Call Junction

VoIP Conference Calling

admin — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:23:13 +0000

There are numerous conference call companies out there as well as numerous technologies available to facilitate conference calls using your own, internal communication system. One particular method of conference calling that is becoming increasingly more popular is VoIP Conference Calling or Voice Over Internet Protocol for those not in the know.

The attraction of using VoIP for conference calling, to most companies anyway is the cost. Or more importantly, the cost savings. As most VoIP services work solely over the Internet, their is no need to pay a percentage of the fees to the existing telecoms networks, which brings the price right down.

For the most part, VoIP calling is free and as well as the usual call features such as multiple party conversations and pin enabled secure dial in - you can also stream live video enabling the members of the call to use video to interact as well as voice / audio.

There is a wide range of software out there at the moment for conference calling from your PC, unfortunately, it is considered a little unprofessional in some circles which means that most business are still sticking with their existing, traditional dial in conference calling provider.

Cellular Network Outsourcing Help Desks

admin — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:03:45 +0000

Over the past few years, I have seen more and more of the major cellular / telecom network providers moving their entire help desk support operations overseas or at least out of their main headquarters. Initially, I thought the main reason for this was simply a cost cutting measure, you know, the usual misconception of companies outsourcing to other countries to save a few dollars here and there with cheap labour, but I can assure you that is not the case. Sure, companies will often save money by help desk outsourcing , but that is not what it is all about. The simple fact is, the individuals trained to offer phone support specifically on any product or service do it better than the in house individuals for the most part. This goes for any job, if you’re trained to handle specifics, you’ll do it a lot better than someone who just happens to be educated on the subject.

Help desk services form the core, fundamental part of any after sales operation and if companies are willing to train individuals to specifically handle that, regardless of how much they are paid or where they are located, good on them.

Cheap Calling from the USA!

admin — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:26:38 +0000

I have finally found a successful way of making cheap international calls from the USA and that is via prepaid calling cards. I know I have discussed calling cards a lot in the past but the savings that can be made in particular from dialing out from the USA are now even greater. You too can experience the low rates calling from USA by purchasing prepaid calling cards from your favourite calling card provider. It now costs me next to nothing to call the United Kingdom for hours on end, a vast saving when compared to my cell that’s for sure!

Of course, calling / phone cards are not just to be used for calling (or dialing out of) the United States. International calling cards are just that, they can be used for calling International from any country, to any country and whatever countries they may be, the savings will always be huge when compared to traditional mobile / cellular providers and even your home / office phone.

If you’re located in the USA and frequently need to call your friends, family or even business contacts, then we strongly advise you to give them a try. You will not be disappointed.

Pinless Dialing - The future of phone cards!

admin — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:21:03 +0000

I have been a user of phone cards / calling cards for a while now and I am over the moon with the savings I make on International calls. Especially when I think of how much money I used to spend on International calls using my cellular network! But, as much as I like the savings, the thing I enjoy the most is pinless dialing! For someone like me who has to consistently call the same handful of foreigners, it’s perfect. I just literally register all their numbers, dial my access number and call them. I don’t need to go through the hassle of entering (and more importantly remembering) my pin code. It makes things extremely simple.

Luckily for me, the individuals I call are located in some of the cheaper countries when it comes to long distance callings but having looked at online calling cards rates, the savings are absolutely huge in pretty much any country. You too can enjoy prepaid phone cards, pretty much anyone can so give them a go. You can also look around and find free calling cards offered by the larger companies so you can literally get used to using them before making any important calls that you must pay for.

Long Distance Calling - No longer a bank breaker!

admin — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:14:37 +0000

I am sure I am not alone in having a real problem in paying the extortionate costs involved in making a long distance telephone call with via my landline provider or even worse, my mobile / cellular network. I don’t know how these companies can get away with it. I am all for paying a fair price for International calls, but bumping up the price so much purely because it is outside the US is ridiculous.

I have recently started trialing cheap long distance calling cards in an effort to at least save a few dollars when calling Europe and I can report that I am more than happy with the results. I am currently using the Banana Call Phone Card and the savings I am making when calling Europe are immense. I wish I’d have thought of this sooner, much sooner in fact!

There are a large amount of international prepaid phone cards on the market, so I am sure that you guys can find one to call whatever country you need to. Give it a go, you will be more than happy with the savings you make, I guarantee it! I actually look forward to making long distance calls now as it works out cheaper than calling my buddies across state!

