What voice broadcasting is — and what it is not
Voice broadcasting is one-way. Every person on the list hears the same message, nobody is asked a question, and nothing the listener says changes what happens. It is the phone equivalent of an SMS blast, with the advantage that a voice reaches people who do not read texts, and the disadvantage that it is easy to hang up on.
It is important to be clear about this because AI calling is often sold in the same breath. An Outpero broadcast is not an AI conversation: there is no listening, no answering questions and no booking. If you need any of those, you need an AI campaign, covered further down.
How a broadcast works on Outpero
- 01Upload your contact list.
- 02Provide the message: upload an audio file you recorded, or type the text and have it synthesised in one of Outpero's voices.
- 03Schedule the send and choose the calling line.
- 04Each number is called; when it is answered, the message plays once and the call ends.
- 05Check the results in the dashboard and plan any follow-up.
Keep the message under 30 seconds where you can. Say who is calling in the first sentence, give the one fact that matters — the date, amount or offer — and say how to respond, such as a number to call or a WhatsApp number to message.
Indian use cases that suit broadcast
- —Schools and colleges: holiday notices after heavy rain, exam schedule changes, PTM reminders to parents.
- —Housing societies and RWAs: water supply cuts, lift maintenance, AGM dates.
- —Clinics and hospitals: free health-camp announcements and vaccination drive dates.
- —Broadband, cable and utilities: planned outage windows and restoration notices.
- —Lenders and microfinance: a standard EMI due-date reminder before the date, with the conversation reserved for those who miss it.
- —Retail chains and FMCG distributors: festival sale dates, new scheme announcements to retailers.
- —Events and NGOs: invitations, venue changes and donation-drive reminders.
Voice broadcast vs an AI conversation campaign
| Voice broadcast | AI conversation campaign | |
|---|---|---|
| What the listener hears | One fixed message, same for everyone | A two-way conversation that responds to them |
| Can they ask a question | No | Yes, answered from your instructions |
| Call length | Length of the message | As long as the conversation needs |
| Data you get back | Delivery outcome per number | Recording, transcript, summary, sentiment, captured fields |
| Can it book or confirm | No | Books slots, confirms orders, logs answers |
| Cost | Lower rate than AI minutes | ₹5 or ₹6.8 per connected minute |
| Best for | Announcements, reminders, alerts, offers | Qualification, confirmation, collection, surveys |
Languages
Hear it on a real call before you read further?
Text-to-speech broadcasts can be synthesised in Outpero's voices in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam and Indian English. An uploaded audio file is played exactly as recorded. For lists that span regions, split the list by language and send separate broadcasts rather than one message in two languages back to back.
नमस्कार, शाळेकडून महत्त्वाची सूचना: उद्या पावसामुळे शाळा बंद राहील. Online class चं timing WhatsApp वर पाठवलं जाईल.
What voice broadcasting costs
Broadcast minutes are billed at a lower rate than AI conversation minutes, because no AI is listening or responding. Outpero has no setup fee, no monthly base fee and no contract. Confirm the current broadcast rate with Outpero before planning a large send. When comparing vendors, compare cost per answered call rather than per dial, and ask whether you pay for unanswered attempts.
TRAI and DLT rules for pre-recorded calls
Pre-recorded calls are where Indian regulation is strictest, and a vendor that skips this section is a red flag. Under TRAI's Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCP), businesses sending commercial communication must register on the DLT platform, and promotional messages may only reach people who have not blocked that category through the DND or NCPR preference, which customers set by calling or texting 1909, or who have given recorded consent.
In 2024 TRAI directed telecom operators to stop promotional voice calls, including pre-recorded and computer-generated calls, made by unregistered senders over PRI, SIP and similar lines, with offending senders liable to be blacklisted. Promotional calls are expected to come from the 140-series numbers assigned to registered telemarketers.
- —Classify the message honestly: a school closure or outage notice is a service message; a sale announcement is promotional.
- —Send promotional broadcasts only to consented or non-DND numbers, and only through a registered sender.
- —Identify your business in the first sentence and give a way to opt out.
- —Call at reasonable daytime hours, and keep a do-not-call list that you actually honour.
- —Outpero's calling line is DLT-registered; your own business still needs its own registration and lawful basis for the list.
How to evaluate a voice broadcast vendor
- —Ask how they handle DLT registration, DND scrubbing and promotional versus service classification.
- —Ask what reporting you get per number: answered, not answered, busy, and how much of the message was heard.
- —Check text-to-speech quality in your language by listening to a sample, not reading a feature list.
- —Ask whether the same platform can run an AI conversation campaign on the same list, so you can step up without a migration.
When to upgrade from broadcast to an AI campaign
Move to an AI conversation campaign when you need the listener to confirm, choose, pay, reschedule or explain — for example COD order confirmation, EMI promise-to-pay dates, or event RSVPs with a headcount. A common pattern is to broadcast the announcement to everyone, then run an AI campaign on the segment that matters most.