Method for reservation-less instant group conferencing

A conferencing method for providing a conference call for a subscriber in a telecommunications system comprising:

• receiving input signals, in a switch servicing a phone of the subscriber, from the phone of the subscriber when the subscriber requests the conference call, the phone of the subscriber having a phone number;
• sending a message from the switch to a conferencing system in response to receiving the input signals;
• setting up the conference call in a bridge in the conferencing system in response to sending the message;
• routing the phone of the subscriber to the conference call in the bridge;
• obtaining a group of phone numbers of participants from a database containing at least one group, the group identified by the received input signals and the phone number of the subscriber;
• calling from the conferencing system each phone number corresponding to a phone for each participant in the obtained group;
• connecting the phone of each participant called to the bridge when answered in response to calling.

A conferencing method for providing a conference call for a subscriber in a telecommunications system comprising:

• receiving input signals from a phone in the telecommunications system when the subscriber requests the conference call;
• setting up the conference call for the subscriber in a bridge in a conferencing system in the telecommunications system in response to receiving the input signals;
• routing the phone of the subscriber to the conference call in the bridge;
• obtaining a group of phone numbers of participants from a database containing at least one group, the group at least identified by the received input signals;
• calling from the conferencing system each phone number corresponding to a phone for each participant in the obtained group;
• connecting the phone of each participant called to the bridge when answered in response to calling from the conferencing system.

A conferencing method for providing a conference call for a subscriber in a telecommunications system comprising:

• enabling the subscriber, in a network in the telecommunications system, to subscribe to the conferencing method, the network servicing a phone of the subscriber;
• assigning a conference code for the phone of the subscriber after the subscriber subscribes;
• providing the subscriber with Internet access to a database in a conferencing system in the telecommunications system after the subscriber subscribes;
• storing in the database information for at least one call group of participants for the subscriber in response to providing the subscriber access, the stored information based at least on a phone number of the phone of the subscriber, the information for each at least one call group including at least a unique call group code and phone numbers of each participant;
• dialing the conference code and the unique call group code in the phone of the subscriber when the subscriber places the conference call to the call group corresponding to the unique call group code after storing the database information;
• setting up the conference call in the conferencing system in response to dialing the conference code by (1) routing the phone of the subscriber to the conferencing system and (2) calling each phone number of each participant in the aforesaid call group in response to dialing the unique call group code.