Audio conferencing is a telephone call in which several people in different locations are connected and can participate on the call real time. Audio conferencing is a great way to save travel time and costs when conducting university business and participants are located in different areas of campus or off campus.

Our Reservation-less Audio Conferencing service allows you to manage your conference calls from start to finish, anytime, from anywhere, without the need to pre-schedule ports through an operator.

With Reservation-less Audio Conferencing, you are totally in control! Using an assigned dial in number, moderator and participant passcodes, your participants can securely join your conference call on any date and time you select.

In addition, the Reservation-less audio conference bridge is available 24 x 7 x 365, which makes it a great option for getting people from different parts of campus, the country or even the world, together at one time; and ideal for business continuity when access to campus is limited, such as during inclement weather or other significant events.

Reservation-less Audio Conferencing service includes:

• Your choice of toll or toll-free dial in access*
• Self-management of your conference calls anytime, anywhere
• 24 x 7 access to the conference bridge; no advanced scheduling of ports through an operator is required
• 24 x 7 technical support through our contracted vendor (CenturyLink) - See Special Considerations section
• No call time limits - calls are automatically extended if callers remain on the bridge
• Personal participant passcode and moderator passcode for secure entry into the conference bridge
• Allows conferencing with up to 300 conference bridge participants at once (including moderator)
• Touch-tone conference controls (your Ohio State username and password are required to access document)
• Pay-per-use billing – billed per minute per participant line, only when you use the service; no monthly recurring charges apply
• No need to submit a university eRequest each time you want to hold a conference call; a one-time set up of your account is required

*Note: Toll Free access (1-8xx) works within the US and Canada, not internationally. Participants will not incur long distance charges when using the toll free number. Toll access works from within the US, Canada and international locations. Participants will incur long distance charges from their telephone carrier when dialing in using a toll number. In both cases, toll and toll free, your department or college will be billed per minute per participant line for use of the conference bridge.

• Lock/Unlock Conference - Locking a conference disallows new participants to join the conference once it has started. This feature can be enabled and disabled by the moderator using a touch tone command. No intervention from OCIO is required to use this feature. Refer to Touch Tone Commands Reference.

• Security Code – once enabled, the security code is required to join a conference after entering the moderator or participant passcode. The moderator can enable, change or disable the security code at any time using a touch-tone command. The moderator is responsible for ensuring participants know the security code prior to any conference call held. No intervention from OCIO is required to use this feature.  Refer to Touch Tone Commands Reference.

• Announce Name (On Join) – prompts participants to record their name prior to joining the conference call. Upon entering the conference, their name is played to everyone currently on the call. This feature requires a one-time set up by OCIO.

• Roll Call – prompts participants to record their names prior to joining the conference call. Unlike Announce Name (On Join), the roll call of names is only played back to the moderator. Once enabled, the moderator can play roll call at any time during the conference using a touch tone command. This feature requires a one-time set up by OCIO.

• Conference Report – e-mails a report to the conference account owner (the person assigned to the account in the OCIO system) after a conference ends. The report includes summary of the conference call duration; the telephone numbers of participants, their connection start and end times, and total time on the conference call. This feature requires a one-time set up by OCIO.

• Conference Recording –  allows a moderator to record a conference call. Recordings are archived and information on how to access the archived recording is e-mailed to the conference account owner to be shared if desired. This feature is available for an additional charge (refer to "Pricing" section). Note: Recording a conference call where sensitive or restricted information is likely to be shared is not recommended. Moderators who use the recording feature are responsible to comply with the University's Institutional Data Policy and applicable state and federal laws concerning call recording; and, ensure that playback information is only provided to those who need access. This feature requires a one-time set up by OCIO. Instructions: How To Record.

One-Time Charges

• $34.00 administrative order charge will apply.

Additional Charges

• Reservation-less Audio Conferencing (Toll Free (1-8xx) access) US/Canada only): Usage based billing at $0.06 per minute per participant line is billed to your OSU college or department; participants in the US/Canada will not incur long distance charges when calling into the conference bridge.

• Reservation-less Audio Conferencing (Toll access for US, Canada, and international): Usage based billing at $0.05 per minute per participant line billed to your OSU college or department; participants will incur long distance charges when calling into the conference bridge.

• Lock/Unlock Conference, Security Code, Announce Name (On Join), Roll Call, and Conference Report: There is no charge for these features.

• Conference Recording: $0.06 per minute per each access of the archived recording.

OSU faculty and staff with appropriate approval from OSU department or college unit

• To establish a new Reservation-less Audio Conference account, submit a university eRequest to OCIO. Be sure to include: the name of the person account is to be assigned and their @osu.edu e-mail address; type of dial in access (toll or toll-free), and the optional features requested.

• To add an optional feature for an existing Reservation-less Audio Conferencing account, submit an eRequest to OCIO. Be sure to include: the name of the person account is assigned, their @osu.edu e-mail address, and the optional feature(s) requested. Note:  Lock/Unlock Conference and the Security Code features are controlled using touch tone commands. No intervention by OCIO is required for these two features for existing Reservation-less Audio Conferencing accounts.

• For account-related or general questions about Reservation-less Audio Conferencing, please contact our office at 614-688-4357 (8-4357 from any campus phone).

• For technical support, please contact CenturyLink (formerly QWEST) technical support directly at: 1-800-485-0844 or 1-719-884-1577.  CenturyLink Technical Support is available 24 x 7 x 365. If you are on an active conference call and need technical assistance, press *0. You must have an established conferencing account through the OCIO to receive technical assistance.

• Recording a conference call where sensitive or restricted information is likely to be shared is not recommended. Moderators who use the recording feature are responsible to comply with the University's Institutional Data Policy and applicable state and federal laws concerning call recording. Moderators are also responsible to ensure that playback information is only provided to those who need access.

• Although features such as lock/unlock conference, security code, Announce Name (On Join) or Roll Call can enhance the security of audio conferencing, moderators are responsible for knowing who is connected to their conference call, particularly when sensitive information may be shared.