In the course of the last two decades, the conference calling landscape has changed considerably. It was formerly true that only larger sized businesses had access to multi party teleconferencing systems. Such systems were usually quite expensive and often had live operator participation on each call.



Incumbent telecom companies priced teleconferencing services at costly rates (e.g twenty five cents plus per minute per user) and most businesses were willing to pay these charges to ensure reliable and quality service. Now in recent years the conference call market has seen a high degree of competitive forces. Several factors have been responsible including telecom deregulation, significant improvements in web technology and demand for improved services.

The competitive environment now includes seemingly countless companies in addition to the incumbent telcos. Organizations and individuals that desire to use teleconferencing now have a far wider selection of alternatives. Within that spectrum of choices are free conference calling offerings such as Rondee that meld free conference calling with web based scheduling and other related features. These companies do not charge users because they use a toll dial-in as opposed to a traditional toll-free number. Therefore, such free conference call services are not free in the same sense that air is free. They do require minutes of telephone usage.

However, such services are increasingly being perceived by users as essentially free because many phone plans now offer flat rate “all you can dial" and typically cell phone plans no longer carry additional charges for long distance phone calls. Due to these factors, teleconferencing has become available to a far broader market of users as the following examples show.

Non profit entities have become strong users of teleconferencing services. The high cost of travel combined with constrained budgets of most non-profits, makes conferencing a smart tactic for reducing expense and maximizing productivity. In general, non-profits rely on formal and informal methods of networking. To the extent these networks extend beyond physical boundaries, conference calling becomes the most practical method of real communication. A number of non-profits including those that address literacy, hunger, and environmental issues, have effectively utilized conference calling to mobilize participation and coordinate plans.

Labor unions have effectively used traditional conference calling systems and, increasingly, free conference calling services to allow disparately located members to talk about strategies and arrange meetings. Unions have historically been cost conscious due to the fact that their budgets are constrained to the extent of member contributions. Therefore, as is typical of non-profits, unions frequently search for methods of making every dollar stretch further. In times of labor strikes or other situations of urgency, conferencing becomes a critical method of allowing the national leadership to communicate with local leaders.

Families have typically in the past not used conference calling as a means of keeping in touch. That is now starting to change. The wide availability of discount or free conferencing services is helping families to arrange time when parents can speak with multiple children or even grandchildren. The same is true, in reverse. Younger family members are starting to introduce parents and grandparents to the benefits of teleconferencing as a means of deepening relationships and staying up to date with loved ones.

In sum, teleconferencing is no longer the exclusive domain of business. Other potential users have long felt the need but it has only been with the advent of new business models that the availability of these offerings has become quite ubiquitous.