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Many cheap and free audio conference call services use access numbers beginning with 08xx. The more common are 0871, 0870, 0844 and 0845 numbers. These number ranges are known as non-geographic or ‘NGN’ numbers. Whilst these are accessible from most landlines and mobile networks in the UK, there is no guarantee that you will be able to connect to them from overseas. There are a number of reasons for this, which are documented in this article.

NGNs and telecoms interconnect agreements
International telephone carriers such as British Telecom in the UK, AT and T in the US, Telefonica in Spain, and Deutsche Telekom in Germany sign up to agreements as to what type of traffic they will pass between each other. These are complex commercial and technical contracts called telecoms interconnect agreements.

All telecoms interconnect agreements include interconnection between ‘normal’ geographical numbers in the respective countries. For instance, you will definitely be able to call, say, a London number beginning with 0207 from any country in the world. It would not make economic sense for calls to London not to be supported.

In reality calls to all numbers beginning with 01 and 02 are supported as these cover almost all the standard phone numbers in the UK.However, calls to 08xx numbers are often NOT included in these agreements. Even when they are, the prices charged to connect are often outrageously high.

In Summary: There is no guarantee you will be able to connect to an 0871, 0870, 0844 or 0845 number from abroad and even if you can, you are likely to be charged an extortionate fee for the privilege.

The overseas NGN connection rip-off
One of the main reasons why overseas telephone operators do not like to connect to NGNs is the revenue sharing model around which they are based. When you call an NGN, your telephone company charges you and then passes on a percentage of what they make on the call to the owner (or renter) of the NGN in commission.The amount of commission varies considerably by number range from a few pennies a minute on the 0871 numbers down to a few fractions of a penny (or even nothing at all) on the 0845 numbers.

This mechanism works well within the UK since all the UK operators work within UK law and are able to pass commission payments around easily.The sums involved are often very small and hence it would be difficult to do this economically when you have overseas transactions or currency exchange to consider.

This cost and complexity when dealing with NGNs lead many overseas telecoms operators to not bother providing connections to UK NGNs. Those that do often charge very high rates for the calls to cover the extra costs and risks involved.

In Summary: Overseas operators often charge rip-off rates to connect to NGNs in the UK or simply don’t connect your call.

What are the implications for audio conferencing?
If you are using an audio conference provider which requires overseas participants to call a non-geographic number in the UK, i.e. 0871, 0870, 0844 or 0845 there is no guarantee that their connection will work and no way of telling how much it will cost without first checking with the telephone company in the country you are calling from.

Please note, it makes no difference which conference call provider you use. If they issue you with an 08xx access number, you will run into the issues above. If you need reliable overseas access then you must use a service offering which provides local and freephone access to overseas participants via our global virtual private network (VPN). A VPN can be thought of as a private telephone network for the use of our customers only.

Peter Bennett is CEO of Ozone Conferencing Limited. This article is taken from the resources section of the Ozone Conferencing website. Other recent articles includeCheap Conference Calls
and Free Audio Conferencing.

Corporate video is a collective term that comprises all the differing video productions utilized in most medium-size to large-size organizations and corporations. Video productions should share common goals: to effectively deliver information, influence decisions by individuals or groups, meet the production schedule and stay within the budget. Speaking of decisions, this process is decision intensive.

Before the secrets of success are revealed, a few basic premises. Identify and plan for multiple target audiences. When program elements are utilized in additional programs or applications, the production effort is far more valuable to the company. Even before the scripting process begins, you should consider how to generate the material to be used by others in the company for other purposes. For example, programs developed by the sales and training departments could very well work for human resources as well.

A video production can only communicate a few messages. It should not be intended to present a multitude of ideas and concepts. Focus on three key points. Develop a clear set of objectives and how the program will address and achieve those objectives. You may find that the program can only effectively deliver a single primary message. Keep the program succinct and only long enough to deliver the message. A shorter program will be more widely accepted and will surely cost less. There is an old adage that applies here which is to tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them and then tell them what you told them. The ability to measure the results of your efforts against the objectives is vital. Objectives should be realistic and achievable. An objective should not be stated as: to improve overall morale of hourly workers. But rather: increase attendance and voting in employee meetings by 10 per cent. Use benchmark surveys, evaluation forms, small group discussions, web site or email polling questions of usefulness, a game or quiz with reward on employee intranet, even a cell phone text message. In your survey ask about program length, relevance and worth.

