Toll free conference bridge services are readily available and can save businesses and organizations a substantial amount of money because there is no need to buy expensive conference hardware or software. In fact, most conference vendors do not charge a start up fee, and you can use the service on a pay-as-you-go basis. You can get set up in a manner of minutes to begin using toll free conferencing.
As a business consumer, you have a couple of options when it comes to choosing what toll free service is right for you.
Voice Service Bridge
Your first option, is a pay-as-you-go plan, which is based on per minute pricing, and includes all incoming conference calls from the United States and Canada. As an example, 10 people on a conference call for 10 minutes would be a total of 100 conference minutes. You would multiply the per minute rate times the total number of minutes (in this instance, 100 minutes) to calculate your cost of the call. Depending on the set-up, you would be charged on a credit card, and sent a receipt.
The advantages of this option include only paying for what you use -- no more or less. And if there are some months you are not conferencing at all, there is no cost. That's why this option is ideal for the occasional or casual user.
Your second option is to purchase a set number of toll free minutes per month. This is very similar to how cell phone plans operate, when you buy a certain amount of minutes each month and pay for them whether you use them or not. Some refer to this as a "bucket plan" since you get a bucket of minutes.
This option is ideal if you are regular user and have a general idea of how many conference minutes per month you will use. When you break down the per minute pricing, this option is much less expensive than the pay-as-you-go per minute plans. Even if you overestimate the number of minutes you will use, you can still save money. But then again, you will be billed for the bucket of minutes you buy, whether you use them or not.
Overall, you should remember that there is no such thing as "free toll free conferencing." Every vendor in the conference business charges for toll free service. Businesses and organizations enjoy toll free conferencing services because it provides customers, prospects and associates a convenient way to collaborate without the cost of dialing a long distance number. It may be more expensive than regular toll conferencing, but offering conference participants a toll free number provides a level of professionalism and shows everyone that you take your conference meetings seriously and that the discussions are important to you.
Toll free conference bridge services will continue to increase in popularity in the future because of how much time and money they save the participants. What would normally take an afternoon in getting everyone together can be accomplished in just a few minutes by meeting on the phone, rather than in person.