In short: A BT Cloud Voice conference phone is a speakerphone from BT's Cloud Voice range, built to pick up voices around a meeting room table and connected to your network like a desk phone. Choose by room size and layout. Three-way calling is in every feature pack, and Connect and Collaborate add voice and video conferencing.
What a conference phone does
A conference phone is a speakerphone designed for a room rather than a person. It has microphones that pick up voices from around the table and a speaker loud enough for everyone to hear. On BT Cloud Voice it connects to your network and reaches BT's service in the same way as a desk phone, and it appears on the system as its own extension, often named after the room.
BT's Cloud Voice brochure describes a range of IP desk and conference phones in the portfolio. As with every device on the service, only phones from BT's range can be used, and they arrive configured. We confirm the current options when you order.
Choosing by room size
The main question is how far the furthest person sits from the phone:
| Room | Typical set-up | Things to check |
|---|---|---|
| Huddle room or small office, a few people | A single conference phone in the middle of the table | Placement away from air vents and projectors |
| Standard meeting room | A conference phone with good all-round microphone pickup | Whether people at the ends of the table can be heard clearly |
| Large or long boardroom | A conference phone that accepts extension microphones, placed along the table | Cable runs to the microphones and where power and network reach the table |
Some conference phones accept extension microphones that sit further down a long table and extend the pickup range; we check which devices in BT's current range do. If your boardroom is long or has hard surfaces that echo, tell us before we choose a device.
Conferencing features by feature pack
The phone in the room is only part of it. What you can do on a call depends on the feature pack assigned to the room or to the person hosting the call:
| Feature pack | Conferencing it includes |
|---|---|
| Basic | Three-way calling: add a third person to an existing call |
| Connect | Everything in Basic, plus voice and video conferencing |
| Collaborate | Everything in Connect, plus meeting scheduling with call-in audio and personal meeting rooms |
The Premium add-on to Collaborate adds more advanced meeting features. For people who mostly meet on screen, the BT Cloud Voice app brings calling, messaging and meetings to the desktop and mobile, and the Microsoft Teams integration gives click to call through BT Cloud Voice from inside Teams.
Power, network and placement
Conference phones need the same groundwork as desk phones:
- A network point at the table, or a floor box, so the cable does not cross the room
- Power over Ethernet from your switch, or a power adapter if PoE is not available
- CAT5e or better cabling, BT's minimum specification
- Quality of service on the network, so a large file upload does not break up the call. See LAN and firewall settings
Put the phone in the middle of the table, away from laptop fans and projectors. Soft furnishings reduce echo in rooms with glass walls. If remote participants report choppy or echoing audio, see call quality: causes and fixes.
Making the meeting room easy to use
A conference phone is used by everyone, so keep it simple:
- Name the extension after the room so colleagues can dial it internally
- Put a short instruction card on the table explaining how to join or add a caller
- Choose a feature pack for the room that matches how it is used, from three-way calling on Basic to conferencing on Connect
- Check the room's phone before an important meeting, as part of your routine
Conference phone, desk phone or the app?
Not every room needs a dedicated conference phone. As a rough guide:
- Two or three people in a small office can often manage with the speakerphone on a desk phone.
- A regular meeting room where several people join calls each week is where a conference phone earns its place, because a desk phone's speaker is built for one person.
- Meetings that are mostly on screen may be better run from a laptop with the BT Cloud Voice app, using a room speakerphone or headsets for the people at the table.
If you are not sure, start with your busiest meeting room and add conference phones elsewhere once you see how the rooms are used.
How Forever Communications Limited helps
We look at each meeting room's size, shape and cabling, recommend a conference phone from BT's current range, and set the room up as an extension with the right feature pack. The phone arrives configured, ready to plug in.
Contact us with the number and size of your meeting rooms and ask us for a quote.
Why buy BT Cloud Voice from Forever Communications Limited
Forever Communications Limited is part of Forever Group and a BT Business Partner. We supply, set up and support BT Cloud Voice for UK businesses, schools, charities and public sector organisations, from a handful of users to multi-site teams.
- A named partner who plans your numbers, call flows, user feature packs and handsets with you
- Number porting managed for you, timed to avoid downtime
- Connectivity checked first, so call quality is right from day one, with BT business broadband and BTnet available if you need it
- Help with the digital switchover, including alarms, lifts, card terminals and other analogue lines
- Training and ongoing support for the apps, Microsoft Teams integration, moves, adds, changes and faults
BT Cloud Voice is a business service. We do not sell consumer or home phone products.
Want a BT Cloud Voice quote for your business?
Tell Forever Communications what you need and we will come back to you by email with options, not a hard sell.
Contact usFrequently asked questions
Does BT Cloud Voice have conference phones?
Yes. BT's Cloud Voice portfolio includes conference phones as well as desk phones. Like all devices on the service, they come from BT's approved range and arrive configured.
Can I host a conference call on BT Cloud Voice?
Every feature pack includes three-way calling. Connect adds voice and video conferencing, and Collaborate adds meeting scheduling with call-in audio and personal meeting rooms.
Do conference phones need Power over Ethernet?
Not necessarily. They can run on Power over Ethernet if your switch provides it, or on a power adapter. They also need a network connection, ideally at the table.
What if our boardroom is too big for one conference phone?
Some conference phones accept extension microphones that extend pickup along a long table. We check your room and what BT's current range supports, then recommend a set-up.