One of the best decisions you should make is to carefully choose a turnkey video production company early in the process. A full service firm should be able to prove they can deliver top performance in all of the three phases of the production process: pre-production (scripting), production (shooting) and post-production (editing). Ask three firms for proposals and provide the same information to all three. Visit them. Watch their demos and listen to their explanations of how the productions were created. Good creative people are crucial. They should be happy and enthusiastic. Ask for case studies of successes, awards, and references. Make sure you understand the production process of each company, the approval points offered along with way and how their process will mesh with your requirements. Also ask where you can save money. Make your decision on all of these factors but not solely on price. Employing separate firms for the production phases requires a knowledgeable, experienced producer to maintain control and continuity.

Here are the six secrets:

1. Capture and maintain the attention of the audience. Audiences readily compare corporate video productions to network television. Grab their interest quickly and hold it in order to deliver your message. This is achieved through creative and entertaining scripting, high quality production techniques that compare to the professional look of broadcast television and the best voice or on-camera talent you can afford.
2. Use real people to tell the story. This is important because people like to see and hear real people, not actors.
3. Get an approved script before you shoot anything. You will save yourself time, money and hair.
4. Do the paper edit (offline edit) yourself. Ask for a time code window dub of the raw footage so you can pick the shots and the sound bites. A window dub provides a small window on the screen that displays a time code of each frame imbedded while recording. This provides precise edit points.
5. Plan for future revisions. Do not paint yourself in a corner. Plan so any element can be revised without having to recreate animations and re-edit difficult segments. Avoid information that may change after a year.
6. In order to get through the initial approval stage; edit only the first minute with all on-camera segments, special effects, music and voice tracks. Keep the approval team small and on schedule.
Bonus secret: negotiate up front for a digital copy of the raw footage for your own library. If the raw footage is high definition, ask for a standard definition copy as well.

Ask your production company for an explanation of the various distribution channels available. Currently everything is headed for the web. Most offices and boardrooms have DVD players and certainly VHS players. Most computers are shipped with DVD players and CD-ROM. The company intranet can be your primary delivery system. Corporate television channels can be established and combined with digital signage in primary and remote locations. Mobile video, social networking platforms both internal and external, viral media, podcasts, the exploding blogosphere are all worth learning about and exploring.

Seemingly, video is everywhere: in stores, on gas pumps, on grocery carts, the backs of airplane seats, in the mini-van and even mounted on the fronts of Segways. Remember video never has a bad day. It is the same consistent message every time.

Hal McArthur, ABC is President of McArthur Communications, Inc. (http://www.mcarthur.com) - an award-winning, full-service video production company in Richmond, Virginia.
Contact Hal McArthur at halmcarthur@hotmail.com.

Creating memorable messages is utilizing effective communication to move people to act. Memorable messages are the cornerstone of effective marketing messages, whether they are TV commercials, marketing campaigns or product designs. Memorable messages are those that give us confidence in some politicians, authority leaders and products, while we remain distrustful of others. Messaging is the communication of the details on a product or issue that will compel the audience to act on the information received.

A model of communication that is popularly followed is the 4C model. This is a communication and marketing tool that was initially aimed at the assessment and evaluation of advertising. Basically an assessment of how memorable advertising messages were. The 4 Cs model covers comprehension, connection, credibility and contagiousness. These four elements are considered to be the foundations for a marketer wanting to create a message that is easily understood, and that gets in peoples heads in such a way that they are compelled to act.

Whatever your area of communication, be it business, political, entertainment or marketing, by using the 4Cs you have a blueprint for succeeding in creating optimal communications or memorable messages. So to get you started, lets go through a quick rundown of what each of the four elements means to the communicator.

