Conference Call Savings

The technology that lets more than two individuals get together on one phone call is called a conference call bridge. They can be hosted online by conferencing service providers or hosted through company owned or rented equipment on a private network.

A conference call bridge joins several phone calls together, creating a single connection out of many. It is a specialized piece of telephone equipment that can answer many calls and bridge them together. The bridge functions much like a Web server, managing connections and the free flow of information from several sources to a single communication environment.

Cost of Conference Call Bridges

A conference call bridge lets participants dial in to a meeting and lets the host dial out to bring participants in. Larger enterprises involved in frequent conferencing may want to consider purchasing or renting a conference call bridge and the equipment needed to make it work. The hefty $10,000 to $20,000 price tag makes this equipment impractical for smaller companies. For instance, a company that uses a small conferencing plan costing about $40 a month will not break even until 500 months have passed, assuming no equipment maintenance or upgrade costs.

Renting a bridge is more affordable for smaller businesses, but only if they have heavy conferencing communications traffic. Rented bridges can be costly when you factor in the cost of the services, long distance and toll-free phone numbers.

Advantage of a Conference Call Bridge

Some conference call bridge services have the technology to show you the IP or phone number where a call originates. This provides the security of knowing who is calling into a conference and prevents unwanted guests from joining a meeting.  Security is the main benefit of owning or renting a conference call bridge, but it comes at a big expense compared to other conferencing services.

When deciding if a conference call bridge is right for your company, consider the security protocols in place. Encrypted connections ensure your data flows securely over the Internet, but if an employee is careless with your conferencing phone number and pass code, unscrupulous callers may join a meeting without your knowledge. In addition, taking the time to gather IP addresses prior to a meeting creates additional work that may be unnecessary for most conferences. While a conference call bridge makes it easier to police meeting participants, large meetings are more difficult to police with many participants calling in or joining through various IP networks.