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In the past twenty years, the teleconferencing landscape has changed considerably. It was formerly the case that only larger businesses had access to multi party teleconferencing systems. These systems were usually quite expensive and often featured live operator participation on every call. Incumbent telecom companies priced teleconferencing services at high rates (e.g twenty five cents plus per minute per user) and most businesses were willing to pay such charges to guarantee reliable and quality service. More recently the conference call market has seen a high degree of competitive forces. Several factors have been responsible including telecom deregulation, dramatic improvements in web technology and demand for improved services. The competitive landscape now consists of dozens of companies in addition to the usual suspects Organizations and individuals that desire to use conference calling now have a far wider selection of alternatives. Within that spectrum of choices are free conference calling offerings such as Rondee that meld free conference calling with web based scheduling and other related features. These companies do not charge users because they use a toll dial-in as opposed to a traditional toll-free dial-in. Therefore, such free conference call services are not free in the same sense that air is free. They do require minutes of telephone usage. However, such services are increasingly being perceived by users as essentially free because many phone plans now offer flat rate unlimited dialing; and typically cellular plans no longer have additional charges for long distance phone calls. On account of these trends, conference calling has become available to a far broader market of users as the following use-cases elucidate. Labor unions have effectively deployed traditional conferencing systems and, increasingly, free conference calling services to allow disparately located members to talk about strategies and plan meetings. Unions have traditionally been cost conscious due to the fact that their budgets are limited to the extent of member contributions. Thus, as is typically the case with non-profits, unions frequently search for methods of making every dollar stretch further. In times of contract negotiations or other situations of urgency, conferencing becomes a critical method of enabling the national leadership to communicate with local leaders. Early stage companies have long felt the same need for conferencing as well established businesses. Yet, it was not until the advent of cheap conferencing and free conferencing alternatives such as Rondee, that early stage companies could avail themselves of the benefits. New companies might use these services to coordinate work with remote developers in Eastern Europe or Eastern Asia, discuss UI themes with graphic artist designers (in the case of Web 2.0 companies), or simply discuss work-plans with disparate members of the core group. Families have typically in the past not used conference calling as a method of keeping in touch. That is now beginning to change. The widespread availability of discount or free conferencing services is helping families to schedule 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 way of deepening relationships and staying connected to loved ones. In summary, conference calling is no longer the exclusive domain of business. Other possible 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.articles.com.my
Scott Bailey discourses and comments often about tech related subjects. Scott consults to a range of organizations that use communication technologies involving conference calling, as part of a goal to increase alignment. His clients include free conference calling companies such as Rondee.
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