The new service can be accessed from all mobile and fixed-line phones in Belgium by dialing 1-2-3-4 and is the first directory assistance (DA) service in Belgium with full call automation. The system features "Lisa," a virtual telephone operator. Lisa uses speech recognition to help callers easily get the number they are seeking. Callers to 1-2-3-4 also have the option to access an operator in Belgacom's traditional directory services centers.

The new service builds on the capability of the ISx end-to-end platform that has been the technology foundation of the Belgacom DA service since 1994

"The ISx team has provided excellent support for the launch of our new nationwide call automation solution," said Pascaline Dubois, Directory Information Services Director, Belgacom. "We already were very pleased with the overall ISx platform installed at Belgacom. The new capabilities they have installed, especially the capability giving callers the ability to easily access a live operator, have laid the foundation for Belgacom to expand the overall DA market in Belgium."

"In our testing, callers really liked the feature where they could access a live operator if they wanted to or needed to," she said. "We believe the Lisa 1-2-3-4 service will be attractive to young and mobile users and also people who are early adopters. But for us, the future of this service will depend on what users want. Having ISx supporting our implementation will make it easy for us to respond to what our customers want in their automation service."

"With the launch of Lisa, Belgacom has once again shown that it is a visionary leader in the European directory services market," said John Kemp, ISx vice president and general manager of sales for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. "In addition, our work at Belgacom is an example of how ISx is working with directory service providers worldwide to enable the introduction of a new generation of services."

For the Lisa project, ISx worked with ScanSoft to integrate the ScanSoft SpeechPearl ASR (automatic speech recognition) and RealSpeak TTS (text-to-speech) applications and directory automation tools with ISx FlexiCall and the Nortel switching infrastructure.

The multi-purpose ISx FlexiCall platform is deployed with several directory providers around the world. FlexiCall combines the benefits of speech recognition with call automation to provide a robust, end-to-end automation solution. The solution gives DA operators maximum flexibility in how they integrate call automation with speech recognition and text-to-speech into their operations.

For the remainder of 2004, Belgacom and two other Belgian carriers are offering free access to the Lisa 1-2-3-4 service for landline or mobile callers in Belgium. The tariff for the commercial phase beginning January 1, 2005 is still in fine tuning phase. Lisa 1-2-3-4 will certainly not replace the existing Belgacom directory services that are currently offered in four languages, Dutch (1207), French (1307) and German (1407) and English (1405), added Pascaline Dubois. "The new 1-2-3-4 service is just an alternative for the Belgian DA market." More information about "Lisa" and 1-2-3-4 can be found at www.1234.be