There are quite a few cheap or free conference calling carriers on the web these days, with conferencing services being offered by high quality conference companies for as low as 2.5 cents per minute. There are also carriers giving away free conference calling, but the only way they can do that is by cheating the telephone carriers who are giving them the service. The cheating is done by routing the calls through a local telephone provider, called an ILEC, that charges the long distance  telephone provider a high cost per minute to connect the call.

The reason that charging long distance carriers a high rate for connecting the call is unfair, is because, in most situations, the telephone call is then routed back to a company that doesn’t even operate in that ILEC’s area. In most instances, the free conference calling companies are in Los Angeles. The ILEC then shares the profits from overcharging for the telephone connection with the conferencing company that routed the calls through their business.


What is sad, is that this is  legal and that the FCC has shot down lawsuits by SBC, Qwest and other long distance   carriers who have tried to fight this in court. A lot of the time, the charges aren’t paid for by the person who used the service, but by the long distance telephone company instead. So, while you are making your FREE conference call, your phone company is getting charged 10-20 cents a minute for your call. This is especially hurtful to providers that offer flat cost long distance  service, as the user might run up $100′s worth of charges, while only paying the phone company$ 20.00 or less per month.