I receive calls daily it seems from customers that have purchased a Polycom SoundStation conference phone and want to make a conference call to several end points. A common misconception is by purchasing a SoundStation or other conference phone one will be able to connect to more then one other location.  

The SoundStation is designed to be used by several people at a single location sitting around a conference table to call one other location and have a natural sounding call between the two locations. It is not designed to bridge two or more locations together.

In order to accomplish a conference call with two or more outside parties a conference bridge or hosted conference call service must be used.

A conference bridge is a device that can connect to your company’s telephone system. It allows for several calls to be bridged together for a single telephone call between several parties. Conference bridges come as small as 8 ports and are as large as 2000 ports. (One port for each conferenced participant)

A hosted conference call solution provides conferencing services on a charge by participant basis. Each participant calls a specified phone number and dials in the hosted conference bridge. A hosted conference call can cost as low as .069 per minute per caller.

As conference calls become more frequent purchasing a conference bridge can become cost effective.

For more information about conferencing, conference calls or Polycom SoundStation call us 800-335-0229 or email us at sales@telcom-data.com

Submitted by Ricardo Trinidad