The Basics of Setting up a Conference Call

Setting up a conference call is fairly easy nowadays, even if you don't know much about computers. Of course you can face some difficulties for first time, but with a little help from your provider you can solve them easily.

The more participants you have, the more people you have to coordinate, and arrange the meeting time with them. This can be very difficult if some of the participants live in different time zones or perform different tasks. Of course, setting up a conference call is much more time efficient and cheaper than organizing a real conference, which requires that you fly thousands of miles, book rooms and pay various other costs as well.

Be sure that every participant has received detailed information about the conference system you are about to use, so you don't have to interrupt or delay the meeting because of technical issues. If you have time, setting up a test conference is also useful, because you can check the process before you use it in real-life situations.

There are many types of conference calls you can choose from and as a result, they have differences in the setup process. First, let's see the telephone based conference calls.

Reservationless conference calls are easy to set up, because they require almost no preparation. All you have to do is dial a given number and give your access code. Other participants also use this number with a different access code.

Operator assisted conference calls have more options but they are of course more expensive. The operator can record, broadcast and handle a subconference as you wish. Starting an operator-assisted conference call costs more money, and requires reservation, but gives you full control over the calling process, without diverting your attention from the topics you are about to discuss.

An operator dialed conference call gives you even more extra features. The operator dials the participants and adds them one-by-one to the conference. This is very useful if some members have never used such service before. You can also ask for translation and for many other features.

The web based services are trickier to use, and you need more time to understand them, but they are much cheaper and have video features, which make the conference more life-like and efficient. The programs that can handle such operations are becoming easier to use. They include, among others, the well-known Skype and NetMeeting. Skype also has a VoIP service, which is an Internet protocol based phone system. You need professional programs for setting up large conference calls and broadcasts. These programs are usually rather difficult to set up and need additional hardware or a provider that can handle and distribute such an amount of data. These providers offer almost the same services as the telephone companies, with all the advantages of digital technology such as video conference options, file transfer, animated presentations and digital recordings.