VOCALIS ANSWERS SWEDISH CALL FOR SPEECH

Vocalis, the voice technology and call processing specialist, has completed a nationwide roll-out in Sweden of the world's first automated directory enquiries service using speech recognition technology.

Telia TeleRespons, Sweden's leading telecommunications service provider, chose Vocalis to provide the multi-million pound speech recognition platform, following three years of collaboration in planning and field trials. Systems integration and local support was provided by Logica Svenska AB.

Sweden's telecoms market is among the most sophisticated in the world; it is also 'open' and highly competitive. For Telia to retain its competitive advantage it has been necessary to both improve services and reduce costs. Agents account for 85% of total service costs, therefore reducing the amount of their repetitive work has significantly raised productivity and freed up operators to carry out more complex work. By partial automation of operator services Telia has cut the average time to satisfy an enquiry by 20%, thus saving the company around £4 million annually.

In selecting a speech recognition system - where a caller talks directly to a computer operator that 'understands' natural language - Telia demanded strict technical specifications. These included accuracy levels of over 95%, a 'word spotting' function for picking key words out of normal speech, and a talkover facility whereby the caller could interrupt the call if necessary. The system had to be flexible enough for callers who were unhappy about talking to an automated operator to be easily switched to a human operator. The technology had to be easily upgradeable and versatile to enable easy addition of new words. Vocalis was able to satisfy all of these requirements.

Bo Forssten, Vice President of Telia TeleRespons, comments, "The speech technology had to be user friendly. If we introduce technology too quickly or of low quality we may close future possibilities. However, I also believe that much of what operators do today will be replaced by technology within five years."

Jeremy Peckham, Vocalis Managing Director, adds, "We have worked closely with Telia throughout this project and are delighted to have facilitated the smooth roll-out of the new system. The implementation represents a major landmark in our relationship and strengthens Vocalis' position as a key system supplier to the network service operators."