Tag Archives: Audio conferencing

General availability of Operator Connect Conferencing

Microsoft announce the general availability of Operator Connect Conferencing and add the licences to the Product Terms.

With Operator Connect Conferencing capabilities, organisations can add phone numbers from a third-party operator to their Audio Conferencing bridge, and use those numbers to join Teams meetings. Meeting organisers either need to be licensed with an Audio Conferencing licence (which is included in Office/Microsoft 365 E5), or with a $0 Operator Connect Conferencing licence which can be assigned to anyone already licensed for Teams, and is available through an EA or CSP.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/32Wv6CL, and details on the licensing here: https://bit.ly/3GopAHu.

Teams Phone with Calling Plan

The “Phone System” product, previously known as “Cloud PBX”, has been renamed once more, this time to “Teams Phone”.

In January 2022, there will be a “Teams Phone with Calling Plan” offering which will replace two existing products: both the “Microsoft 365 Business Voice” SKU aimed at businesses with less than 300 users, and the “Teams Calling Essentials” product aimed at larger businesses. This new voice bundle includes just the cloud-based phone system and a domestic calling plan since the originally included Audio Conferencing product will now be included in Office 365/Microsoft 365 licences – see our blog for more details on that: https://bit.ly/3D6H0b3.

Licensing-wise, it remains a User SL added onto various Office 365/Microsoft 365 pre-requisite licences, and is priced at $15 per user per month in the US, UK and Canada, and at $20 in an additional 30 markets.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3DoJLTL, and a useful FAQ here: https://bit.ly/3IoUoK7.

Audio Conferencing update

An Audio Conferencing licence enables you to provide a dial-in phone number for Teams meeting attendees, and to dial-out during a meeting to invite other callers into that meeting.

Currently there are two promotions that entitle EA and CSP customers to free Audio Conferencing licences (https://bit.ly/33NIFkN), with both promotions running until 31 December, 2021 (https://bit.ly/3gn1wu8).

However, Microsoft have now announced that over the coming months they will add unlimited dial-in capabilities for Teams meetings for existing Office 365 and Microsoft 365 licences. Find the information towards the bottom of this page: https://bit.ly/3kdqvBg.

Extension of Audio Conferencing promotions

In September 2020, Microsoft announced two promotions which entitle Enterprise Agreement and CSP customers to free Audio Conferencing licences. The changes listed on the Product Terms site for 1 February 2021 (http://bit.ly/3prduoo) confirm that these promotions are now extended to 30 June, 2021 from the previous end-date of 31 March, 2021.

Find the original announcement with details of the promotions here: https://bit.ly/33NIFkN.

Microsoft 365 Business Voice

Microsoft introduced Microsoft 365 Business Voice in November 2019 for the UK and Canada, and from 1 April 2020 it’s also available in the US. This is a single Add-on licence which includes access to Phone System, Audio Conferencing, and a Domestic Calling Plan, and can be added to an Office 365 plan (Business Essentials, Business Premium, A1, E1, F3, A3, E3) or a Microsoft 365 plan (Business, F3, A3, E3). It’s limited to up to 300 users in an organisation, and the price per month is $20 per user. There’s also an International Calling Plan available for $12 per user per month. Business Voice without a calling plan also launches on 1 April, 2020 in around 70 additional countries.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/2RlnP6K and confirmation of US pricing here: https://bit.ly/3aVc12Z.

Microsoft 365 Business Voice

Microsoft introduced Microsoft 365 Business Voice in November 2019 for the UK and Canada, with plans for global availability in 2020. This is a single Add-on licence which includes access to Phone System, Audio Conferencing, and a Domestic Calling Plan, and can be added to an Office 365 plan (Business Essentials, Business Premium, A1, E1, A3, E3) or a Microsoft 365 plan (Business, A3, E3). It’s limited to up to 300 users in an organisation, and the price per month is £12.00 per user.

Find the original announcement here: http://bit.ly/2Yt80gU and a useful overview page here: http://bit.ly/2Yw4LoR.