by: michael framer
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Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 Time: 1:39 AM -
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Now in its second decade, the new millennium continues to move forward technologically with innovations in everything from the new (such as social media) to the more familiar (conference calling). In fact, innovation doesn’t always mean creating something brand new from scratch. Rather, it means taking existing ideas and making them better.
Article Source: DirectoryArticles.com
Take conference calls as an example. In previous decades, conference calling required contacting an operator to initiate the call and then huddling around a speaker phone to take part in the call. Today, telecommunications service providers have taken the teleconference to a whole new level with improved call quality being but one of many recent innovations. If you’re looking for a better way to communicate, the options available are vast. It all begins with finding a provider that delivers: the features you need, quality connections and service, and an affordable price.
Conference Calling Innovations
First, it’s important to understand the latest innovations available. Today’s conference calls are a far cry from those of yesteryear. Among the more common features currently offered are:
• Account management: It’s no longer necessary to dial an operator, give her the numbers, and hope everyone is available. Account management tools make it easy to schedule calls, input phone numbers (or alternately give callers an access code to dial in), and notify participants. When the teleconference time nears, automatic emails can be sent to remind participants of the pending call. When the time arrives, all participants dial the number (or the software dials out), enter the access code, and the conference begins.
• Auto dial – dial out: In some cases, you may want to preprogram specific phone numbers to call directly. For example, it may be cheaper to dial out to a participant than to pay for that participant’s toll free access. In addition, if you know that some participants tend to forget about their commitments, are notorious for being late, or are sometimes preoccupied; preprogramming their numbers helps ensure participation. When the scheduled meeting time arrives, these numbers are automatically dialed on your behalf.
• Toll free access: Depending on your needs, offering conference calls with toll free access for each participant may make sense over expecting callers to dial long distance. For example, if you’re hosting a call involving potential clients, you’ll want to pick up the tab. Offering a toll free call can also ensure greater participation as callers will not be concerned with their potential phone bills.
• Call recording: Perhaps one of the most useful innovations is the ability to record conference calls. Once recorded, you can either post the call for others to listen to online or forward it as a file attachment to your colleagues and employees who were unable to attend the meeting while it was taking place.
Teleconference Call Quality and Service
In addition to adding new features, conference calling quality has improved significantly. While phone quality in general has improved, the ability to use individual phones to connect instead of speaker phones improves sound quality while also allowing participants to participate virtually anywhere. However, before you take sound quality as a given, it’s important to test a conference calling service provider on a few calls to make sure that the sound quality meets your expectations. This is because some providers use VoIP technology which is still emerging from its infancy with varying results.
In addition to call quality, consider a provider’s commitment to service. You can do this in many ways including reading user reviews online as well as calling the company’s customer service phone number and speaking directly with customer service representatives.
Conference Calling Affordability
Just as many innovations make conference calls better than ever, these same forces make them more affordable than ever. As with any service, prices vary based on features, quality and service levels and other factors. Look for a conference calling service that delivers the features, quality, and service that you want at the best possible price. It may take a while to find the perfect provider for your conference calls, but its well worth the effort.
aitelephone.com specializes in providing companies of all sizes with conference calling plans that exceed expectations. With high quality connections, flexible and affordable international conference call plans, and a commitment to providing the best conference call services and packages available, you can bet that your call for a quality provider is answered.
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