Ultra Conference Dual Conference Calling Solution

Once you develop a need for teleconferences that go beyond small groups of people huddling around speakerphones at a couple of locations, you get interested in conference calling solutions. While some PBX systems offer conference bridges that can join multiple phones, an outsourced conferencing solution can allow dozens or even hundreds of diversely located participants to be part of the same call.

Ultra Conference is an enterprise grade conferencing solution that is inexpensive enough to use for all sorts of teleconferencing applications. Even more versatile is the choice you get between fixed price and per-minute charges.

One popular use for Ultra Conference is training calls. The company provides a moderator and trainers or guest experts. Participants are given a phone number and PIN code to dial at a pre-scheduled time. No-one has to be located at a "conferencing center." Any phone will do. The moderator controls the session and can choose to let everyone speak at will, or enter a lecture mode that allows only certain parties to talk. Others can raise a virtual hand to speak by pushing a button on their dialpad. The entire call can be recorded for later reference or even to post on a website for downloading by those who missed the call.

Another popular use for teleconferences is shareholder calls which can include question and answer sessions. These can possibly involve a hundred or more participants. Ultra Conference scales easily to handle this many callers. You also have the option to have an UltraConference operator moderate the call or even call your participants when it's time for the telecon.

I know what you're thinking. A service like this must be pretty pricey. Would you be surprised to know that there are no sign-up fees, no monthly service fees and no contracts involved? You pay as you go, which makes UltraConference practical for even very small or virtual companies.

There are two plans available. With the per-minute plan, you pay 7.9 cents per minute per participant on domestic calls. Participants dial a toll free access number to join the call. With the flat rate plan, you pay a monthly fee based on the number of lines you want to reserve. It starts at $39/month for 5 lines and gets cheaper per line as the quantity of lines goes up. You can use the lines for as many conference calls in a month as you desire. In the flat rate plan, participants dial an Atlanta phone number and pay for the call themselves. Your cost besides the monthly line rental is 3.9 cents per minute long distance charge per participant.

Ah, which to chose, which to choose? Don't strain your brain over this. Use the handy comparison calculator to see which plan is the most cost effective for your particular needs. Enter the number of participants, average length of conference, and number of conferences per month. Then click the "calculate now" button and you'll have your answer. This will also help you compare the cost of UltraConference with the conferencing solution you are using now. If you've been paying a bundle to host company telecons, you might switch to saving a bundle with UltraConference.

MOTORAZR maxx Ve Takes RAZR to the Max

Motorola's RAZR phone line unquestionably set a new standard for business and personal cell phones. Now a new design looks to take the crown and become THE standard for high technology and advanced styling. It is the MOTORAZR maxx Ve for Verizon Wireless. It might also be called "razor phone, the next generation."

What really set the RAZR design apart when it debuted was the slim profile vs the chunky feel of other flip-phones. Also its light weight and technical features. It was a groundbreaking product in its day, but getting a little long in the tooth. That slim profile is now being matched by other phones and even PDA style mobile devices. The high-tech VGA camera is now about as exciting as a VGA computer monitor. The RAZR is still extremely popular and a great bargain. To be an early adopter once set you back several hundred dollars. Now most RAZR models are offered free with new cellular service plans. The RAZR may no longer be pushing the limits of affordability, but it's also no longer pushing the limits on mobile technology.

What the new generation razor phone offers is a similar size package and upgraded features, but without the extreme sticker shock of the RAZR V3 introduction. Let's look at what's changed and what hasn't. One spec that jumps out immediately is the performance of the digital camera. The original 640x480 resolution VGA digital camera has been replaced by a 2.0 Megapixel camera offering 1600 x 1200 pixel resolution maximum. That's easily good enough to print and may well obsolete much of the need to tote a separate digital camera just for snapshots. This camera has autofocus, a 4x digital zoom, and flash. It will also work in camcorder mode with a video capture time limited only by available memory. A 60 MB memory is built-in. Expandable memory is by MicroSD/Transflash format plug-in memory card.

Bluetooth wireless capability has been expanded. Of course you can still use a clip-on Bluetooth headset to make and receive phone calls. But the MOTORAZR maxx Ve also supports A2DP which allows you to stream stereo music to and from compatible devices. The multimedia capabilities are further enhanced by support for streaming multimedia, such as on-demand TV and music, with Verizon's VCAST services. You can download and save songs from the VCAST music store as well. I should note that this incarnation of the MOTORAZR maxx is labeled Ve, which stands for Verizon. The phone is designed for Verizon's Wireless service and add-on plans. In additional to multimedia, you can get GPS turn-by-turn directions with VZ Navigator as an additional Verizon service.

The RAZR replacement sports larger color displays both inside and out, a larger phone book, parental controls, advanced voice activated dialing, and other upgrades. But breathe easy. The cool black clamshell is only marginally larger than the RAZR models it replaces. Even the slim side profile has grown from 0.54 to just 0.59 inches. Weight is up a fraction of an ounce from 3.35 to 3.88 ounces. You can upgrade to the new technology without having to give up the size and weight advantages that attracted you to the RAZR in the first place.

What are the hottest cell phone deals available right now, including free cell phones? Use the Cell Phone Plan Finder to check out the top phones and associated wireless service plans.

How T1 Lines Support VoIP Telephony

T1 lines have long been the preferred trunking option for traditional PBX business telephone systems. But how do T1 lines support enterprise level VoIP phone systems?

Many medium and large companies are augmenting their legacy PBX phone systems with VoIP, wiring new installations as converged voice and data or even going so far as "fork lift upgrades" when the older system just isn't economical to upgrade anymore. The well-documented reasons for this trend are enhanced features that improve employee productivity, cost savings by converging both computer and voice networks into a single LAN, and ease of moves and upgrades. But one thing hasn't changed. That is the need to connect to the PSTN or Public Switched Telephone Network.

The PSTN, the common denominator in universal telephone service, is still a largely analog and TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) based system. Smaller organizations with need for only a few outgoing lines will likely find that standard analog business lines make the most sense for their limited key telephone systems and small PBX or IP PBX systems.

An opportunity develops when the business grows to the point where it needs 6 to 12 outgoing lines and a broadband Internet connection. At that point, T1 Integrated service starts to be more cost effective than multiple analog lines and a separate broadband service. A device called an IAD or Integrated Access Device connects to both the phone system and the network router to provide voice and data service. The Integrated T1 line feeds the IAD and may even dynamically assign bandwidth so that broadband speed is maximized when there are few or no phone calls in progress.

Enterprise VoIP systems use IP phones or ATA analog telephone adapters to connect the phones to the corporate LAN. All internal calls are handled by the system and incur no telephone company charges. Point to point T1 lines extend the LAN to connect other business sites into a single large network. VoIP calls transverse this WAN (Wide Area Network) connection, as do site to site data transfers.

T1 trunk lines are needed for the inevitable calls outside the organization. A corporation and its suppliers and major customers may be connected on an Intranet to transport voice and data. For connection to the outside world, calls have to be terminated to the PSTN. A voice gateway performs the conversion between the packet and switched networks. A single T1 trunk offers up to 24 individual telephone lines. The T1 PRI variant offers 23 lines plus a signaling and data channel that can speed call connections and offer services such as Caller ID. The T1 or T1 PRI line connects to the phone service provider to offer incoming, outgoing, local, long distance, or any combination of these phone services.

Do you use T1 lines to transport your PBX or IP PBX outside calls? If so, our expert consultants would like to save you money on your T1, Integrated T1, Point to Point T1 or T1 PRI service as soon as possible. Get an instant online quote or talk to an T1 line expert right now at T1 Rex.