Kenneth_R_Jongsma@apple.com (06/27/89)
The following article appeared in the local paper recently. It gives a
little more detail on the automated operator services I wrote about
some weeks ago. It's fairly long but rather comprehensive, edit as
you see fit!
(Copied without permission from the Grand Rapids (Michigan) Press,
Attributed to the New York Times and local editorial staff)
If you make a collect call in Grand Rapids, the operator that comes
on the line may not be a human. It could be electronic equipment that
recognizes and mimics the human voice.
On June 1, Michigan Bell's Grand Rapids based office began using the
first electronic telephone operator system in the US, according to Phil
Gould, public relations manager for the local office. (Possible exageration
here: I have heard of COCOTS doing this, though I haven't seen one. He's
probably refering to the local operating companies. - Ken)
It's the first test of computer aided telephone equipment that other
regional and local telephone companies are expected to embrace as human
telephone operators become more costly for telephone companies to retain.
Michigan Bell will expand the use of the equipment to Pontiac next and
the system should be operation in Detroit by November, Gould said.
The BellSouth Corp., which serves the Southeast, will introduce the system
later this year, and NYNEX Corp plans to offer a computerized operator
system next late next year.
It's too early to gauge consumer response to the new system in Grand Rapids,
Gould said. "Like any new process, customers have to get used to it." he
said.
Business customers who are accustomed to electronic switchboards at their
companies have embraced it more readily than the general public, he said.
"There's still a lot of people that want to talk to an Operator."
The telephone companies contend that the systems will greatly reduce the need
for human operators and the cost of completing calls at a time when the
number of collect and third party calls is increasing.
Union leaders say the new technology will provide an excuse for layoffs, and
others question the quality of service provided by the electronic operators.
The savings will only be for the companies, calling rates are not expected
to fall. (Hmm. Sounds like poor PR to me. Especially when the RBOCs are
pushing to Rate Cap authority in place of Rate of Return - Ken)
"This was bound to happen sooner or later because it's just too expensive
for phone companies to keep completing these types of calls with human
operators," said John Reddy, a business professor at the Wilkes-Barre
campus of Pennsylvania State University.
Reddy, who spent 25 years as a Strategic Planner in operator services
with the old Bell System, predicted that "electronic operators will eventually
replace about half of the estimated 70,000 operators employed by local
and long distance phone companies across the nation."
For now, though, it's a local phenomenon. The nation's three leading long
distance companies - AT&T, MCI and Sprint - say they have no immediate plans
to use the technology because consumers place a high value on human
operators.
Because of the stiff competition in the long distance industry, the carriers
are afraid to offend customers by introducing electronic operators. The
regional companies have a monopoly on local service (or lack there of! - Ken)
and face no competition.
Using voice synthesis and voice recognition technology, the electronic
operator can make collect and third party calls. It relies on the caller's
response from a push button (read touchtone - Ken) keypad, similar to the
way current network processes calls made with a credit card.
To make a collect call, for example, the caller dials 0, the area code,
and the seven digit number. The caller then punches 1 on the keypad to
alert the electronic operator that a collect call is desired. (Well, sort
of: I tried it out, comments later. - Ken)
The computer then asks the caller to state whom the call is from, records
the callers response and waits for the called party to answer.
The computer informs the called party that there is a collect call, plays
back the name of the caller and instructs the party to answer yes or no to
accept or reject the call.
The automated system recognizes the callers' response and processes the
call accordingly. The system, made by Northern Telecom Inc., compares the
callers response with thousands of yes and no responses on a digital
template.
Michigan Bell spent about $2 million to install the system while other
companies declined to give any figures.
A caller can reach a live operator at any point by dialing a designated
number on the keypad. Live operators are needed in emergency situations,
when callers are connected to wrong numbers (I always know in advance when
I'm going to get a wrong number! - Ken), or when a call is not completed.
A caller with a rotary dial telephone can also reach a live operator,
by depressing the switchook, said Gould. (Hmmm... And who's going to
explain to some novice how long a switchhook press is, or for that
matter, what a switchhook is? - Ken)
Telephone company executives say they have no plans to reduce the number
of operators on staff and that the electronic service is part of an effort
to reduce the rising cost of providing live operators. Demand for operator
assisted calls is increasing dramatically.
The executives say they expect the electronic services to cut overhead
by more than half, eliminating the need to hire operators to handle the
increasing number of collect and third party calls.
Whether human or electronic operator handles the call, the surcharges for
collect and third party calls will remain the same. New York Telephone
assesses a surcharge of $1.20 to $1.48 for collect and credit card calls that
require an live operator.
The surcharge for thrid party calls, in which a live operator charges the
call to another phone number, is $1.23. By comparison, a credit card call that
is processed electronically has a surcharge of 30 cents.
In an early trial of the automated systems by Southern Bell in Atlanta,
a survey of consumers found that when given a choice between a live operator
and and electronic one, 60 percent prefered the automated systems.
Customers who chose the electronic operator said they did so because it was
a much quicker way completing the call and that they did not like dealing with
human operators.
Customers who chose human operators said they found the automated systems
disorienting because they expected a human operator to handle the call.
Few forsee the day when human operators are totally eliminated. "There will
always be the need for live operators because there will always be situations
-such as an elderly person who has difficulty dialing or a child who
doesn't understand the technology- that machines cannot handle," said
Robert Morrow, a Southern Bell spokesman.
(End of Article)
Well, I had a few more comments, including my experiences with the system, but
I'm tired of typing, so they shall wait for another time!
Ken@cup.portal.comwendyt@pyrps5.pyramid.com (Wendy Thrash) (07/08/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0214m01@vector.dallas.tx.us> portal!cup.portal.com! Kenneth_R_Jongsma@apple.com writes: > The computer then asks the caller to state whom the call is from, records >the callers response and waits for the called party to answer. > > The computer informs the called party that there is a collect call, plays >back the name of the caller and instructs the party to answer yes or no to >accept or reject the call. Is the computer smart enough to know that my name is not (415) 555-2749 (or whatever the number from which I'm calling happens to be)?