Common VoIP Software

admin — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 01:36:11 +0000

There is now a wide range of VoIP software on the market. The most common software based package for end users being Skype. But, there are a lot of alternatives. Many of the instant messaging platforms from the early days (AOL etc) and more recently GoogleChat have started introducing VoIP elements and features to their basic software application and from the usage statistics, people are taking note and using them! It doesn’t stop there, Apple have also introduced VoIP capabilities to their iChat application along with many new versions of the up and coming Gizmo5 application and Empathy is another popular GPL application.

There is now also a good range of server side software in the VoIP sector. The most well known of this bunch is the Asterisk system which is Linux based and has been in development since around 1999. Asterisk does however have some competition in the form of GNU Gatekeeper (another popular development from the open source community) and FreeSWITCH have recently updated their offering also.

I expect over the coming years, all of the aforementioned systems will gain competition as usage of the VoIP protocol really takes off and hopefully saves people a bit of money in the process.

Choosing A Phone System

admin — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 01:29:15 +0000

We have started thinking about a new phone system for our office building this past week and we have also found that there are a vast amount of options out there to choose from. One system we are considering is the Asterix VoIP software. We are huge fans of VoIP Services and the features that come with it but we are concerned about the call quality, particularly when using a system such as Asterix to connect to other land line and mobile networks outside of our office building. We are considering asterisk phone systems Vancouver as well as some other VoIP providers who use the asterisk system.

We are big supporters of Asterisk and all open source software, particularly in the voice over Internet protocol development sector. The VoIP protocols supported by asterisk are of particular importance to us such as SIP, MGCP and H.323 due to their ability to interact with PSTN systems as well as IP based phones.

Whichever way we decide to go, we expect it’ll be a huge improvement of what we have already and look forward to making use of the wide range of services and features associated with having a VoIP based system such as Asterisk.

Ringtones To Match Every Personality

admin — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:20:39 +0000

In life, we often find that people strive to be different from others in a bid to establish their own identity. Very few try to emulate others. We invariably see that this overwhelming urge to be different extends to mobile phones as well. When a new ringtone is heard, it turns heads. Just another way to attract attention to yourself. Many service providers and websites offer the option of free ringtones download where the user is able to browse through almost all types of music in every genre and choose one that matches their style. Most of the ringtones found on the various sites are available in mp3, wav and OGG format. Unlike the earlier models, where the ringtones could have only a single note at a time, all phones these days have polyphonic ringtones where multiple notes can be created and various instruments can be used. For those that like some melody in their lives, these versatile ringtones are the ideal way to represent their personality. Various software is also available online which allows the user to compose or mix various tones to create their very own ringtone. You can have your one-of-a-kind ringtone and let your phone speak for itself.

HTC Touch Dual Smart Phone

admin — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:04:07 +0000

This is known as the ‘BlackBerry Pearl Competitor’. Even though it is nothing compared to the iPhone, it is sure to be strong enough to remain as the more popular smart phone in the market. HTC Touch Dual is a quad-band GSM phone that has a slide-out keypad and other improvements compared to the original HTC. Now the button arrangement is the same as a normal phone keypad but with semi-QWERTY format and it uses the predictive-text-software as well. Everything seemed fine until I realized that the virtual keys are too close together. To make things worse, I also realized my beefy fingers having difficulty in pressing the Touch Dual buttons.

If you look closely, you will notice the screen size is 0.2 inch smaller than the old version. So it makes watching videos a bit uncomfortable, especially if you are used to watching the big screen on other phones. However, I never forget to look on the bright side. The best thing is it is easier to insert additional microSD cards into the slot, so for those who have tons of files, this comes in handy. The phone runs on Windows Mobile 6.1, which is a slight improvement over Windows Mobile 6.0. Still, HTC is the best choice next to BlackBerry, so now you get a choice - to pick HTC or BlackBerry.

Conference Calling

admin — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:36:05 +0000

A conference call is a phone call where there are many called parties listening to one call. It has many other names, such as phone conferencing or an audio conference. The called party may or may not join the conversation. Sometimes, it is known as Audio Tele-conference. Usually a conference call is used during meetings or discussions. It makes it easier to communicate with people who are not in the same building, same location or even the same country. So, if you are based in US, you can talk to your staff who are based in the UK and Australia at the same time during staff meetings. If you want to talk to your family members who are in different countries this is also possible with a conference call.

There are many different rates on conference calls, depending on which plan you subscribe to. There is flat rate conferencing, prepaid conferencing and even free conferencing. Flat rate conferencing is to allow the customer to pay a fixed rate and have unlimited conferencing. Prepaid conferencing is a pay-as-you-go service where customers buy their conferencing services online. As for free conferencing, a few companies are attempting to have a free conferencing service. The only problem is customer is required to dial a long distance number to be connected to the conference.