Some members of this forum may find the following service quite useful:
www.voicebridge.euVoicebridge offers an interesting conference calling service which, unlike others I have come across, works using standard geographic numbers only, rather than revenue share or premium rate numbers. Furthermore, no registration is required. Voicebridge offers conference calling in approximately 60 international destinations, including the UK, although it currently does not offer popular destinations such as India or Pakistan. However, anyone is free to send in a personal request which they will try to accommodate, according to the website.
The service offers some interesting possibilities, eg. an unlimited number of callers to join a particular conference room, and would seem to be particularly useful for business purposes or for large or scattered families. It is obviously excellent value if you and any other participant (if located in one of the given destinations) have means of accessing cheap or free / unlimited landline minutes, whether on a landline or a mobile.
The UK access number is:
0161 818 3253.
A very useful feature of the service is that you are given 5 invitation calls per day to enable you to request a caller to join you in conference. The system then calls the number you have entered and gives the person you want to join your conference full instructions.
Moreover, it is possible to store the access number and a particular conference number on your phone should you wish to make regular conference calls, thereby saving you the trouble of inputting conference numbers each time.
I have already tried out this service with another forum member and have been very impressed so far. Calls do not seem to be disconnected after a certain period (have had two conference calls lasting for more than 2 and a half hours) and the call quality has been excellent each time so far.