Flat Rate Conference Calls
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In these days, business administrators are discovering the advantages of choosing flat rate conference calls instead of a "per minute plan". In the first plan there are no long distance costs involved, the only cost charged is the bridge usage. This bridge is the device in charge of connecting several people in the same line and also maintaining the correct volume in the call to avoid noises.

 
There are different types of flat rate plans; it depends on how many people will be attending the conference. While some companies feature packages for 5 participants, there are others with plans starting on 10 people packages, up to 150 participants. That´s why is very important to plan carefully who will be included in your conferences. A plan including more people will be more expensive, of course. With flat rate conference calls there is no need for reservations, once you activate your account with your provider, you will be able to arrange a conference. In a per minute plan, an operator will have to make sure there is available time for your conference and then will schedule it.

Advantages of using flat rate conference calls:

Several conferences can be arranged in a month since just a fixed fee is to be paid, which is very convenient for companies needing to communicate with offices in different locations very often. No matter how many conference calls are made, there are no extra charges.

With a fixed fee there won´t be hidden charges or surprises at the end, participants can stay in the conference for 12 minutes or 1hour, that will not affect the monthly payment. The company will always know what´s the cost of its conference calling.

There is no need to worry about finding an available spot during a busy day, the conference call can be scheduled at any time, no reservations are required.

There are some benefits added to the conference calling services, some companies offer the option to play music while participants, who logged in early, are on hold, waiting for the moderator or leader to call in and start the conference.

There is another option to hang up the entire call after the moderator or leader finishes the call, this option can also be disabled if the conference will continue after the leader hangs up.

The leader or moderator will also be able to record the conference in a digital file online; this file can be played back to review information or to let new participants know about previous topics addressed during the call. Another option will allow the participants to be announced when they log in. Attendees will have some seconds to record his name prior going into the conference. The moderator will also be able to mute all the lines at the same time, and then enable the lines again to continue with the conference. All these benefits are optional and can be enable and disabled very easily.

Businesses needing to make conferences very often can use flat rate conference calls and take advantage of the benefits available and a fixed monthly fee.