Firstly, lets look at comprehension. As you will see with all the 4Cs, this is a straightforward concept that is just what it seems. This simply means does your target audience understand what you are saying. If you discover that your message is ambiguous or that the audience does not understand what you are saying then you need to consider how you can increase audience comprehension. Easy tips to follow for this are to make sure that the message is short, sharp and straight to the point, do not get caught up with explaining everything, just provide the basics and tell the audience clearly. Following that make sure that the message is repeated, as it has been seen that repetition can aid in comprehension.

The next of the 4Cs is connection which refers to the process of creating an emotional response to your message. When the audience gets your message in this way they experience an emotive response stemming from the fact that the message resonates with them. By invoking emotion in your target audience you have the ability to connect and this means that the audience will be more likely to act on the message.

The third of the 4Cs is credibility, which establishes your audience trust. Credibility is when the audience seeks to know who is communicating, what is being said and how the messenger is saying it. Once you have engaged the target audience on the comprehension and connection levels you can still lose them if they do not see you as being a trustworthy or credible source. This is one of the most difficult and most important of the 4Cs.

The last of the 4Cs is contagiousness which relates to the catchiness of the message you present to the audience. This means that the audience attention is caught by the message in such a way that they discuss it with others, repeat lines from it and in the most powerful cases the message passes over into the common language of the broader community. When you have developed a message that achieves this successfully then you have achieved the ultimate goal of spreading your word.

Once you have mastered these 4Cs of message communication you can apply this in your day to day communications. For a business this means that you can utilize these tools for not only advertising, but also in communication of your business goals to other employees in your organization. Remember these tools are about memorable messages, and if you are targeting internal members these can also be applied to company memos, employee emails, your blog and even PowerPoint presentations. The 4Cs of memorable messaging will give you the edge you are looking for in communications across all levels.

Deep Arora is an Internet marketer with over 7 years of online experience and he teaches internet marketing from his blog at HowIDid.com. Check out his blog for some amazing techniques today..

Another fact I would like to share was that the honking of the geese we hear as they migrate is actually them encouraging each other to continue on. Okay, perhaps that could arguably be considered an opinion, but so what?!

It made me think of how we can emulate the compassionate and wise behaviour of the geese. It also reminded me of something I have always felt and that is being in the company of like-minded people elicits a sense of strength, purpose, and community.

So what can we learn from our fine feathered friends, the geese?

1. The ‘V’ formation adds the whole flock extra flying range.

Lesson: People who share a sense of community can help each other get where they are going more easily because they are travelling on the trust of one another.

2. When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back to take advantage of the lifting power of the birds in front.

Lesson: If we have as much sense as geese, we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others because we are travelling on the trust of one another.

3. When the lead goose tires, it drops back into the formation and another goose flies to the point position.

Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks. We should respect and protect each other’s unique arrangement of skills, capabilities, talents and resources.

4. The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up with their speed.

Lesson: We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In teams where there is encouragement, production (result) is much greater. Individual empowerment results from quality honking.

5. When a goose gets sick, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it.

Lesson: If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as we are strong.

The most productive outcomes occur when each member helps out the other so that their combined efforts will create the best result because no one person had to do it all. This is similar to multi level marketing.

When we’re ‘in charge’, share the position, don’t get power hungry, and ask for input from others. When we are not ‘in charge’, offer to help, carry your own weight. In either case, say thanks to others involved. Cheer each other on when the going gets rough. Maybe if we offer encouragement right from the start, it may not even get rough!

If a friend ever gets frustrated, feels overwhelmed, and wants to quit, the best thing you can do for them is quality HONK!

Use these principles over and over again. It will not only lift your mood but help you to develop commitment to peak performance within yourself and within your teams.

Jackie Khor is a leader in Network Marketing. She is best known for her down-to-earth, no-nonsense training. Get your FREE newsletter at WorkAtHomeBusiness

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Just some of the main reasons why a particular hotel becomes famous could be due to its location and its design. This is particularly evident with newer hotels like the Burj al Arab in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Whilst the name of the hotel might not be instantly recognizable the fact that the hotel is built on an artificial island and is shaped like a giant boats sail makes it arguably the worlds most distinctive looking hotel. And being 321 metres high certainly adds to its world famous status.

And therefore size could well be important if the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is anything to go by. With in excess of 6000 rooms it goes to show that good things dont just come in small packages.

So if location, location, location really is vital and size really does count then another reason why a hotel becomes world famous could well be because of its historic value. In fact, who had heard of the Watergate complex in Washington DC until events of 1967 and the subsequent political scandal involving Richard Nixon?

The truth is hotels and successful businesses of all types often share one similar trait and this is they are great at communication. For hotels this is particularly important has the running of a hotel is an extremely time consuming and difficult job. Hotel communication is therefore vital to ensure hotel staff, suppliers and visitors are kept secure and safe in a clean and friendly environment.

Hotel health and safety and hotel communication has been made easier in recent years through the use of modern 2 way radio and hotel radios available from leading manufacturers like HYT, Motorola and Kenwood mean that hotel safety and hotel communications is quicker and easier than ever before.

Successful hotels are successful because people use them time and time again and recommend them to others. Successful hotels do this because their staff and suppliers almost blend into the background of a hotel leaving their visitors to enjoy their facilities and surroundings in peace of quiet.

From chambermaids and bell boys, hotel radios are a great way for staff throughout a hotel to stay in touch over a wide area and with no call charges. Hotel communication also benefits kitchen staff, waiters and waitresses as well as receptionists, maintenance staff and indeed anyone working in the hotel or complex.

In a time when businesses throughout the world are struggling, trying to gain a competitive advantage is vital and for hotels, getting their hotel communications right allows them to do this.

Not all hotels can be as famous as the taj mahal but all hotels can improve their hotel safety and hotel communication for less money than they may think.

Apex Radio Systems Ltd are the Hotel Communication Experts and details of their Hotel Radios and Hotel Communication Radios can be found by visiting the Apex Radio Systems Ltd Online Shop.

Public relations is no longer something that just happens; how a company or corporation is perceived in the public eye, particularly in the eye of the company’s shareholders or potential customers, isn’t something that’s left to chance. Companies have entire departments and large budgets in place to ensure that they will be viewed in a positive light by the public.

In its simplest form, the idea of public relations is to get the word out to the public concerning all of the positive things that a company or organization may be involved in, and to enhance the company’s overall image, while at the same time downplaying anything that could potential be viewed as a negative action in the public eye.

Public relations is kind of like advertising’s less obtrusive brother. Where advertising’s main goal is to stick a product in the face of a potential customer and give them every reason to buy it, the public relations approach is a lot less direct.

Public relations will let your target consumer know what else you’ve got going on besides your product or service - like what kind of good you are doing in the community and how you plan to help more in the future. Though it’s not as bold as advertising, a good public relations department can aid in building profits just as much as advertising.

There are any number of ways that a company or organization can positively use public relations to enhance their image in the eye of the public:

A company can donate either time or money to a charitable cause or they could hold a charity event to raise money for a particular cause. Potential customers and share holders want to know if a company cares, and they want to know what it is that the company cares about and supports.

Another approach to public relations is to have a company representative speak at an industry conference or seminar. The speaker can go over with an audience, packed with the very people that the company wants to reach, details of all of the latest activities as well as all of the future plans that will be implemented and what kind of positive impact those plans will have on the industry and the community.

This is kind of like issuing a personal press release, where the company representative can get out the exact message that needs to be distributed to exactly the right people, and can then answer any potential questions that may arise. A press release is a great tool, but its content is definitive, any questions that arise from a press release will remain until another company statement is made, with a live statement questions can be addressed and answered appropriately right form the start.

Though I’ve just pointed out some of the negatives of a press release, that doesn’t mean that it’s not a very effective tool of public relations. A press release mat not be personal, and it may or may not leave small questions in the minds of some readers, but what it can do is reach a tremendous amount of people giving them a good idea of your mission statement or telling them of a recent award or accomplishment of the company.

