December 3, 2001 — Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA — Information Services Extended (ISx) announced today that Belgacom has selected its new Short Message Service (SMS) capability to deliver expanded directory assistance service for mobile callers in 2002.

Belgacom, the leading telecom service provider in Belgium, will use an enhanced version of the ISx Intelligent Audio Subsystem™ (IAS) to deliver a requested listing in data format to a caller’s handset, while the caller is listening to the audio playback of the listing.

With the new service, mobile phone users can respond to a recorded prompt to receive the information via SMS. The SMS capability will be available to wireless carriers who contract with Belgacom for directory assistance and decide to activate this feature.

With the ISx design, Belgacom can deliver SMS messages without any additional time or effort by directory assistance operators. Belgacom operators will select the listing as usual and press a key to release the listing for audio playback to the customer. If the caller responds positively to the recorded prompt, the listing information is also sent via SMS to the caller’s handset. The SMS listing information makes it easy for the caller to store the number for future use.

Belgacom’s SMS feature works in conjunction with the ISx Business Category Search™ capability, installed at Belgacom earlier this year. ISx Business Category Search enables operators to help mobile callers seeking a kind of business or service when they don’t have a particular business name in mind.

“Adding SMS capability to our directory assistance offering positions Belgacom to provide a new level of service to our wireless carriers,” said Guido Vermeire, Directory Information Services Projects and Technical Support Director, Belgacom. “ISx is the best partner to enhance our directory assistance service because they offer the right combination of proven technology, innovative new capability and a track record of excellent customer service. The ISx technical experts understood the opportunity SMS presented to Belgacom and proposed an innovative solution.”

“The new capability we are delivering to Belgacom is part of the ISx strategy to develop and integrate innovative features and function into our core directory assistance platform so carriers can deliver enhanced services with high reliability and cost effectiveness,” said Ed Downs, chief executive officer, ISx. “The enhanced capability of the IAS is part of a broad technology development and investment in expanded customer service under way at ISx since it attained independence from IBM in January.”

In recent years, Short Message Services have experienced fast growth among European mobile users and have emerged as a significant revenue source for wireless carriers. Demand is expected to increase dramatically in the U.S.

The ISx4 Platform
ISx4™ is an end-to-end directory assistance solution, comprised of database services, operator services, call control services and data transport services. The ISx platform is recognized for its rapid database update tools, the speed of its database engine and its robust networking and transport capability. ISx experts offer a wide range of professional services including system assessment, education, installation planning, application customization, and ongoing technical support.

The ISx Intelligent Audio Subsystem manages and delivers audio information, such as recorded listing information and greetings. Specialized voice announcements can be used to greet callers, to brand the service and advise of new services. Callers interact with the audio system through touchtone keys or speech recognition.

ISx Business Category Search expands the listing database and operator search tools to handle business category and keyword searches. Keywords can be used to further refine the requests, for example, by allowing the operator to search for a restaurant that features a specific cuisine or an automobile repair service that offers towing. Listings can be displayed in random order, a feature that provides for equitable treatment of businesses.