Video Conference

NATCO's Flippin video conference center is open for the public at Flippin

If a person can't travel to visit a relative, or if a businessperson wants to save the expense of a distant sales trip, they can now "travel" by ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) from Flippin to anywhere in the country.

     You may now videoconference over the ISDN telephone line and see the party at the other end when the call is made from the NATCO Videoconferencing Center.

     The service uses the high speed digital line service that NATCO's Flippin office and any of the many videoconference centers set up throughout the nation and in 19 foreign countries. Callers should reserve NATCO's video conference room at the Flippin telephone company office during normal business hours. The company will try to accommodate special needs if calls must be made at other times.

     The caller must provide NATCO with the name of the videoconference center that will be receiving (or initiating) the call. There should be a videoconference center within a 90-minute drive of almost any location in the country. You can check the FTF Web Page Directory of Public Video Conference Sites. There are currently over 3400 sites in the directory including rental sites in Tokyo, Hong Kong, London and Flippin! If you cannot find a center where their call will be received, NATCO can probably help locate one.

     The cost is $15 an hour for the use of the room plus the toll charge for the time spent on the telephone line. The toll charge is equivalent to making 2 long-distance telephone calls.

     NATCO's Videoconference Center uses a 20-inch personal computer monitor equipped with a video camera. This equipment is connected to the Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) which makes it possible to transmit voice, data, and video over the same phone line.

     The video is full color and of good resolution. During the conference, the two sites can share some Windows programs while communicating in the conference window. A "whiteboard" is also available.

     At this time most individuals and businesses do not have the equipment to initiate and receive their own video conference calls; but they could if their phone companies offered the ISDN service, as does NATCO.

     Conducting a visit to a medical specialist in a distant city via videoconference may be one solution for home health care in rural areas. Of course, the business and personal applications are numerous:

     visiting family members
     interviewing job applicants
     business meetings

     Videoconferencing is becoming more common in big business because it saves money by reducing travel costs.

     Videoconferencing demonstrations can be set up for interested individuals and businesses.

     To reserve the Videoconference Center or to inquire further about videoconferencing, call NATCO at (870) 453-8800.