Free Teleconferencing Is As Easy as Dialing

Eons ago I offered up some ways to teleconference for free. Since a year and a half is a long time in the tech world, it’s time for an update.

Of the three free teleconferencing services I wrote about back in January 2006, all are still in business and still offering free teleconferencing. But I don’t use any of them anymore because I was looking for more features without more cost. For general free conference calling, FreeConference is still a useful service and my faculty department uses it for our telephone meetings.

I look for these features in a free teleconferencing service:

• My own 24/7 on-demand dial-in number and PIN, which I can share with colleagues or clients any time I want.
• Ability to record the calls or parts of calls and download the recording—also without charge—for later use by me or others on the call.
• Easy teleconference call management from both my telephone dial-pad and my computer screen (mute, lock the call, attendee list, etc.).
• Reliable service with optic lines and good sound quality.
• Support for VOIP services like Skype, since more and more of my clients are using it.

For my mediation business, I had been using LiveOffice’s free teleconferencing, but they’ve now broken their relationship with the provider of the free portion of their services. There’s still a relative bargain to be had at LiveOffice with 8-cents-per-minute toll-free teleconferencing services, but why pay anything if I can get all that I need and good quality for free? Yep, my mum was a Scot and the thriftiness is showing!

For now, I’m continuing to use the free teleconferencing that used to be managed by LiveOffice and is now handled by the unfortunately-named Basement Ventures. It’s been an easy transition so far and the features meet my criteria.

I also know a number of small business professionals in the service sector who use NoCostConference contentedly. It seems feature rich as well, though I’ve not tried it.

Do you use a free teleconferencing service you like? Or have you used NoCostConference and have some comments on the experience? I’d love to learn of more options and hope you’ll leave a comment to share.

                       

Tammy Lenski

Dr. Tammy Lenski helps individuals, pairs, teams, and audiences navigate disagreement better, address friction, and build alignment. Her current work centers on creating the conditions for robust collaboration and sound decisions while fostering resilient personal and professional relationships. Her conflict resolution podcast and blog, Disagree Better, are available at https://tammylenski.com/archives/… MORE >