Lucent Technologies Inc. announced an intelligent network messaging solution designed to bring messaging mainstream, said the company.
The solution makes use of information in network databases to enable a service provider to deliver advanced messaging services to its entire subscriber base, said Lucent.
“This will make it easier for subscribers to use messaging,” said Larry Frank, vice president of marketing with the Service Provider Messaging Group, Lucent Octel Messaging division. “Making [messaging] a network element makes it more efficient and cost effective for wireless and wireline carriers. The objective through this architecture is to help service providers generate more minutes.”
Lucent will make available the IN Messaging solution and three new services to operators worldwide in the first half of next year.
Call-Sender with Rebound is one of the first IN messaging services Lucent plans to offer next year. The service allows subscribers to return calls directly from a voice mailbox by pressing a button. Once a call is complete, the service automatically returns users to voice mail so they can continue listening to their messages.
The company also plans to offer Seamless Messaging and Single Number Retrieval services. The seamless messaging feature will allow subscribers to send and receive messages across a service provider’s entire network. Subscribers will have the capability to communicate with large groups of people, such as community interest groups, athletic teams or PTA committees, reducing the time and effort needed to place individual calls.
Single Number Retrieval will provide the equivalent of speed-dial access to voice mailboxes by assigning voice-mail subscribers one number that stays the same even when they add features to their service or move within a provider’s territory, allowing service providers to offer a single number that is highly memorable for each of their subscribers.
“The important point is that this is just the beginning,” said Frank.
Lucent and Sun Microsystems Inc. last month announced a joint development and marketing agreement under which the two will create a unified messaging platform converging voice mail, e-mail and fax services on any device or media of the user’s choice, the companies said.
Lucent plans to adopt Sun’s Solaris operating environment and its Internet Mail Server and integrate them with Lucent Octel’s AnyMedia Messaging open messaging platform. The company also plans to integrate text-to-speech developments from Bell Labs.
Lucent’s future products include Internet voice messaging, which will allow subscribers to exchange voice messages between voice mailboxes and e-mail users.
