NEW YORK-GTE Network Services, Irving, Texas, rolled out a program last month to move
wireless directory assistance off the shoulder of the road and into the fast lane of the telecommunications
revolution.
GTE’s Wireless Directory Assistance is intended to take the Catch 22 out of finding a telephone listing.
Doing so often seems like checking the dictionary for the spelling of a word without first knowing its correct
spelling.
The new service also pledges to remove another caveat of mobile telephony, whose promise is one of
anywhere, anytime communications. The World Wide Web and a personal computer often prove superior, if not
especially quick, in locating telephone numbers, even if callers don’t know the city, the area code or the complete name
of the party they seek.
The ability to find such information fast is particularly valuable in an environment in which
area codes are changing rapidly, official corporate names are not necessarily used by their divisions or subsidiaries, and
both companies and individuals borrow the prestige of the nearest major city rather than admitting they are located in a
nearby suburb.
GTE Network Services has been providing wireless directory assistance since 1993. However, the
new version tracks the trajectory of the wireless industry by “evolving to a national directory assistance where
you only need to dial one number,” said Erceal Doty, a product manager for wireless services.
“A
carrier can configure its own dial plan so there is one number to call for numbers in its footprint or, if they want to
charge more, a second number for numbers (immediately) outside the footprint and (a third) for national directory
assistance.”
Carriers also can employ an interactive voice response unit with a recorded preamble announcing
the various directory-assistance options, he said.
At least four major wireless carriers, which Doty declined to
identify, have signed on for GTE’s national version of Wireless Directory Assistance since its official January
debut.
“Years ago, when cellular first started, carriers had connections to [local exchange carriers] where
(directory assistance) was provided,” said Michael Conaway, regional manager of wholesale markets for GTE
Network Services.
“But if a carrier had licenses in all 50 states, then it needed about 1,500 connections to
LECs, and this obviously became very expensive.”
Third-party vendors came into being to fill the void, and
GTE initially used their listings when it began offering directory assistance to wireless carriers six years ago, he
said.
Third-party providers can use a variety of sources, including customer lists from LECs, utility companies and
magazines. However, their information “isn’t as current or accurate as it could be,” Conaway said.
Likewise, he added, for telephone listings he has sought on the Internet. GTE’s new Wireless Directory Assistance
primarily relies on LEC listings, which are updated daily. Additionally, the system permits intelligent searches uses
criteria like alternative spellings and locations, said Ken Terrell, also a GTE product manager for wireless services.
Furthermore, the databases are redundant so the system will remain fully functional even if there are technical
difficulties in portions of it.
Carriers buy access to a point of connection to one of GTE’s directory assistance call
centers around the country he said. So far, there are 30 call centers in place, all staffed by information operators who
collectively have an average of seven years prior employment in similar positions with LECs. Additional centers are in
the works.
“Whereas some (directory-assistance) providers may have just one center, we take our customers
to the closest center, and this [affords] a cost savings,” Conaway said.
The ongoing charges to carriers are
priced on a sliding scale, with volume discounts depending on the number of requests handled, Terrell
said.
“Service bureau LEC or [interex-change carrier] directory-assistance services also charge for call
completion,” Doty said.
“We don’t necessarily charge for completion because we can turn the call back
over to the (wireless) carrier.”
