Teleconferencing not just the exclusive domain of corporations
By: Linda Rogers

In the course of the last decade, the teleconferencing terrain has changed significantly. It used to be true that only larger sized corporations had access to multi party phone conferencing. These systems were typically rather expensive and often featured live operator assistance on every call.

Monopolist telecommunications companies priced teleconferencing services at costly rates (e.g. over twenty cents per user minute) and most corporations were willing to pay these rates to ensure reliable and quality services. Now in recent years the market has seen a flurry of competitive forces. Several factors have been responsible including telecommunications deregulation, dramatic improvements in web technology and demand for improved services.

The competitive environment now consists of seemingly countless companies in addition to the usual suspects Organizations and individuals that desire to use teleconferencing now have a far wider selection of choices. Within that spectrum of providers are free conference calling offerings such as Rondee that meld free conference calling with web based scheduling and other productivity tools. These services do not charge users for the reason that they utilize a toll number as opposed to a traditional toll-free dial-in. Therefore, such free conference call services are not free in the same sense that oxygen is free. They do require minutes of telephone usage.

Notwithstanding that, such services are increasingly being perceived by users as essentially free because many telecom plans now offer flat rate “all you can dial” and typically cell phone plans no longer have added charges for long distance phone calls. As a result of these factors, teleconferencing has become available to a far wider market of users as the following use-cases show.

Student organizations have found substantial benefit in utilizing teleconferencing systems to generate collaboration across campuses, cities and states. Most campuses have dozens, if not hundreds of active student clubs. Sometimes these clubs are chapters of regional, state-wide or even national umbrella entities. Given the budgetary realities of student life, it would be impractical for the individual members of these far-flung groups to meet in person. Teleconferencing thereby becomes the ideal way for members to stay in touch and plan events.

Start-up companies have long felt the same requirement for conferencing as was true for established businesses. However, it was not until the development of discount conferencing and free conferencing alternatives such as Rondee, that early stage companies could avail themselves of the benefits. Young companies might use these systems to coordinate work with remote developers in Eastern Europe or Eastern Asia, discuss design themes with graphic artist designers (in the case of Web 2.0 start-ups), or simply discuss work-plans with disparate members of the core group.

Families have traditionally not employed conference calling as a method of staying in touch. That is now starting to change. The widespread availability of discount or free conferencing services is helping families to arrange time when parents can speak with multiple children or even grandchildren. The same is true, in reverse. Younger family members are starting to introduce parents and grandparents to the benefits of conferencing as a means of deepening relationships and staying up to date with loved ones.

In summary, teleconferencing is no longer the exclusive domain of large business users. Other potential users have long felt the need but it has only been with the launch of new business models that the availability of these offerings has become more ubiquitous.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com

Linda Rogers lectures on and comments often about tech related issues. She consults to a variety of organizations that use communication technologies involving conference calling. Her clients include www.rondee.com“>free conference calling companies such as Rondee.

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