FWIW: news from the competition
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Tuesday July 13, 8:48 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
L&H Expands Presence in Telephony Market
Signs Agreement With Comverse Network Systems
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 (NASDAQ:LHSP - news; EASDAQ: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.
(NASDAQ:CMVT - news), 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 www.lhs.com or www.lhsl.com.
About Comverse Network Systems
Comverse Network Systems, a division of Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMVT - news) and the world's leading supplier of enhanced
services platforms to communication network operators, is headquartered in Wakefield, MA. Comverse's enhanced services platforms enable
communications network operators to offer a range of revenue-generating multimedia messaging and personal communication services to
business and residential users. These services include call answering, mailbox-to-mailbox messaging, unified messaging (voice, fax and e-mail
in a single mailbox), short text message service, interactive voice response, virtual phone/fax, Internet-based services such as Internet
messaging and Internet Call Waiting, and next-generation Advanced Intelligent Network-based personal communications services such as
prepaid services, one-touch call return, personal number, call screening/caller introduction, mobile attendant, and speech-recognition-based
services. Comverse Network Systems is the worldwide enhanced services platform market leader serving over 290 network operator customers
in more than 75 countries. For additional information, visit Comverse Network Systems' web site at comversens.com.
About Comverse Technology
Comverse Technology, Inc. is headquartered in Woodbury, New York. In addition to Comverse Network Systems, other divisions include:
Comverse Infosys, which provides digital monitoring systems marketed to law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and digital recording,
logging, and quality monitoring systems marketed to call centers, financial institutions, and other organizations; and, Ulticom, which provides
network software and middleware for communications signaling, such as Signaling System #7 (SS7). Comverse Technology is a NASDAQ-100
Index company. Visit Comverse Technology's web site at comverse.com.
This Press Release contains forward-looking information, including statements regarding L&H's its customers and the performance of their
respective products and products under development. There can be no assurance that actual results will not be materially different than those
anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Factors which could cause actual results to materially differ from those anticipated include
known and unknown risks, including without limitation, the uncertainty of new product development, including the risk that newly introduced
products may contain undetected errors or defects or otherwise not perform as anticipated, the early stage of development of the speech and
language technology markets, uncertainty of market growth, rapid technological change and intense competition, as well as other risks set forth in
L&H's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. L&H cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date made. L&H expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or
revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in the L&H's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstance on which
any such statement is based. |
