Conference Calling Guide

Basic Conference Calls using your ISDN Telephone
All ISDN telephones on campus have a CONF button that allows access to the conference call feature. The CONF button allows a user to add additional parties to a call in progress.

To Conference (using Line 1, Line Appearance 1):

• With a call in progress on the primary line's first appearance, press the CONF button. This places the caller on hold and selects the second line appearance. You'll hear dial tone.
• Dial the next party's number. When the party answers, press the first line appearance. The conference call is now established and the parties are able to speak with each other.
• If you wish to add more people, again press CONF. Everyone else is put on hold and the second line appearance will be selected. You'll hear dial tone. Repeat step 2. Up to seven people can be conferenced at once; however, no more than four(4) external parties (off-campus people) can be members of the conference at one time. As each person is added, there is some degradation in quality.
• A quick way to remember is to hit CONF to add a person; line appearance to connect everyone.

If you misdial or the person doesn't answer:

• Press the RLSE button, which releases the extension.
• Press the first line appearance where the original call is holding.
• Press CONF again and repeat the normal conference steps.

If you are using an STE phone:

• To add a person to a call, hit the flashhook and then press #1. Dial the next party's number.
• Hit the flashhook and press #1 to connect all the parties together. Repeat these steps as necessary.

The Conferencing Telephone Equipment
Three conferencing telephones are available from Telephone Services. Conference calls held on these phones have very good quality. These are excellent to use when you have a group of people gathered at a conference table who need to speak with others at another location. Contact Connie Blood at x2524 to verify type of outlet if needed or to reserve equipment. An analog outlet (usually where gray phones are) is required for the conferencing phones. There is no cost to the department to use these phones.

Meet Me Conferences (Conference Bridges)
A conference bridge is the ability to have all participants in a conference call dial into a single number to be connected to the conference call. Contact Connie Blood at x2524 to reserve a conference bridge. She will give you a phone number for all of your participants to dial. The first party to call in will hear open ringing until another party joins the bridge. Conference bridges have excellent clarity. There is no cost to the department to set these up. Currently, conference bridges are limited to twelve (12) participants, but none of the participants need to be on campus.

Video Conferences
Contact Bob Zepeda at x3434 to reserve the video conference equipment or to set up a video call. If the equipment is to be utilized in your location, three ISDN lines will be required. PLS-299 and the President's Office are already set up for video conferencing. Keep in mind that the cost of the call is tripled because 3 lines are required to dial into wherever you are calling. Video conferences can also be videotaped or a videotape may be shown to the participants who are located elsewhere