Questions about Videoconferencing
Booking
Set Up
Costs/Pricing
Technology
Booking
How do I book a conference?
Please complete the Booking spreadsheet (XLS 43KB) and fax or email it to us.
Why can't I complete the Booking Form online?
The reason is that we need a signature to effectively confirm the agreement between you and Telecom New Zealand Ltd. However, we are working on a form that will allow you to complete the majority of the information online and then simply print, sign and fax.
One tip for regular users is to save the completed form and work from that when setting up another conference. In most cases, this will save you the time and trouble of repopulating the same information.
Is there a charge for booking a conference?
Telecom is unique in that we don't charge a fee to book domestic conferences for any of our preferred bureaux.
What is the Administration Charge/Why do I have to pay an Administration Charge?
The administration charged in an international fee is only charged to conferences which require international set up where technologies, currencies and conference venues differ from those of New Zealand and provide a greater challenge and time consumption for Telecom. The costs include booking and setting up the conference, booking rooms, doing site registration, faxing the relevant parties conference confirmations, testing, and last but not least being on stand-by should a fault occur and responding to a page any time day or night.
How do you decide which bureau to use?
Telecom has an accreditation program to which bureaux must adhere (and continue to adhere) to ensure quality of service to our videoconference customers. Ultimately, however, the customer decides which of these select bureaux they would like to use.
Set Up
Why do I need to complete a Site Registration Form?
So we can obtain details about the other video conference system. We also fax out a "Scheduled Conference" fax to all videoconferencing locations in the conference so they have your details too and also we have details in case there is a fault, we offer a 24/7 fault rectification service.
Why do I have to do a test call? How much will that cost?
A test call is required to establish that there are no problems between your system and the other end. There is no cost for a call of less than 5 minutes. If longer there may be a charge from the rooms concerned as well as a possible ISDN cost which may be charged.
Why do I have to give 5 working days notice for you to do my conference?
There are a number of companies for whom Telecom provides this service. The five days notice is to ensure that there are no schedule conflicts, that the technology is in place and that there are no factors that could adversely affect your conference. If so, Telecom endeavours to solve these with the bureaux and needs the time to do so.
Costs/Pricing
I need to do a videoconference. How much will it cost
There are a number of factors that determine the cost. These include:
- Whether or not you have your own video conference system
- Where you are in NZ
- To where are you conferencing
- If the other party have their own conference system in house.
- Who will be initiating the call?
- How many people are in the meetings and how long is it expected to last.
How will I be billed?
The charge will be included on your Telecom account, or if you are not an existing customer, you will assigned a customer number and receive a bill from Telecom.
I'm a Telecom business customer who is getting a special rate for business calls. Do I still pay the standard ISDN rate for the Video conference calls?
Generally, business rates don?t apply for videoconferencing. However, if you would like to discuss a special rate, please contact your Telecom account manager. Otherwise, please contact 126.
Who pays for the conference?
The person/company who completes the Booking Form. If you wish this to be on charged to another party, please obtain a letter or e-mail from the party to be billed and we can on charge this to them directly. Alternatively, you may wish to simply get them to complete the Booking Form.
Can I pay by credit card?
Yes, we do offer this service. We will invoice the person or company who completes the Booking Form directly after the conference who should generally get the account within 6 weeks of the conference taking place.
Technology
What is ISDN?
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) is a 100% digital service that can be used for both voice and data. ISDN lines provide a fully modular service with each line comprising of two 64kbs channels. Up to 3 lines can be used at once giving up to 384kbs, providing real time motion and almost perfect picture quality. This scalability and the ability to use ISDN lines for voice when you're not videoconferencing, enable you to directly manage your communication costs. What is a bridge?
A bridge or MCU (multipoint conferencing unit) is a piece of hardware, available for use through Telecom, which allows three, or more parties to connect into the same conference and manages the video and audio for each.
What's a Multi-point conference and how does that work?
This is when you have 3 or more venues wanting to join a conference all at the same time. We would require as much notification as possible as this would depend on locations, time zones, how many venues are joining, etc. as an adjunct, there are 2 modes of having a multipoint conference, Continuous Presence or Voice Activated. Continuous presence displays all parties on the screen at the same time, while voice activated displays only the party that is conversing at the time.
I have a video conference unit I bought in Europe. Can I use this in NZ at my home?
This would depend on whether the unit supports the connection you choose to use (ISDN/ADSL). You may want to speak with one of these representatives by dialling *126.
I want to do a conference like the Ad on TV where the woman is at home and her husband is painting her toenails? What do I do?
Depending on where you are located you would connect via dial up Internet or ADSL for better resolution and quality, connect using Telecom's ISDN. If you work in a larger corporation you may want to speak to your IT manager about remote working. If you are part of a small business, please contact Sarah Perry at 09-358-6072. We can give you an overview of the services and products required for this function.
