A conference call is a telephone call in which the calling party wishes to
have more than one called party listen in to the audio portion of the call. The
conference calls may be designed to allow the called party to participate during
the call, or the call may be set up so that the called party merely listens into
the call and cannot speak. It is often referred to as an ATC (Audio
Tele-Conference). Conference calls can be designed so that the calling party
calls the other participants and adds them to the call. In most cases, the
participants are able call into the conference call themselves. They do so
either by dialing into a "conference bridge" (a specialized type of equipment
that links telephone lines), or by using a special telephone number set up for
that purpose.
Most companies use a specialized service provider for conference calls. These
service providers maintain the conference bridge, and provide the phone numbers
used to access the meeting or conference call. Three-way calling is available
(usually at an extra charge) for most customers on their home or office phone
line. This option allows callers to add a second outgoing call to an already
connected call.
Contents Businesses use conference calls daily to meet with remote parties, both
internally and outside of their company. Common applications are client meetings
or sales presentations, project meetings and updates, regular team meetings,
training classes and communication to employees who work in different locations.
Conference calling is viewed as a primary means of cutting travel costs and
allowing workers to be more productive by not having to go out-of-office for
meetings.
Conference calls are used by nearly all United States public corporations to
report their quarterly results. These calls usually allow for questions from
stock analysts and are called earnings calls. A standard conference call begins
with a disclaimer stating that anything said in the duration of the call may be
a forward looking statement, and that results may vary significantly. The CEO,
CFO, or Investor Relations officer then will read the company's quarterly
report. Lastly, the call is opened for questions from analysts.
Conference calls are increasingly used in conjunction with web conferences,
where presentations or documents are shared via the internet.
