In the flat rate calling plan, the participants will be billed for their long distance charges, and the host will only pay for the use of the bridge, which is the device

Although the concept of placing calls over the Internet has been in practice several years, today's VoIP, short for voice over Internet protocol, is packed with new features allowing users to listen to voice mail over the web and to forward calls automatically from any broadband connection.

According to John C. Dvorak of PC Magazine, cheap VoIP services will soon meet their end. In his article, "The Coming Death of Cheap VoIP," he describes how the major phone companies will take over VoIP, rename it "digital voice," and render cheap VoIP service providers obsolete.

Some web conferencing providers use traditional audio technology to power the web conferences, the new conferencing providers such as Voxwire use VoIP conference software that matches the reliability and sound quality of the larger web- and audio-based providers.

iVocalize, a web conferencing software developer, and TTC Global Talk, a web conferencing service provider, use VoIP conference software and superior service to offer affordable audio and web conferencing solutions to small and medium sized businesses.

Plantronics is a headset brand leader because of its research investment in sound quality, wireless technology and ergonomics. GN Netcom is another headset vendor offering noise-canceling microphones in its binaural (both ears) and monaural (one ear) GN 2000 over-the-head models.

Audio conferencing takes the place of face-to-face conferencing through the use of the telephone. Audio conference calls allow three or more people to share sales, customer, and product information without leaving their respective offices and the conversations can be either one- or two-way.

With more and more businesses using conference call services (according to the Houston Business Journal, usage is growing at a rate of 60 percent per year), as well as online conferencing, participants need to be briefed in conference call etiquette. Doing so increases productivity, good will and customer service.

A conference call bridge is an electronic routing device that allows the person leading the teleseminar to reach 25, 50 or 100 people and some conference call providers like TelephoneBridgeServices even offer bridges that can accommodate 1,000 people. In addition, the conference call providers offer multiple features that enhance the call's productivity.

Today's companies are staying competitive in their respective marketplaces by using the highly interactive features of audio and web conferencing. Through such global conferencing providers as Netspoke, and WebEx and InterCall, businesses can improve their revenue, collaboration and customer satisfaction -- all in a time-sensitive manner.