Lucent Brings Natural-Sounding, Voice-Activated Services To Market - Lucent Speech Solutions Text-to-Speec voice communications software and Lucent Speech Solutions Custom Dictioinary Editor voice recognition software - Product Announcement

Cambridge Telcom Report, Nov 1, 1999

Lucent Technologies Wednesday announced Unisys Corporation, Premiere Technologies and Cognitronics Corporation each will use software from Lucent Speech Solutions to launch new voice-activated services. Lucent also announced it has added languages to its speech portfolio, which will be demonstrated here today at the SpeechTek show, booth #114.

"Wednesday's announcements underscore that Lucent's speech products -- the most advanced and natural-sounding in the industry -- are quickly being brought to market in new and exciting applications," said Dan Furman, president of Lucent Speech Solutions. "Combined with the latest additions to our portfolio, we are helping our customers make life easier for their customers with speech solutions."

Unisys will license Lucent's Text-to-Speech (TTS) software engine for use in its new Universal Messaging product, also announced Wednesday. A key component of the new product is its e-mail reader service, which will give users over- the-phone access to e-mail messages via Lucent's TTS software that converts text messages into natural sounding voices, capable of speaking in several different languages. Unisys also will offer Lucent speech software to application developers over the new Unisys SpeechDepot.com web site to make the deployment of speech services and applications easier than ever.

Premiere Technologies is using Lucent's TTS software to allow users to hear their e-mail over the phone and respond to it with their own voice, from any touch-tone phone, from anywhere. Its new e-mail reader service, called Orchestrate* E-Mail by Phone, gives users access to their e-mail, whether calling from the car, home or from out-of-town. The service is ideal for business travelers, saving them from having to lug their laptops to get e- mail. Using Lucent's software, the messages are converted to natural- sounding, male or female voices, delivering superior pronunciation. The Orchestrate service gives users a local number to access their messages without incurring additional per-minute charges for usage.

In addition, Cognitronics (Amex: CGN) will use Lucent's TTS software to provide voice announcement applications over its next-generation, packet-based server for carrier-class intelligent networks. Cognitronics develops and integrates high-quality applications and services for circuit and packet-based networks including automated 411 and talking call-waiting for large-scale deployment with major service providers.

New languages and tools Lucent Speech Solutions Wednesday also announced it has expanded its portfolio of speech products developed by its research arm, Bell Laboratories. Its TTS software line-up now supports three new languages: Italian, Castilian Spanish and French-Canadian, in addition to American English, German, French and Latin Spanish, bringing the total to seven languages. Lucent's TTS software is highly reliable and scaleable for small, medium, or large applications.

Additionally, Lucent Speech Solutions has recently released a new tool, called the Custom Dictionary Editor, which allows users to quickly and effectively modify the way a word or phrase is pronounced. With Lucent's Custom Dictionary Editor, TTS or speech recognition applications can accommodate specific words that are unique to a certain industry or country. For example, the system could be customized to include acronyms or jargon from the financial or medical industries that aren't found in the dictionary. The new tool also is ideal for companies deploying services globally or to specific regions of the country or world, since it accounts for accents or language nuances.

Backed by more than 30 years of leading speech research and 140 patents, Bell Labs applications process millions of speech transactions for customers each week and handle over one billion calls per year. Lucent offers a full range of natural language speech technology, supporting both landline and wireless applications.

Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronics components. Bell Laboratories is the research and development arm for the company. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit the company's web site at http://www.lucent.com and Lucent Speech Solutions at http://www.lucent.com/speech.>

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