Racal Electronics Plc’s Racal Recorders Ltd duly launched its speech processing system, which will enable callers to reach extension numbers and services by pressing buttons on their touch-tone telephones (CI No 1,620). On phoning a company, callers are met with a recorded message that instructs them to press certain buttons on their touch-tone phone, according to which service or extension is required. For example, the message could tell the caller to press one number for a human operator and another for information about the company’s product. But the button method relies on digital exchanges and multifrequency touch-tone phones. When callers with these phones are connected to a digital switch, each button is allocated a tone which can route the call to the switchboard operator, an answering machine, a computer or a particular extension configuration depends on the organisation. But if the caller does not have a multifrequency phone and is not connected to a digital switch, they will have to use the old fashioned method of call processing through speech recognition. Instead of punching in buttons to get through to the service they require, callers have to speak. This method is regarded as less accurate and not as user friendly as the digital system some observers have dubbed them grunt detect systems. British Telecommunications Plc says that digital switches are approaching 50% of the total number of switches in the UK, although it does not know the number of multifrequency phones in use. However David Nutton of Racal Recorders is confident. In three to four years time we will all be using tone phones. And he says the majority of UK businesses already have multifrequency phones linked to a digital system. The product is called Callmaster and comes from Microlog Inc, Washington (CI No 1,598). Touchtone call processing systems are popular in the US and Hutton believes the European market is now ready to take off. Racal has estimated a UKP500m market by 1995. As well as making sure the phone is answered immediately and routing calls, the system can also store up to 1,000 messages from callers and access to them can be restricted by passwords. So, for example on reaching an extension, the caller can leave a message and know that only the called party will hear it. Other applications might include customers accessing mainframes and tapping in bank account numbers to transfer money or perhaps to order mail order products. Nutton says that applications depend on the organisation and are infinite. Callmaster is from UKP20,000 for a basic configuration.
