Conferencing Services at MIT

On this page:
Audio
Video
Web
InterCall
Where to Go for Help

Audio Conference Calls

Audio conferencing services are provided to the MIT community by IS&T Telephony Services, for three to eighteen-party calls. For larger audio conference calls, the third-party vendor, InterCall, offers conferencing services for up to 125 participants.

Three-Party Audio Conferencing
Audio conference capability is available for three-party conferencing on all MIT 5ESS Telephones. It is easy to invoke the conference option. The procedure is as follows:

Analog Phone:

Call the first party.
After they answer, depress switch hook button once (this places the first call on hold).
When dial tone is heard, dial the digits of the second party.
When the second party answers, depress the switch hook button again.
All three parties should now be on the line.

ISDN Terminals:

Call the first party.
Depress the Conference (conf) button above the dial pad.
When dial tone is heard, dial the digits of the second party.
When the second party answers, depress the conference button again.
All three parties called should now be bridged together.

Four or Five-Party Conference Calls
MIT operator-assisted conference calls can be placed with a maximum of five parties involved (the caller plus four others). The only charges incurred are the actual long distance phone usage charges.

To place the call:

Before contacting the switchboard, have at hand your 7-digit MIT account number that you will be charging the conference call to, as well as the names and telephone numbers of all parties to be called.
Place a call to the MIT switchboard; (0) from an MIT telephone, 617.253.1000 from an outside line.
Give the operator the 7-digit MIT account number and the names and telephone numbers of the parties you wish called.
The MIT operator will put you on hold, place the other calls, and connect you once all parties have been contacted.

Audio-Bridge Multi-Party Conference Calls
MIT employees can reserve a designated 6, 12, or 18-port Meet-Me Conference Bridge. If the time is available, the employee is given a telephone number to share with all parties of the conference call. Each member dials this MIT telephone number and all callers are connected.

To make a reservation you must be a member of the MIT community. Use the online Audio Bridge Request Form.

Video Conferencing

Video conference capability is available at MIT. There are a number of video conference units operational throughout the campus. There are many units on the MIT network, all of which are H.320 and H.323 compatible. This means that they will operate with any equipment that is standard.

Desktop Video Conference
There are various desktop video conference units. These units connect to others on the public telecommunications network via an ISDN connection. The units are designed to operate with one participant at either end of the connection. The connection speed for the desktop units is 128 kb which is sufficient for this arrangement.

Conference Room Systems
MIT also has video conference room systems on campus, in addition to Distance Education classrooms. These higher-end units provide better quality video and are designed to be used as video bridge conference rooms. Users are encouraged to contact MIT Video Productions & Digital Technologies to determine availability for use. MVP&DT also consults with individuals and departments on the design and building of department video conferencing systems. Contact Elaine Mello at 2-2172 for more information.

Video Conference System Owners
To schedule a conference room or Distance Education classroom, please call Clayton Hainsworth, MIT Video Productions & Digital Technologies at 3-3976.

For Video conferencing needs that can't be addressed by the above, consider using InterCall conferencing services.

Web Conferencing Services

IS&T offers several options for web conferencing services. A no-cost option includes Discuss. IS&T has an established relationship with InterCall for basic web conferencing, as well as for a suite of web conferencing services. InterCall is a reseller of Webex web conferencing services, as well as other services. MIT customers deal directly with the vendor, and pay with an MIT Procurement Credit Card or MIT purchase order

Discuss
Discuss is a networked, electronic conferencing system, similar to the bulletin board programs found on many computer systems. Discussion groups, on various topics of interest, take place through written messages (similar to email) called "transactions." Popular with students, this is an option to converse with a wide variety of people about topics ranging from academic courses and computing issues to music, humor, and where to find free food on campus.

There is a Web interface to view Discuss or see the Discuss on Athena page. For assistance with Discuss contact Athena Consulting.

InterCall

MIT has established a relationship with the vendor, InterCall, for all conferencing services.

Audio Conferencing

InterCall's "Reservationless-Plus" audio conferencing services are provided as follows:

An InterCall Reservationless-Plus conference can take up to 125 participants, subject to port availability.
An InterCall account is created for an individual or a department; conference calls are set up through your InterCall account.
InterCall charges are billed to an MIT credit card or purchase order; they are not billed through MIT Telephony Services and do not appear on your monthly MIT telephone bill.
Instant access to a conference call whenever you need it.
Conference calls can be initiated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
No advance reservation or operator assistance is necessary to set up a conference call.
Operators are always available for assistance.
Participants call a dedicated, toll-free number and enter a code which you have given them in advance. Or you can call participants directly from the conference (operator assistance is needed to call out to international participants).
Additional options available include enhanced security, conference recording, and participant list.

Account registration and conference-call setup is handled directly through the InterCall web site. To register for an InterCall account you must be a member of the MIT community.

Web Conferencing

InterCall offers video and web conferencing services, including the Webex suite of services (Meeting Center, Training Center, EventCenter, and SupportCenter), Conference Place by Microsoft Office Live Meeting, and Mshow, some of which can be integrated with the Reservationless-Plus Audio Conference service. Further information on the services provided is outlined in the following documents [Adobe Reader required]:

InterCall Rates for MIT [ Certificates required].

For further information on Intercal audio or web conferencing, or if you have questions, contact the MIT InterCall representative.