Revving Up Voice-Mail Value

Voice messaging is becoming a requirement in all basic service offerings from wireless operators. Traditionally, voice messaging was known as a telephone-answering solution that increased airtime due to higher call completion rates and message retrieval. Now voice messaging can bring a host of new features and services to a wireless operator's portfolio.

By combining the messaging features with the WIN infrastructure, you can create a strong, network-based service that allows you to increase revenues and offer differentiated services by adding new features. Furthermore, voice-messaging penetration averages 35% across wireless operators. With active marketing, the penetration can be as high as 90%.

With IN integration, messaging solutions become full network elements in the overall WIN network. IN integration includes interfaces for provisioning, billing, signaling and notification. Initially, this integration provides lower network costs. In addition, provisioning of new subscribers, including their voice-mail service, is made easy because the integration between the voice messaging solution (VMS) and the service-management system is completed through one system. Special interfaces into the VMS or separate provisioning no longer are required.

The signal control point (SCP), which provides database and control functions, has allowed for more information about subscribers to be available on the network. These functions also offer additional information about callers and can route calls appropriately.

The VMS system has required signaling interfaces to allow automatic call deposit for no-answer calls. This capability provides the called number identification (subscriber's number) so that the VMS can answer the call with the subscriber greeting. With the evolution of signaling in the IN, the signaling interface between the MSC and VMS continues to add more information about the incoming call. Call transfer reasons -- such as ring/no answer, handset busy or handset unavailable -- can be added. This allows for multiple subscriber greetings.

Detailed Notification Voice-mail service always has required the ability to notify the subscriber when messages are waiting. For WIN solutions, however, notification is provided through short-message service (SMS) messages. (See Figure 2 on page 60.) By enhancing the interface from a VMS to a short-message service center (SMSC), the SMS information can be amended to give the subscriber more information about the message. For example, the SMS notification message can provide the complete message envelope information:

Jane Doe, 408-555-1234, 10:56, 4/18/98, 3 minutes.

This information is supplied by combining the VMS with the SCP information and passing it to the SMSC for delivery. Specifically, the name "Jane Doe" is supplied by the SCP through correlation of the phone number with the SCP subscriber database. The time stamp, 10:56; the date, 4/18/98; and the message length, 3 minutes; are supplied by the VMS system. The SCP passes this information to the SMSC from which the information is packaged into the handset.

Detail notification enhances the value of voice mail, allowing subscribers to decide the importance of the message without having to initiate a call into the mailbox.

Specialized Services With the WIN infrastructure in place, VMS now has the capability to roll out new messaging services on a network basis. Examples of these services with new messaging capabilities include: fax-mail, e-mail, additional messaging reply services such as returning the call from the mailbox with the push of one button, and additional notification services such as adding SMS messages for e-mail messages and/or fax messages.

Also, the integration with WIN makes it easier for messaging to become part of an overall service. Examples of this could be a consolidated wireless/wireline mailbox or a personal number service.

In a personal number service, the SCP coordinates a call search to connect the subscriber with callers -- with voice mail as an available alternative. The VMS/SCP interface then allows the subscriber to retrieve messages from any of the related phones without having to re-enter his mailbox number. As a result, the IN integration makes it easier to use voice-mail services from both the subscriber and caller perspective.

Other examples of services available through this integration include:

* Virtual private networks (VPN): closed user groups. In the case of private networks, the goal is to segment part of the user community. This requirement also can extend to messaging. Inside a VPN, messaging between users may be allowed within the user group but not outside the user group.

* Call sender. This allows the subscriber to return a call from the voice message. With the calling number supplied by the network, placing an intelligent outbound call allows for optimization of the network resources. The intelligent outbound call is achieved by the SCP interface to the HLR. The HLR identifies the availability of the original caller. Upon completion of the outbound call, the user is returned to the mailbox.

The ability to provide these services depends on the intelligence in the network as well as the open interfaces within the VMS. Success in this area hinges on the interfaces and relationships between the VMS and the network. The more intelligence that messaging solutions can obtain from the network, the quicker new services can be deployed and the easier these services are for subscribers to use.