The telecom industry has changed drastically over the last few decades — and particularly in the last 15 years, the way we conference has been disrupted. Calling long-distance toll numbers used to be more costly than toll-free, depending on the time of day or day of the week. Toll-free service was also seen as a professional courtesy because the host of the conference call picked up all the charges.
Yet the way we work has changed dramatically, too. Remote work is trending up. In fact, with approximately 75 percent of companies worldwide promoting flexible working policies, a new global record has been hit — 1.3 billion mobile workers (TRI, 2015) and counting. This shift, concurrent with the advent of flat-fee, unlimited nationwide calling plans for mobile and landlines, has mainstreamed toll dial-in numbers for conference calls. On top of that, plenty of businesses now rely on IP telephony — and most VoIP providers include domestic long distance as part of their packages.
Already sold on toll? Great, but remember that toll-free still has its advantages. An 800 conference call number can improve customer satisfaction and lend credibility to a growing business. And, of course, participants can join a call for free from anywhere in the country — their personal mobile, hotel landline or even a payphone (assuming, of course, they can find one). So while it’s no longer critical for a business to pick up the conference call bill, the toll-free option remains. By default, FreeConferenceCall.com offers toll dial-in numbers with both free and paid accounts. We also feature toll-free conference lines as an add-on service for a per person, per minute charge.
That means that users save, no matter what they choose. Get your own toll-free conference call account here.
Our Customer Care team reports that businesses often opt to add a toll-free conference number, but distribute it only for specific types of calls or customers. In short, given the low cost to access toll conference lines, toll-free has grown into a nice-to-have feature, but no longer is a necessary component of a conference call service.
To find out more, reach out 24/7 to Customer Care at (844) 844-1322. To learn about reducing your conferencing spend, contact our enterprise sales team at (844) 800-4000.
