How to Configure Teams Audio Conferencing Policies Using PowerShell CsTeamsAudioConferencingPolicy

Enterprise organizations utilizing Microsoft Teams Audio Conferencing enable meeting attendees to join scheduled calls via Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) dial-in numbers. While dial-in access provides vital flexibility for mobile employees and external clients without high-speed data connections, unmanaged toll-free dial-in and unauthenticated outbound call routing can rapidly inflate organizational telecommunications expenses.

To control conferencing features, prevent unexpected PSTN billing, and enforce compliance across corporate meetings, Microsoft Teams administrators use the CsTeamsAudioConferencingPolicy cmdlets in PowerShell. This guide demonstrates how to inspect existing conferencing policies, create customized departmental profiles, govern toll-free dial-in access, and manage participant entry and exit announcement chimes.

Understanding CsTeamsAudioConferencingPolicy Capabilities

The CsTeamsAudioConferencingPolicy controls how meetings organized by targeted users behave when PSTN participants dial in. Key configurable parameters include:

• AllowTollFreeDialIn: Governs whether attendees can dial into meetings using organization-sponsored toll-free telephone numbers (which incur per-minute consumption charges for the tenant).
• MeetingAudioToneNotification: Determines whether audio chimes, synthesized spoken names, or silent transitions occur when dial-in participants join or leave a conference.
• Granular Role Assignment: Enables administrators to permit toll-free dial-in for executive and sales teams hosting external webinars while restricting standard internal staff to local toll numbers.

Connecting to Microsoft Teams PowerShell

Launch PowerShell with administrative privileges and authenticate to your Microsoft 365 tenant:

Connect-MicrosoftTeams

Verify that your connection is established and the session holds Teams Administrator or Global Administrator privileges:

Get-CsTenant | Select-Object DisplayName, TenantId

Inspecting Current Audio Conferencing Policies

To view all audio conferencing policies currently defined in the tenant:

Get-CsTeamsAudioConferencingPolicy

To inspect the default Global policy inherited by all tenant users unless explicitly overridden:

Get-CsTeamsAudioConferencingPolicy -Identity Global | Format-List Identity, Description, AllowTollFreeDialIn, MeetingAudioToneNotification

The output reveals whether toll-free dial-in is enabled by default and the notification tone format used across company meetings.

Creating a Custom Cost-Controlled Audio Conferencing Policy

In organizations seeking to reduce communication consumption credits, administrators can create a dedicated policy that restricts organizers to standard toll numbers while maintaining chime notifications:

New-CsTeamsAudioConferencingPolicy -Identity "CostOptimizedConferencing" -Description "Restricts toll-free dial-in to prevent unexpected tenant PSTN charges" -AllowTollFreeDialIn $false -MeetingAudioToneNotification "ToneOnly"

The MeetingAudioToneNotification parameter supports several values:

Value	Behaviour in Conference
ToneOnly	Plays a subtle chime when participants join or leave without interrupting speaking presenters
NamesAndTone	Records the caller’s spoken name and announces their name into the conference when joining
None	Completely suppresses all join and leave audio alerts for distraction-free large meetings

To create an executive policy where full toll-free access and spoken name announcements are permitted:

New-CsTeamsAudioConferencingPolicy -Identity "ExecutiveConferencing" -Description "Allows toll-free dial-in numbers for executive customer meetings" -AllowTollFreeDialIn $true -MeetingAudioToneNotification "NamesAndTone"

Modifying Existing Policy Settings

To modify an existing custom policy or update the Global tenant baseline, use Set-CsTeamsAudioConferencingPolicy:

Set-CsTeamsAudioConferencingPolicy -Identity "CostOptimizedConferencing" -MeetingAudioToneNotification "None"

To disable toll-free numbers globally across the entire tenant:

Set-CsTeamsAudioConferencingPolicy -Identity Global -AllowTollFreeDialIn $false

Assigning Audio Conferencing Policies to Users and Groups

Assign the cost-optimised or executive policy to an individual organizer using Grant-CsTeamsAudioConferencingPolicy:

Grant-CsTeamsAudioConferencingPolicy -Identity "[email protected]" -PolicyName "CostOptimizedConferencing"

To assign the policy across an entire departmental security group in Microsoft Entra ID:

Grant-CsTeamsAudioConferencingPolicy -Group "Sales-Department-GroupID" -PolicyName "ExecutiveConferencing" -Rank 1

To unassign a custom policy from a user so that their account reverts to inheriting the tenant Global policy, specify $null:

Grant-CsTeamsAudioConferencingPolicy -Identity "[email protected]" -PolicyName $null

Verifying User Policy Assignment

Confirm the active policy applied to a user’s account:

Get-CsUserPolicyAssignment -Identity "[email protected]" -PolicyType TeamsAudioConferencingPolicy

By effectively governing CsTeamsAudioConferencingPolicy through PowerShell automation, enterprise IT departments prevent runaway PSTN consumption charges while ensuring seamless, distraction-free meeting environments for all participants.