Or there might be a one-time joining charge. Companies can charge subscription fees, for example, for people to have the account necessary to host an audio meeting. With some providers, it can get trickier here. But what about organising a conference call? You can also stay on that call for as long as you want without incurring extra charges. We’ve established that it’s possible to join a conference call for free. So you can breathe easy, and chat to your heart’s content.Ĭan conference calls be free for the host? While some numbers have both a connection cost (a price charged just for dialling) and then an extra price per minute spent on the call, WHYPAY? calls have neither. The entire duration of the call is free (again, provided there are bundled minutes available). The thing to highlight here is that it isn’t just dialling the number that’s free. Essentially, that equates to not charged at all. That means it’s just like calling the 01 or 02 geographic numbers you’re familiar with. You can conference call from a landline too! Calls to 03 numbers are charged at the standard rate for landlines. As long as you have minutes available in your contract, joining a WHYPAY? conference call from your mobile won’t cost a penny. That’s because Ofcom rulings mean all calls to numbers beginning 03 have to be included in the caller’s bundled minutes. It turns out 03 really is the magic number. This is the prefix of every dial-in number we provide. As simple, really, as two little numbers: 03. We’re very clear not just about the fact that dialling into our conference call rooms is free, but why it’s free. With trust being so low, transparency and honesty are vital. In fact, in 2016 it even received the second most complaints of any sector (only retail got more!). The telecommunications industry has lost a lot of trust in the past decades. No matter how clearly it’s expressed, people can be hesitant to trust that even just joining the call can be free. After all, newbies likely aren’t going to be hosting any virtual meetings before taking the first step as participant. The first question that conference call novices might have is: ‘is it really free for me to join the call?’. Let’s start with the most basic aspect of free teleconferencing. Why and how can anyone be providing free conference calls? The free conference call business model and the participant If so many people use conference calls so often, by charging for them the conference call bridge could make a sizeable profit. That raises questions about why any conference call bridge would choose to offer its services for free. People often think that if someone can stand to gain money, even at others’ expense, they will. The second reason why the mere existence of free conference calls can seem surprising is that there’s a lot of cynicism around. Likewise, free NHS conference calls mean telecommunications aren’t using up money that should be put to treating people. At the same time, they aren’t having to use funds that could be put to researching how best to achieve their philanthropic goals, or hiring talented people who can help them do so. That means they can do even more good, and foster collaborations with other organisations. For example, free conference calling allows charities to maintain internal and external communications without eating into their budgets. How can something that’s simple enough to be free be so useful? Actually, it’s in part the fact that they can be free that makes them so valuable for many demographics. That such a powerful and ubiquitous tool should be free can seem quite remarkable for two reasons.įirstly, we tend to associate value with cost (pretty logically). Conference calling is part and parcel of daily life – and not just in business. A lot of people have (very valid) questions about the free conference call business model.
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