Introduction

Conference Bridges are a great way of meeting via telephone. This guide contains all the information necessary to operate your conference audio bridges as an Office Manager. Available options include:

• Organizations can have more than one bridge.
• They can be combined with video conferences (Connect Meet)
• Each bridge can have a “leader” who can perform moderator duties.

This guide provides the steps to create and use your conference bridges.

Getting to your Conference Bridge

A conference bridge is assigned to an extension number by your Office Manager. Internal users can call the extension number, while outside callers must dial the outside number if one is assigned. If a leader is required to start a conference, all participants will be sent to a “waiting room” with hold music.

Types of Bridges

As an Office Manager, you can create two types of bridges:

• Dedicated: This type of bridge is intended to be used by everyone in the company. All office managers will be able to see it in their “Conferences” area of the portal and they can manage it. They can also manage any participants at meeting time.
• Owned: This type of bridge is intended for use by a specific user which is designated as the “owner”. If assigned one, the owner will be able to see the bridge in their portal and moderate the participants at meeting time.
  
  
   

Creating and Configuring Conference Bridges

Normally, your organization’s bridges would have already been created during installation. However, Office Managers can create, edit, and delete conference bridges as needed. 

Creating a Conference Bridge:

1. Login to your Portal as an “Office Manager” and select the “Conferences” icon at the top of the page.
    
2. From here, you will see any existing bridges that have already been created. To create a new conference bridge, select “Add Conference” on the upper right side of the screen.
    
3. Fill out the fields displayed in the “Add New Conference Bridge” window. 
   
   
   
   • Name: The name of the conference bridge to distinguish it from any other bridges in your domain.
   • Type: A “Dedicated” bridge is not assigned to any specific user and is intended for use by everyone in the company. An “Owned” bridge is assigned to a specific user which makes them the owner of the bridge.
   • Extension/Direct Dial (for owned): Once this is chosen, it cannot be changed unless it is deleted.
   • Direct Phone Number: If you have a direct phone number available, it will show up in the drop-down menu.
   • Leader PIN: A unique code for the leader that will give the user moderator control over the conference call.
   • Participant PIN: An access code for participants to join the conference that will only allow to listen and speak.
   • Max Participants: This number is a maximum of 30. If your company needs more, please contact Allegiant Support.
   • Minimum Participants to Start: Until this number is met, the participants will remain on hold listening to hold music.
   • Options:
     • Require a Leader to Start: This will keep all participants on hold until the leader joins.
     • Announce participant's arrival/departure: This will announce the name of any user that joins or leaves the conference call.
     • Prompt all participants for their name: This will require each participant to record their name before joining the conference call.
        
4. Click “Save.” You will now see your new conference bridge in the Conferences section. Any conference bridges can be edited or deleted from this page. Regardless of the type of bridge, the Office Managers and Owners can make changes to the bridge options.
   
   

Using Your Conference Bridge

As a Participant:

1. If you are calling from a company phone, dial the extension of the conference bridge.
2. If you are calling from a non-company phone, dial the direct dial number of the conference bridge.
3. When prompted, enter your participant PIN.
4. Depending on the settings of the conference bridge, you will either join right away or be put on hold until the leader joins or there is another participant.

As a Leader:

1. If you are calling from a company phone, dial the extension of the conference bridge.
2. If you are calling from a non-company phone, dial the direct dial number of the conference bridge.
3. When prompted, enter your Leader PIN.

All Office Managers and Owners function as bridge leaders. Leaders also have access
to star codes during a conference which assist in moderating: