Reservationless teleconferencing allows for audio conferencing without the need for a reservation in advance. It has become popular among businesses and non-profits due to its ease of use and competitive pricing. A moderator is given a toll-free number and security codes to access the conference, and features such as muting participant lines and presence lists are now standard.
Reservationless teleconferencing is a type of audio conferencing that does not require the customer to make a reservation in advance for a conference call. A form of teleconferencing that emerged in the early 1990s, reservationless teleconferencing has become one of the most popular forms of teleconferencing among businesses and non-profit organizations. Improvements to this type of call format over the years have made it even easier to use and have enabled audio conferencing providers to offer the service at extremely competitive prices.
With a traditional conference call, the customer contacts the provider in advance and reserves a specific number of lines at a specific date and time and for a specific period. The reservation is prepared and downloaded onto a teleconference bridge, where a conference operator activates the reservation, usually 15-30 minutes before the scheduled start time. The conference remains active on the bridge until the meeting ends and all parties disconnect from the call. At that point, the conference operator deactivates the call and it cannot be used again without creating a new reservation.
Reservationless teleconferencing eliminates the need to make an advance reservation for a conference call. While there is some variation in format, an unreserved account is established for a specific conference moderator. The account is given a number of lines to use at any time and a conference call bridge. Reservation data is activated at the bridge and is available for use by the authorized party at any time, day or night, without the need to notify the conference call service prior to use.
To access the conference, the moderator is given a toll-free number along with a minimum of two security codes. One of the codes is used by the moderator to officially start the conference, while the second code is used by anyone invited by the moderator to join the meeting. In most call setups, account charges cease when the last line is disconnected from the call session at the end of the meeting.
Once issued, the dial-in number and any security codes issued to the moderator remain in effect as long as the account is established with the provider. This allows the moderator to organize a conference call by simply notifying participants when the meeting will take place and providing them with the dial-in number and participant code to enter using the telephone keypad when prompted. The nature of reservationless teleconferencing makes it an ideal format to use in emergency situations or for recurring meetings that occur weekly, but not necessarily on the same day and time of the week.
Over the years, several features have become commonplace as part of the basic reservationless conference call format. The moderator’s ability to mute all participant lines is an example, as is the moderator’s ability to use a string of codes to get a line and call a participant who has not dialed into the conference. In recent years, adding presence lists has become part of the basic reservationless teleconferencing packages offered by most providers. These lists capture details such as the originating phone numbers of each caller accessing the meeting, the entry and exit times for each line, the minutes accumulated on each line, and a notation of any numeric codes, such as a department code or number. customer subject that the moderator chooses to join the meeting. All of these features are considered standard in most cases and are included in the base cost per minute per line of service.
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