VoIP Blog - Tehrani.com

July 12, 2007

 

Here is a patent on voicemail transcription from one of the founders of SpinVox who I met with some months back. The patent does describe having live operators listen to and correct voicemails which are transcribed to text. This does not mean all voicemails are sent to live operators but one of my readers sent me this link and it is worth sharing. The text of the patent is below.

 

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Voicemail is received at a voicemail server and converted to an audio file format; it is then sent or streamed over a wide area network to a voice to text transcription system comprising a network of computers. One of the networked computers plays back the voice message to an operator and the operator intelligently transcribes the actual message from the original voice message by entering the corresponding text message (actually a succinct version of the original voice message, not a verbose word-for-word conversion) into the computer to generate a transcribed text message. The transcribed text message is then sent to the wireless information device from the computer. Because human operators are used instead of machine transcription, voicemails are converted accurately, intelligently, appropriately and succinctly into text messages (SMS/MMS).

 

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It is worth pointing out that in the case of SpinVox the e-mail matches the voicemail perfectly (well this is what is attempted anyway.) So this patent does not necessarily apply to the service I have tested or even the service which is being sold to the public.

 

Nonetheless, I have received countless e-mails and calls from analysts who swear the technology is beyond what speech recognition has been able to achieve to date.

 

I have spoken to the founders of SpinVox and SimulScribe and they tell me their technology is as safe as e-mail which can be intercepted and read. They have a point. The concern some people have is that operators reading your voicemail could theoretically steal personal information, etc.

 

I will keep you posted as the story unfolds.

July 12, 2007

 

Here is a patent on voicemail transcription from one of the founders of SpinVox who I met with some months back. The patent does describe having live operators listen to and correct voicemails which are transcribed to text. This does not mean all voicemails are sent to live operators but one of my readers sent me this link and it is worth sharing. The text of the patent is below.

 

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Voicemail is received at a voicemail server and converted to an audio file format; it is then sent or streamed over a wide area network to a voice to text transcription system comprising a network of computers. One of the networked computers plays back the voice message to an operator and the operator intelligently transcribes the actual message from the original voice message by entering the corresponding text message (actually a succinct version of the original voice message, not a verbose word-for-word conversion) into the computer to generate a transcribed text message. The transcribed text message is then sent to the wireless information device from the computer. Because human operators are used instead of machine transcription, voicemails are converted accurately, intelligently, appropriately and succinctly into text messages (SMS/MMS).

 

---

 

It is worth pointing out that in the case of SpinVox the e-mail matches the voicemail perfectly (well this is what is attempted anyway.) So this patent does not necessarily apply to the service I have tested or even the service which is being sold to the public.

 

Nonetheless, I have received countless e-mails and calls from analysts who swear the technology is beyond what speech recognition has been able to achieve to date.

 

I have spoken to the founders of SpinVox and SimulScribe and they tell me their technology is as safe as e-mail which can be intercepted and read. They have a point. The concern some people have is that operators reading your voicemail could theoretically steal personal information, etc.

 

I will keep you posted as the story unfolds.

July 12, 2007

There is a fine line between competing with partners and ensuring your company can continue to grow so it is strong enough to keep the R&D going to ensure your partners do well. Microsoft, SalesForce.com, Intel and now Digium all have to walk this line. I got to thinking about this when I read Tom Keating’s recent blog on the matter.

 

IMHO the reality is that Digium recently received funding and a new CEO. Invariably this means the company needs to generate revenue even faster as investors tend to expect such behavior. While Digium and all others listed above have to walk this fine line, in the end the open-source communications leader must grow. Will others in the open-source community possibly be unhappy at some acquisitions that Digium may make and some directions the company may go in? I would guess yes.

 

But in the end, the companies in the center of ecosystems make the entire ecosystem stronger when they grow. Digium will walk the fine line and potentially (like others above) do things that may upset some. In the end the ecosystem is more important than a single company. The same theory applies to bees who give their lives when they sting to protect the hive.

