Unisys to provide voice messaging and other telecommunications services to Vietnam

Business Wire, March 26, 1996

BLUE BELL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 26, 1996--Unisys Corp. Tuesday announced that it has signed a $1.25 million agreement with the Ho Chi Minh City Post and Telecom (HCMC P&T), a division of Vietnam Post and Telecom (VNPT), to provide voice messaging, call answer, audiotex and virtual (phoneless) telephone services to both residential and commercial customers in Ho Chi Minh City and, eventually, to other cities throughout Vietnam.

The agreement is the first major information technology contract concluded since the normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam last July.

The agreement calls for Unisys to provide a complete range of installation and implementation services to HCMC P&T, including training the organization's personnel on marketing the services to their customers.

"Value-added services such as virtual telephony and audiotex can play a significant role in the growth of the telephone network in developing countries such as Vietnam, where there is only one phone line for every 250 people," said Patricia Higgins, president of the Unisys Communications Market Sector Group. "Virtual telephony -- where people are given a phone number that rings right to a voice mailbox -- allows even those without an installed telephone to reap the benefits of telephone use."

Vietnam has embarked on an ambitious program to upgrade its telecommunications system. Vietnam had the second fastest growing telephone network in the world in 1994 with 70% growth, according to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

VNPT plans for 1995 were even more aggressive, doubling the number of telephone lines in Vietnam, with the ultimate goal of reaching five telephone lines for every 100 people by the year 2000.

Still, there is a waiting list of 6,000 people wanting telephone service in Ho Chi Minh City, with the wait for service measured in months. With the new Unisys value-added services platform, HCMC P&T will be able to offer virtual telephone service to residents and businesses even if they don't have their own telephones installed.

These customers will be assigned a phone number -- which rings directly to a voice mail box -- where people can leave messages for them. Messages can be retrieved at any time from any phone by calling using the password. Virtual telephony has proven popular in Brazil, China and other developing countries, where having a private telephone installed is a long and expensive process.

HCMC P&T also plans to offer Audiotex services to its customers. Audiotex, an interactive voice response service for information access, provides the capability for storing voice announcements which can be accessed interactively by dialing a specified number and responding to the voice prompts.

Audiotex has proven very popular in China, with such personal services as bedtime stories, songs from the hit parade and soccer match scores available via telephone.

The value-added services provided by HCMC P&T will be based in large part on the Unisys Network Applications Platform (NAP) VoiceSource voice and data solution. Unisys NAP VoiceSource messaging servers are the most scaleable and flexible messaging hubs available today.

Telephone companies around the world have used NAP VoiceSource servers to deploy residential and business voice messaging, call answer, Interactive Voice Response, facsimile publishing, call routing, calling card, audiotex and other value-added services.

Unisys -- the information management company

Unisys Communications Market Sector Group is a leading provider of value-added services, infrastructure management and marketing information services and solutions to the communications services industry. Unisys works closely with clients in the communications services industry to support their efforts to grow market share, exploit new revenue opportunities and efficiently manage their networks.

As an information management company, Unisys acts as a solutions and systems integrator for business and government, complementing those integration skills with a full range of consulting and implementation services, information technology and vertical industry expertise.

The company's perspective extends beyond supplying technology to delivering comprehensive information management solutions. Further information is available through the Unisys home page on the World Wide Web: http://www.unisys.com -0- Unisys is a registered trademark of Unisys Corp. -0- All other brands and products reference herein are acknowledged to be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

CONTACT: Unisys Corp., Blue Bell

Oliver L. Picher, 215/986-5367

Internet: picherol@po7.bb.unisys.com