Seeking a new conference call service

Q  We have been using FreeAudioConferencing.com for our conference calling service. Over the course of years, we are not completely happy with their service and are searching for a better service. I was wondering if you have one that you recommend or know of a service that might be better.  Thanks for your help!
 
Xina Raley, Executive Administrator
Global Coaches Network

A:  Hi Xina–

I've got two great recommendations for you.

The first is a free service, FreeConferencePro.com. I've been using them now for several years to record client phone calls and haven't had a problem. They offer call recordings, the ability to personalize the greeting callers here when dialing the bridge number, ability to hold up to 250 participants, and multiple conferencing modes (conversation, Q&A, and presentation).  In addition, there's an easy-to-navigate Host Keypad Controls that let you manage callers, security, and settings right from your phone keypad. Get real-time participant counts, lock and unlock the conference, mute and un-mute participants, and more.  The online Live Conference Control Panel gives you all the control as the Host Keypad Controls with additional capabilities, such as a real-time view of who is on your conference.  Best of all, this service is free!

Because I have members calling in from around the world, for my teleclasses, I use Instant Teleseminar,  which starts at $67/month.  This service offers the ability for 200 participants to listen to the call live on a phone line, and 2000 participants to listen from an online webcast, which has about a 10-second delay behind the phonecast. The webcast participants incur no long distance charge for the call, which makes it ideal for international callers.  The service also permits you to configure an event and a replay page, and you can send out that URL to your participants, where they can get the bridge line number, report back to listen to the webcast, or pick up a handout or a special offer that you've linked to on the event or replay page.  You can also record a custom greeting and customize the event page with your logo or picture.

The most useful feature, however, is the fact that the service provides a primary recording and two backup recordings.  One of the backups records everything between the beginning and ending time of the event in case of a problem with the primary recording. I've only had to use this once, and was very glad I had access to the backup.

They have recently added the ability to show a Powerpoint presentation during an event, and the system records the PPT and the audio, so participants listening to the call at a later time can see both.

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