Ad-hoc Conferencing

Ad-hoc Conferencing is a component of the Sky phone system that provides a way to have a conference call on-the-fly with no prior activation. This type of conferencing is not set up ahead of time and conference participants are manually added to each conference call.

Please note that Ad-hoc Conferencing is different than Sky Conferencing which requires activation prior to use and provides a dedicated conference bridge number that all participants can dial to access a conference call.

To create and manage Ad-hoc Conference calls, use the instructions below:

Joining Active Calls to a New Conference Call

When you are connected to multiple active calls, you can join all calls to a new conference call by using the instructions below for the brand of phone used in your Sky phone system:

Using 400 Series Phones

To join one or more active calls on hold to a new conference call, do the following:

1. Press the Join soft key
2. If more than one call is on hold, repeat the following steps for each call on hold that you want joined to the new conference call:
   1. Use the navigation keypad to highlight the desired call that is on hold
   2. Press the Join soft key

Using Cisco 7900 Series Phones

1. Press the More soft key
2. Press the ConfAll soft key

Adding Participants to a Conference Call

1. Press the Conference function key, which places the active call on hold,
2. Dial the desired phone number of the first party that you want to add to the new conference call
3. Choose from the following options (note that after five seconds, the Consultative option shown is automatically selected):
   • Blind (unannounced) - Press the Conference soft key to connect the called party to the conference call immediately.
   • Consultative (announced) - Press the Consult soft key to talk with the called party to introduce the conference call.
     • Press the Yes soft key when you are ready to add the called party to the conference call.
     • Press the Cancel soft key if you do not want to add the called party to the conference call.
   • Intercom (announced) - Press the Intercom soft key to talk with the called party via intercom to introduce the conference call (the called party must be part of your internal phone system and have intercom permissions).
     • Press the Yes soft key when you are ready to add the called party to the conference call.
     • Press the Cancel soft key if you do not want to add the called party to the conference call.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 above for each participant that you want to add to the conference call.

Using Cisco Phones

During a conference call, you can add more participants by doing the following:

1. Press the Add soft key
2. When you hear the dial tone, dial the phone number of the party you want to add to the conference, and do one of the following:
   • Blind (unannounced) - Press the Join soft key to connect the called party to the conference call immediately
   • Consultative (announced) - When the call is connected, talk with the called party to introduce the conference call, and then do one of the following:
     • Press the Join soft key when you are ready to add the called party to the conference call
     • Press the EndCall soft key if you do not want to add the called party to the conference call
3. You are returned to the conference call

Moderating a Conference Call

The default settings for ad-hoc conferencing designate all internal users as moderators. Internal users include all phones within your Sky phone system. Conference moderators have the ability to control other conference participants. Use the instructions below for the brand of phone used in your phone system:

1. Press the Show soft key to list the conference participants
2. To drop a party from the conference call, use the navigation key to scroll to and highlight the desired person's name in the list.
3. Press the Drop soft key.
4. Press the Back soft key to return to the conference screen.

Using Cisco Phones

A moderator can hang up, mute, give moderator status to participants, and take away moderator status from participants. Participants who are not using a phone in the Sky phone system can be assigned moderator status manually.

During an active conference call, do the following:

1. Press the More soft key
2. Press List soft key
3. Use the phone's keypad or scroll button to highlight the desired conference participant
4. Press the Select soft key, then perform one of the following actions:
   • Press the HangUp soft key to end the conference call for that participant
   • Press the Mute soft key to mute that participant.
     • When you mute participants, they can still hear the conference call, but nobody on the conference call can hear them.
   • Press the RoleUp soft key to grant moderator status
   • Press the RoleDn soft key to revoke moderator status for a participant not using a Sky phone.
5. Use the Back soft key to return to the conference call

The following shows the default functionality for ad-hoc conferencing, which can be changed by an Authorized Contact who creates a Support Case to communicate the information to Support.

• All internal callers (in the Sky phone system) are automatically given moderator status.
• Conference calls will continue even after all moderators hang up.

Related Topics

• Sky's On Demand Conferencing enables callers to dial into a dedicated number to join conference calls as well as allow the user to manually add callers to the conference call.
• Sky provides many Add-on Features you can utilize in your phone system and self-manage in the Account Portal.