A well written press release can reach thousands of thousands of people that wouldn’t have known of your accomplishment any other way - and press releases come at a much cheaper price than any form of advertising. You’d never be able to reach the same portion of your target audience with public speaking as you would with a high quality press release.

A company’s image can mean everything - one big negative event, even if it’s only perceived as a negative event in the public eye, can literally destroy a company. If a company or organization wants to become successful and stay successful, it has to build up and protect its positive image - the only way to really do that effectively is through good public relations.

Toronto-based PR company offering a full suite of public relation services. An owner-operated agency, we are a collective of senior practitioners dedicated to achieving results for our clients.

There is an old saying in the West that says that if the preacher talks too much about stealing, better sneak out a little early, race home and lock the cellar!

The same holds for the good old boy that says, Ah, we don’t need to have a contract. You can trust me. The most innocent reasons for putting something in writing are that frankly each of us forgets, changes our minds or some folk just plain lie!

Robert Ringer famously said in the 70’s, If you have it in writing, you have a prayer. If you don’t have it in writing you just have air! Sadly, old Bobby was right more times than wrong.

A Contract is a meeting of the minds. When two people finally have that, it means that they think the same thing, or at least at that moment in time they think that they think the same thought! So a good thought is to write that good thought down in black and white so both parties can look at it. When you both see it in those bold letters and it is really what you both were thinking, then you really do have a contract. The final touch is when each of you put your John Hancock’s on the dotted line.

Then in the future when your partner decides that he doesn’t remember it the way you do, each of you can pull out that paper and refer to it to refresh your aging memories. Of course, you keep a copy in your 40-ton vault just in case your partner still doesn’t agree ‘cuz that’s what courts are for! Besides, we want to fall into the status quo.

The US has 5% of the world’s population, 95% of the world’s attorneys and 98% of the world’s litigation. And if you were to sneak a peak at the stats, I’m sure we’d find that a goodly part of that is split between New York and California! (quote me and I’ll deny it!) So don’t worry, sue him. You’ll be right at home in good company.

Most all of us want to think the other person is honest and wants the best, or at least is a straight shooter, (the exception, of course, is if you are in the crosshairs of his very large rifle scope!). But thinking that someone thinks what we do and will continue thinking that way is rather dicey.

Ever played that game where you all sit in a big circle and you whisper something in the person’s ear to your right. That person in turn repeats what he thought he heard to the person on her right, and so on around the circle. The rule is that no one can repeat themselves. Each one has to repeat once what he thought he or she heard.

When the last person repeats what he heard to you and you tell the group the two statements the group usually rolls around in laughter! Remember that game? Of course you do! It’s crazy and that’s why we have courts! That’s why we have everything worth remembering exactly put down in writing and witnessed.

Some of the kindest, sweetest people I have ever known have said, OK, great I’ll have my attorney draw up an agreement. Actually it was a compliment. Those kind of people are unique and usually those contracts gather dust in my active files.

It’s the oily guy with the new porcelain smile and his $3,000 suit paid for by his last victim that says, Ah we don’t need to have a contract. You can trust me…NOW That’s when I sneak out early, race home and lock the cellar!

Scott McGregor is the founder of http://www.Doppelit.com, the Entrepreneur Connection. He is considered The Consummate Entrepreneur, started companies when it was impossible and financed companies when there was no money for nearly 50 years. His mission is to show other Entrepreneurs that they CAN!

Communication overload is more common of an issue than many of us would ever believe. There are several types and levels of communication today based on the technology that we are surrounded with. These communications arrive to us through email, pagers, instant messages, cell phones, voice mail, teleconferencing, video conferencing, and several other means. While these methods of communication are quite productive in many different ways, and can assist us with numerous areas of our life, there comes a time when too much is, well, simply too much. This is when communication overload may start to occur. Here, you will be introduced to this type of overload, as well as how to cope with communication overload.

What is Communication Overload?