 

I do realize this is an area of tremendous passion so feel free to comment below or e-mail me with thoughts. Please let me know if I can share your thoughts in my blog if you e-mail.

July 12, 2007

Is it a marketing ploy or really something useful? NetSuite recently announced they will have support for Apple’s iPhone with their SuitePhone solution. The application provides native Safari support which is a good move. As iPhone use proliferates this announcment makes sense but I just wonder if for now, most iPhone users aren’t rich kids who had the free time to stand in line at the Apple store for days.

 

TMCnet’s Patrick Barnard has the full story here.

July 12, 2007

Google and others are looking to ensure some of the 700MHZ spectrum is allocated for broadband wireless and moreover available at wholesale rates in order to help foster new and innovative services. For more on this story see this USA Today article.

 

Interestingly I also read a Telephony article where CTIA President and CEO Steve Largent called the proposed rules “Silicon Valley welfare.”

 

What I find interesting is this portion of the Telephony article:

 

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Verizon Wireless vice president and general counsel Steve Zipperstein testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, urging Congress to ignore Google and other Internet companies’ calls for open-access requirements to the 700 MHz bands, which are scheduled for auction in early 2008. Zipperstein said the results of such rules would favor the Internet companies over the wireless industry, effectively pre-determining the winners of the auctions in advance.

“The wireless industry has produced a steady stream of innovations -- from devices, to applications, to features -- that have given American consumers myriad choices about how they use their wireless service,” said Zipperstein in a statement. “Consumer choice would be the casualty of policies that mandate that all companies do the same thing the same way.”

 

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Let’s put this in perspective. The carriers have not innovated in the wireless industry. Companies like Qualcomm and Alcatel-lucent have innovated on the equipment side and on the device side the innovation has been from companies like Nokia.

 

If you interviewed 10 executives from the wireless handset market in confidence, all 10 would tell you that wireless phone companies have blocked every effort they have made to innovate. How exactly is innovation defined by Mr. Zipperstein? Crippling bluetooth in devices? That is exactly what Verizon has done in the past. Is this wireless innovation?

 

Moreover, if the wireless companies could have stopped WiFi networks from ever becoming reality, don’t you think they would have? How would the free markets ever have an opportunity to harness the concept and promise of WiFi if the carriers made the spectrum unavailable? I find it difficult to understand how a company like Verizon has innovated more than Linksys or Skype.

 

Having said that, TMC spends a great deal of money with Verizon Wireless each month and they have the best US network for voice and data. But in reality, Verizon Wireless has to stop as much innovation as they can to keep charging the high rates they have charged in the past. They have an obligation to shareholders to warehouse as much spectrum as they can so it does not fall into the hands of companies like Skype that give away a free service and charge for premium services.

 

I am torn because part of me wants to allow Verizon and AT&T to keep as much spectrum to themselves so they can afford to invest billions in newer wireless broadband technology. On the other hand, what would the world be like if entrepreneurs got a hold of this spectrum and we saw new business models and services pop up that are affordable and more importantly useful? The saga continues.

July 12, 2007

Customer service is so crucial in every organization and Gartner is a well-respected name in the field of technology market research. It is for this reason when Gartner analysts make a live presentation, it is usually a great idea to listen and learn.

 

This is especially true when the topic is the Top 8 Trends Shaping the Customer Service Experience. Click on the preceding link for an archived presentation. Here is an article regarding this presentation from TMC’s Stefania Viscusi.

July 12, 2007

Microsoft expects to see over 20% growth in it’s Information Worker division in South America during it’s next fiscal year. The UC platform will be the flagship component of the 2007 product versions to be launched in October and will replace Live Communications Server. On the back end is the Office Communications Server 2007, which is the infrastructure on which the services are offered, while at the front end is the Office Communicator, which includes applications such as chat, videoconferencing, VoIP and presence.

 

Here are the details.