A conference call is essentially a telephone call in which more than one party calls in to listen to an audio segment of the call.

There are several ways the participating callers can interactive on a conference call. One way is to have the called party take part in the call, or the call may be set up so the called party is not authorized to speak but to only listen.

Conference calls are designed to allow participants to call others and then add them to the call, or participants may call into the conference call themselves by dialing a special phone number that connects them to a “conference bridge,” or a special type of equipment that networks telephone lines.

Prevalent in the business environment, conference bridging is usually maintained by a specialized service provider that provides the phone numbers and PIN codes used by calling parties to dial into a conference call or meeting.

Conference calling serves as an innovative way for companies to cut costs on travel and boost productivity by allowing workers to meet with both internal and external parties without having to leave the office. Conference calls are commonly used for project meetings, regular team meetings, sales presentations, training sessions and, of course, communication with employees outside the office.

In addition, conference calls are used in combination with Web conferences in which meeting participants can simultaneously view shared presentations and documents. Many U.S. corporations also turn to conference calls as a method of reporting quarterly earnings to the media and analysts.

Conference calls exist in pre-paid, flat-rate and free formats, with flat-rate enabling unlimited access to users and free services allowing participants meet for the price of their long-distance connections. 

Tammy Wolf is a TMCnet web editor. She covers a wide range of topics, including IP communications and information technology. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell