comverse in cahoots with the lernahoulians! say it isn't so. hey, how's that for drumming up controversy on command? maybe we'll make "herb on the street." or at least get some 'bored' chatter.
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L&H Expands Presence in Telephony Market; Signs Agreement With Comverse Network Systems
July 13, 1999 08:48 AM
IEPER, Belgium and BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 13, 1999--L&H's Text-to-Speech Technology Enables Users of Comverse's
Unified Messaging Service to Hear E-Mails Over The Telephone
Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products LHSP (L&H(tm)), a worldwide market leader in speech and linguistic technologies, products and services, announced today that Comverse Network Systems, a division of Comverse Technology, Inc. (CMVT), has licensed L&H's text-to-speech (TTS) technology to voice-enable its unified messaging solution. Comverse is currently targeting wireless and wireline network operators and Internet Service Providers.
Unified Messaging simplifies the challenge of managing the flow of information received from the various communications mediums available by enabling users to access e-mail, faxes, voice mail, and database information from a single mailbox, using virtually any terminal, desktop PC, laptop, or phone. Comverse has integrated L&H's TTS technology into its unified messaging service to allow users to have their e-mail read to them over the phone, increasing the functionality of the unified messaging service to the user.
Unified messaging subscribers, who log into their Unified Mailbox via the phone, can listen to new e-mails as they are translated in real time by means of TTS conversion. Subscribers may choose to listen to the e-mail header or to the entire body of the message. The service is available in multiple languages.
"As more professionals conduct a larger percentage of their business outside the office the demand for applications that improve communication will soar, " said Patrick De Schrijver, president of L&H's speech and language technology and solution division. "Comverse Network Systems is a leading supplier of enhanced services platforms to wireless and wireline network operators worldwide. This agreement with Comverse will expand L&H's reach into this market and help strengthen our leadership position in the speech and language technology industry."
The agreement with Comverse builds on recent partnerships L&H announced in the growing telephony space and serves to expand its reach within the industry.
About Lernout & Hauspie
Lernout & Hauspie (L&H) is a global leader in advanced speech and language solutions for vertical markets, computers, automobiles, telecommunications, embedded products, consumer goods and the Internet. The company is making the speech user interface (SUI) the keystone of simple, convenient interaction between humans and technology, and is using advanced translation technology to break down language barriers. L&H's products and services originate in four basic areas: automatic speech recognition (ASR), text-to-speech (TTS), digital speech and music compression (SMC) and text-to-text (translation). For more information, please visit Lernout & Hauspie on the World Wide Web at lhs.com or lhsl.com. |
