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Speech Design partnered with Deutsche Telekom and SpeechWorks last July to allow Deutsche Telekom to deliver SMS text messages from a mobile phone to a fixed-line telephone. Approximately two million SMS messages have been sent to the fixed line network each month since the launch of Deutsche Telekom's SMS-to-voice service in July 2001.
Nine hundred million text messages are transmitted through Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile network each month, representing a growth in SMS and data transmission.
The system has also been implemented by Denmark's TDC and South Africa's Vodacom, according to Speech Design, which is a subsidiary of US-based Bogen Communications International. Bogen's first quarter results showed disappointing revenues from Speech Design, which has faced a tough market as network operators have cut back on spending.
"In some cases telecoms have cut their capital budgets by 100 percent since last October," commented Jan Martens, managing director of Speech Design's carrier systems division, speaking to ElectricNews.Net.
Even when capital spending budgets are re-introduced, voice-enabled SMS messaging may not be at the top of telecom providers' purchasing priorities.
"The level of interest in our system is driven by the level of penetration of SMS in that particular market," Martens commented. "Nevertheless we plan to announce further implementations of our system soon."
The system provides text messaging to fixed-line telephone users, a service which has historically been restricted to mobile communications. If an SMS recipient does not own a new SMS-capable fixed line phone, the message is converted to a voice message using software from Speech Design as well as from US-based SpeechWorks.
The service uses a dictionary, which identifies typical SMS jargon and so-called "emoticons" which are particularly popular among younger SMS users. For example, a "smiley face" entered in the mobile handset can generate a laugh at the other end of the phone line.
SpeechWorks delivers natural language speech recognition, speaker verification and text-to-speech (TTS) solutions to corporations, telecommunications providers, device manufacturers and government organisations.
Speech Design is a German company that develops, manufactures and markets telecommunications peripherals and unified messaging products and services. Speech Design's products are sold to corporate and carrier customers.
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