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What providers are recommended for a toll-free teleconference number?

Requirements/Capabilities

  • Toll-free call-in phone number
  • Recording made available via MP3 or other openly available audio format
  • Support for 3–6 users with ~12 teleconferences per month
  • Not wanting a solution that requires people to use a computer; only requirement for users should be a phone

Preliminary Research

Below are some providers that I've found via Google, but I have zero experience with any of them, so I'm looking for feedback from people who have actually used a teleconference provider. All per minute prices are per minute per user.

Update on January 21, 2010

We decided to try CorporateConferenceCalls.com due to the low price and ability to manage multiple users via their web interface (can setup multiple people as administrators and moderators, etc.). Turns out they are actually AccuConference.com but cheaper.

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We use Unlimited Conferencing and it's worked out well for us. – Jarie Bolander Jan 4 '10 at 17:55

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12 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

I've been very happy with both http://www.accuconference.com/ and http://www.vestanetworks.com/ - both had great prices, and the features you requested.

Some highlights for me:

  • Vesta Networks private-labeled the conference line as part of the price (so rather than calling "Bell Teleconferencing" it was the "Lewis Media Conference Centre")
  • AccuConference had a very easy upgrade to the web-delivered presentation service
  • Both gave call-in wallet cards to make it easier to keep track of numbers
  • Neither had monthly charges if we didn't use the service

Bonus Note: I've heard good things about http://calliflower.com/ if you'd like to support another startup :)

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up vote 2 down vote

We have been using ReadyTalk for 7 years now (wow has it really been that long!) and we are very happy with them. We originally signed up to use them just for our teleconferences because we used WebEx at the time but after a while we figure out we could use ReadyTalk for our web conferencing also for much less that WebEx was costing us.

The are a few features that we did not think of when we signed up but have found very valuable as we've grown:

  • With ReadyTalk the conference host can login on the web (even on a phone only converence) and see people dialing in, can use the web control panel to start and stop recording (rather than having to do it through the phone keypad, and keep an eye on who is logged into the call.
  • It's easy to get an operator involved when you're on a call to try to isolate a noisy caller. This is not needed often but when you have one person whose making a lot of noise it's really nice to be able to call in an operator and have them go off and solve the problem while you continue on with your call
  • Having a uniform system for teleconference and web conference has been pretty handy
  • ReadyTalk has dialin numbers for a large number of foreign countries. We did not need that when we signed up but it's sure handy now.

Over time we've used them for conference calls with 3 people and web training for 120 and it's always worked great.

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@Dane: Thanks for the recommendation. As a mental note to myself, it appears that their on-demand audio is $0.12/min, and if you want web recording it's "priced as 1 additional participant to the meeting." readytalk.com/services/pricing.php#per-minute-audio – Matthew Rankin Jan 6 '10 at 15:04
Matthew, yes that's the list price. We're paying considerably less due to the volume we're using it. The recorded is charged for and if you do record you need to remember to pull down your audio file as their charges for hosting it are unreasonable. Also they can record either audio or audio+web but I think the cost is the same. – Dane Jan 6 '10 at 15:24
up vote 1 down vote

For one of my clients I have setup a FreeConference.com account. They meet all of the criteria you listed and charge $0.10/min. One caveat I noticed the last time my client have had a call through them was the "This is a service of FreeConference.com" announcement in the beginning. It played despite they use the paid "Reservationless Premium 800" plan and I thought wasn't very good for my client's professional image. The client didn't care, so I did not bother to go and see if there is an option that allows to turn the announcement off.

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up vote 1 down vote

I have used this service in the past: http://www.kall8.com/

$2 / month + 0.069 / min USA/Canada

Other rates here

We had the calls forwarded into our internal system.

There were very few customers calls over the 800 number so we eventually canceled it.

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up vote 1 down vote

Good day Matthew,

I'm not sure if you're still accepting suggestions. I use Infinite Conferencing for teleconferencing, there are no minimum usage requirements and no contracts. I pay 3.1 cents per minute per person (standard teleconference pricing format mumbo jumbo) and I have fifty employees set up with their own access codes at no extra cost. If someone leaves, I don't have to run around trying to change everyone's codes, I can just cancel his codes and be done with it.

Another great thing is that they reach out to you as market prices get lower and lower, and will offer you the best pricing at that time. I was with Premiere before this and they didn't offer any rate reductions unless I called them threatening to take my business elsewhere. I'm too old for that garbage.

Personally, I'm not interested in this web-based moderator panel etc. I just want to be able to get ten to sixty people on the line when I need to without the busy signals of FreeConference Call.com. We did take advantage of the branded dial-in number so that when people call in it plays a personalized message.

They have a referral program so if you call my rep and give my name, they honor my pricing with no questions asked. Reach out to Dori Pace- dpace@infiniteconferencing.com, tell her James Seraphina recommended her to you.

Happy hunting, James

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up vote 0 down vote

Try gotomeeting.com its a great service.

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According to their website, Gotomeeting.com is a web conferencing tool. I am looking for a non-web-based solution that provides a toll-free call-in number to handle an audio only teleconference. – Matthew Rankin Jan 4 '10 at 17:26
up vote 0 down vote

http://www.dimdim.com. These guys rock.

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Dimdim is a web conference provider, they don't appear to provide toll-free teleconference call-in numbers, so I don't think this meets my requirement that the only requirement on users is a phone. – Matthew Rankin Jan 4 '10 at 21:37
They also provide a toll-free number and dial-in pin # with every scheduled meeting so your attendees don't need anything more than a phone. – Aaron Jan 20 '10 at 20:43
up vote 0 down vote

Mathew,

I have used Intercall and Global Crossing. Both providers have options that would meet your requirements. For Global Crossing, the standard maximum amount of participant reservation less conferencing is 96 callers. Rates negotiations vary depending on your usage per month. I don’t think it is unreasonable to ask for rates below $.05 per minute. Recoding runs around $15 and they can also host the recordings. I would not recommend Intercall

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up vote 0 down vote

I agree with the previous answer. GoToMeeting is great. For a flat fee you're getting unlimited conferencing. If I am not mistaken, it includes a meeting bridge with a 1-800 number, in addition to the option of voice conferencing using your computer.

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I found this at www2.gotomeeting.com/en_US/pre/support.tmpl Q: Is there a toll-free option for GoToMeeting audio conferencing? A: Although GoToMeeting does not include a toll-free option as part of Total Audio, you can always use your own toll-free access numbers for your participants. If you would prefer to offer a toll-free audio service option instead of Total Audio for your online meetings, you may obtain toll-free numbers from any toll-free carrier. For example, please visit: www.hidefconferencing.com/g2m. (This option does not easily integrate with the GoToMeeting VoIP option.) – Matthew Rankin Jan 5 '10 at 15:45
up vote 0 down vote

We have used http://teleconference.liveoffice.com/ and we are very satisfied with them.

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up vote 0 down vote

You can compare toll free number providers:

  • FreedomVOICe
  • RingCentral
  • LES.Net
  • Grasshopper
  • Kall8
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up vote 0 down vote

I know that Matthew has posted his decision, but I wanted to add this as an information source for other onstartups.com users.

You might be interested in this referral email posted our blog. Someone asked a friend the exact same question. He compared onConference with Go-To-Meeting and gave us permission to post the full email on our blog. Here is the link:

http://www.onconference.com/blog/2010/12/03/conference-call-comparison/

Disclaimer: The poster works for the conference call company. Maybe we should offer a discount given the similaries in the company name and logo! :-)

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