Even though cell phone plans and home phone bundles advertise with "free" long distance, there's no such thing as free. You just don't pay by the minute. But since that's too wordy to type, I'll use the term "free" as well.
I've been looking at teleconference providers. There's two options: You get the service for free, but you dial in using a long-distance phone number, or you pay anywhere from 2 to 10 cents per minute (per person dialling in), but you get a toll free (1-800) access number.
If most of us have "free" long distance, the first option is preferable. For the remaining people, we buy a calling card that costs 1.75 cents/ minute (pingo.com). Even if 4 or 5 of us need it, that's less than $5 for an hour long call. If more than 50% of us would need a calling card, then getting a teleconference service with a toll free number would be more convenient at roughly the same price.
(If you've never used a calling card, it's really easy: You dial a 1-800 number, and when prompted, dial the conference number and then enter a PIN.)
I've been looking at teleconference providers. There's two options: You get the service for free, but you dial in using a long-distance phone number, or you pay anywhere from 2 to 10 cents per minute (per person dialling in), but you get a toll free (1-800) access number.
If most of us have "free" long distance, the first option is preferable. For the remaining people, we buy a calling card that costs 1.75 cents/ minute (pingo.com). Even if 4 or 5 of us need it, that's less than $5 for an hour long call. If more than 50% of us would need a calling card, then getting a teleconference service with a toll free number would be more convenient at roughly the same price.
(If you've never used a calling card, it's really easy: You dial a 1-800 number, and when prompted, dial the conference number and then enter a PIN.)
