on an office phone.

Wireless Office, powered by the Verizon Wireless network, is immediately available for U.S. businesses. It delivers a network-based solution for small and mid-sized businesses to merge their fixed and wireless voice communications by extending common private branch exchange (PBX) calling features - such as abbreviated dialing, closed user groups and call control - to wireless devices.

The features enable small and mid-sized businesses to respond more quickly to their customers and make their communications more cost-efficient. As a result, these businesses can compete more effectively with their larger rivals. The service includes two different pricing options for either "on campus" wireless calling or on-net calling for calls that originate from a wireless handset to corporate office extensions.

PBX Mobile Extension enables a large corporate campus or large numbers of mobile workers - including executives, sales personnel or field service technicians - to answer calls and respond quickly. This service works with a company's existing PBX system to provide a single phone number that simultaneously rings on a user's cell phone, home phone or any pre-selected phone number. If a user can't answer the call, PBX Mobile Extension uses a company's existing voice mail system to provide a unified voice mailbox, eliminating the inefficiencies of multiple voice mail systems.

In addition to making it easier for callers to reach a company's workforce, the service enhances calling for employees. Outbound calls by employees using cell phones show the caller's office phone number via caller ID. Cell phone callers also can use other PBX functions such as call-transfer, park, hold and more.

With PBX Mobile Extension, workers can also move seamlessly between their cell phone and a desk phone to complete a call in progress, conduct quick and secure conference calls, and initiate mass notifications enabling companies to quickly respond to planned or unplanned situations. The service will be available in the United States starting next month, and Verizon plans to roll it out internationally in 2008.

On-the-Go Virtual Meetings Take New Shape With Mobile Conference Connection

Mobile Conference conference calling Connection helps busy workers quickly and easily coordinate spontaneous meetings and boost productivity away from the office. This new offering, targeted for launch this summer, provides road warriors with tools right at their fingertips to initiate or join a conference call with a few clicks on any Research in Motion BlackBerry or Microsoft Windows Mobile smart phone or PDA. For example, Mobile Conference Connection allows Instant Meeting leaders in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Latin America to enter their Instant Meeting Subscription information on their mobile device. This enables the meeting leaders to initiate and schedule spontaneous meetings, send e-mail meeting invitations, start meetings, and add participants to conference calls via a link embedded in an e-mail invitation that participants receive via their mobile registered device. In addition, participants or leaders can join audio calls by having a conference call bridge "dial out'' to contact them.

Users of Verizon's Global BlackBerry 8830 service can use Mobile Conference Connection to initiate or participate in conference calls from 150 countries worldwide. In addition, Global Blackberry users benefit from e-mail and Internet connections in 90 countries.

More Mobility Services Planned

"Today's announcements enhance our existing Mobility portfolio with new, simple and secure ways for workers to stay connected to the office," said Stratton. "We will continue to aggressively roll out products and services that best meet the needs of business customers round the world."

Additional new services Verizon plans to launch this year and next include:

1. Satellite access in Europe and Asia to enable companies without terrestrial access to remain connected to corporate resources.

2.Additional automatic wireless primary and backup access options to help enable companies to remain up and running.

3.Mobile satellite access where users can access their network in hard-to-reach areas such as mountainous regions.

4.Integrated VoIP offerings to support mobile workers.

5.Managed Wireless backup to Private IP.

source:http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/803849/3280

Conference call services - the pros and cons of web conference calling

Initially web conferencing calling was designed to be an audio conferencing call. Even today it is largely used as presentation calls which mainly interact with several people at a time. But web conference call is rapidly replacing the other forms of conference calls with its multiple uses. The manifold development that has taken place in the information technology during the past two decades has had its echo in the conference call arena.

One of the greatest advantages that web conference call has it that concepts can be illustrated in real time using the 'whiteboard.' People can also take questions and give answers, which can be recorded and later used for further interaction. The widespread use of broadband has totally revolutionized the concept of web conference call. Conference call services for business have undergone a sea change with the introduction of web conference calling. All the meetings that used to be held in the conference hall can now be held in individual offices and this saves both time and money.

Web conference call is quite similar to face-to-face meetings and is also an ideal tool for Internet marketing. With help of web conferencing, you can avoid all the nuances associated with traveling. You can also plan out your presentation more effectively through this type of conference call. The web conference call can also be recorded and put to use at a later stage. It is highly useful for those people who were not present in the conference.

One of the major disadvantages of web conference call is that detail planning is essential for its success. The people engaged in the conference call need to have high discipline and high level of concentration. For an effective conference call the web cam, microphone and other gadgets need to be in proper position and in good working condition. Failure in any one of the key gadgets can lead to the total failure of conference call.

Having said that all the disadvantages associated with web conferencing calling is applicable to other forms of conference call. The effective communication which web conference call can give is unparalleled. The money, time and energy saved make it even more worthier successor to earlier forms of conference calls.
Source:http://www.buzzle.com/articles/conference-call-services-pros-cons-web-conference-calling.html