Communication overload is exactly what it says… an overload in communications. However, this actually goes a bit deeper than the surface definition. Communications that an individual experiences may be too complex and/or extensive. In addition to this, this type of overload may be experienced if someone receives too many types of communications from too many different sources. It is much like when a person experiences the issue of heightened sensitivity, or overstimulation of the senses. Only, in this case, it is directly related to the communication types and the frequency of those communication types in general.

What Are The Symptoms of Communication Overload?

For many reading this, the whole concept of “communication overload” is bound to be a new concept. Knowing that this particular condition actually has physical and psychological symptoms associated with it may come as even more of a surprise! In recent studies, it has been discovered that there are actually a few distinct symptoms associated with this condition. The following list displays some of these symptoms:

1. When an individual becomes bogged down by constant and frequent communication, one of the first symptoms is stress. While we all react to stress differently, it is agreed that as the communication is introduced to a person in a larger quantity, the more that stress is likely to be experienced.

2. Many individuals display rapid mood swings that may range from depression and mild irritability to complete, uncontrollable anger.

3. Many individuals may experience high levels of physical and emotional fatigue.

4. There are some who will lose motivation and if they work, they may lose their overall ability to remain productive.

5. Many physical symptoms and complaints may arise. These may include mild headaches, mild body tremors, increased blood pressure levels, sleep disorders, and even health complications that are a bit more serious in nature, such as a decline in the body’s immune system.

Coping with Communication Overload

There are many different coping strategies when it comes to communication overload. Below are some measures that you can take in order to ensure that you are not the victim of this condition:

1. If you have a device that captures messages, you should take the time to designate specific times throughout the day to check these messages.

2. It is important, when communicating on the phone, that you designate that time for that mode of conversation only. Do not check to see who is beeping you, or that email that just popped in. Doing so may overwhelm you.

3. When working online, work online but do the task at hand. Try to avoid working, chatting, talking, and several other types of activities that require communicating with others.

If you work to overcome the overload that communication can cause, you will be happy, healthy, and more productive. Take the steps listed here for how to cope with communication overload, and apply them to your daily life.

Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of Be Successful News, a site that provides information and articles on how to succeed in your own home or small business.

The 0845 numbers in Great Britain are a non geographical telephone number which is used all over the country. The telephone number is used by most customer service departments in businesses in the public sector. The call which is made to the customer from the caller is very complex with the charge sometimes being split between the caller and the receiver.

The other businesses that use this type of telephone number are also the low rate call and low rate special services that use the names. A good example of an 0845 business would be a large retailer that uses a 0845 number for their customer complaints department. This number would enable customers from all around the country to be able to call the retailer and any store under the retailers name will be able to pick up the phone to the customers complaints. This is very useful as it doesn’t matter where the customer is in the country the retailer will be able to answer.

The charges for an 0845 number can fluctuate dramatically depending on each business that are using them. This is because each company that uses the number charges individual rates and can use the number to generate some income from all the people that phone the number. Another good example of a 0845 number business is a finance company that rings many different customers to offer the services. If the customer rings back the finance company can receive some income from the call and they can purposely finance their own service to these customers from the income and in some cases can potentially make a profit.

There are many advantages for businesses that use an 0845 number over an existing geographical number. For example, the business can publicize a single number that is very easy and convenient for the customer. This enables the business a much simpler way of being contacted, rather having to create an array of different numbers for each city, and working and non working hours numbers. This allows the business to be contacted by the customer a lot easier than with a geographical number.

Another advantage is the revenue made from the caller to the business. This is because every time the customer rings the organisation off an 0845 number a share of that call charge will go to the business meaning they can fund the whole operation. The last main advantage is the fact that the large amount of calls that can be received off the number can be routed away from the business and to one of their call centres. This will allow the business still to help the customer with problems but the caller wont have to wait a long period of time to get through due to the large amount of calls being made to the business through a single line. This is because in a call centre you can have many different phone lines set up to be able to keep up with the high caller demand.

Overall, the 0845 number has changed the way public service businesses work and has made them much more efficient helping the customers and not slowing down businesses. This has meant that geographical numbers in this sector of the market have dropped considerably to the point where nearly all businesses are using the 0845 system.

Communications expert Catherine Harvey looks at why businesses prefer to use 0845 numbers rather than local telephone numbers.

We have all heard the expression “there is no such thing as a free lunch” but with so many companies purporting to offer free conference call services is the famous idiom outdated?

The answer depends on how you define the term “free”. After much research into this subject I have managed to come to some interesting conclusions. I have looked at the following available options to assess their effectiveness for business conference calls.

1. Free conference calls using Skype
2. Free telephone conferencing using non-geographic numbers (NGN’s)

Free conference calls using Skype

Many of you reading this will have heard of Skype which allows you to make free voice calls over the internet (Voice over Internet Protocol or VOIP for short). If have a PC or laptop and a good quality headset connected to a broadband internet service with sufficient bandwidth then you can hold a conference call with a limited number of participants without paying a thing.

The incremental cost of the conference call is zero, but the setup costs are considerable unless you already have the equipment described above. As the cost of computer equipment falls and bandwidths get better, more people than ever now have the required platform and hence Skype is an ideal solution for some people.

Our experiences with in call quality with Skype vary considerably. During quiet times when our internet connection is not busy we get excellent results in call quality, however it can be somewhat unreliable so we don’t consider it robust enough for important business calls or ones where there are a large number of people.

Skype summary: The actual conference calls are free, but you need to have invested in the computer equipment and internet connection first. Limited number of participants and lack of reliability make it unsuitable for key business conference calls, where reliability is a must. There are other VOIP services that may be more reliable and economical then Skype, here are some other VOIP services compared

Free telephone conferencing using non-geographic numbers (NGN’s)

This type of free telephone conferencing allows audio conferencing participants to dial into a non-geographic telephone number to hold their conference call. It’s important that you understand what a non-geographic number is and how telephone operators - or “telcos” - charge for calls to them.

As the name suggests, a non-geographic telephone number (NGN) is a telephone number that does not terminate at any fixed location. Instead, when you call an NGN, the telco redirects the call to a “real” telephone number. In the USA the most famous type of NGN is the 1-800 free phone number. When you call a 1-800 number you have no idea where the operator who takes your call is located, they could be anywhere in the world.

Of course, telcos are not in the business of giving away free calls, so someone somewhere has to pay. In the case of the 1-800 number, the company you are calling pays the telco for the cost of the call.

Another type of NGN is a premium rate number. In the UK there are an array of different number ranges some of which cost callers as much as 1.50GBP (nearly 3.00USD!) per minute per call, such as this service. These are often used for “adult” services and chat lines. Companies wishing to promote a premium rate service hire a premium rate number from the telco and advertise their services with the intention of generating large numbers of calls to that number.

When customers call the premium NGN, the telco bills the customer for the call and gives a percentage of the call revenue back to the company who rents the NGN from them. In effect the telco and the company renting the NGN are sharing the revenue from the call. The important point to note here is that customers pay the telco not the company who is renting the premium NGN.

Teleconferencing companies who offer free telephone conference call services use this mode. The commission which the telco pays the audio conference service provider is used to pay for running the conference bridge, advertise the service and (sometimes) to make a profit.

Some telephone conferencing companies advertise this type of audio conference as being a totally free service. But there is almost certainly a charge for the call taking place. Therefore, to benefit from this type of conference call service you need to find an operator who can host a call at an affordable rate with a reliable connection.

This is the closest thing you can get to a truly free telephone conferencing, as they use the cheapest type of revenue generating NGN available in the UK. Namely, one that begins with the dialling code 0844. Some other companies use 0870 or 0871 numbers which are more expensive.

NGN summary: NGN based free teleconferencing services can be useful for small companies and individuals with moderate audio conferencing requirements, however these type of services are usually very basic and not suitable for larger organisations. For larger businesses, supporting greater numbers of participants, teleconferencing services tend to be a better option. As they are more likely to offer the support needed to make the call run uninterrupted on a clear line.

Peter Bennett is CEO of a large UK teleconferencing company;Ozone Conferencing. Peter took extracts from OzoneConferencing’s free conference calls service for this article.