Eckoh Technologies Regulatory News (ECK)

28 Nov 2005 07:02

Eckoh Technologies PLC28 November 2005 For Immediate Release 28 November 2005 Eckoh Technologies SCOTTISH POWER PREPARES FOR WINTER WITH SPEECH RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY FROM ECKOH Advanced speech recognition service from Eckoh Technologies plc keeps consumersin the picture Severe winter weather is one of the most common causes of power outages acrossthe 3.4 million UK homes and businesses served by Scottish Power's electricitydistribution network. This winter, consumers affected by power outages will have24-hour access to an automated telephone service that uses advanced speechrecognition that is able to provide up-to-the-minute service restorationinformation. To deliver this service Scottish Power's in-house capability hasbeen supplemented by the High Volume Call Answering Service (HVCA(R)) fromTwenty First Century Communications, Inc., (TFCC) which incorporates advancedspeech recognition technology from Eckoh. The HVCA(R) service can deliver location specific information thanks to Eckoh'sadvanced speech recognition technology, which can capture the caller's spokenpost code and address and entered telephone number, use that information topinpoint the location for which the caller is reporting an outage and thenprovide available service restoration information for that location. The systemwill also recognise callers registered with Scottish Power as being 'at risk' -individuals, for example, whose medical needs depend upon electricity - and canpass them directly to a contact centre agent for personal attention. "Our previous automated solution depended upon Caller Line Identification (CLI)- a system by which the caller's telephone number is broadcast to us through thetelephony network, allowing us to identify the source of the call," says KateWalker, Distribution Call Centre Manager for Scottish Power. "This was not afool proof system since it couldn't cater for individuals calling from mobilephones, phones that don't broadcast CLI or from alternative locations. The newsystem is more accurate and comprehensive because it uses personal informationdelivered verbally by the caller to give location-specific information." Scottish Power can also be confident that the service will accommodate the highcall volumes that can occur when power outages are severe because the speechautomation capability is hosted via Eckoh's own technology platform. Able tohandle more than 8,000 calls simultaneously and up to 650,000 calls per hour, itis the most flexible speech platform in the UK. Eckoh's technology will also help Scottish Power to maintain its reportingcommitments to the regulator, Ofgem, by allowing an end-to-end record of everyservice enquiry to be kept, whether dealt with by an agent, the automatedservice or by a combination of both. The new service between Scottish Power and TFCC has been in place in ScottishPower since May this year, allowing its potential and robustness to be testedduring the relatively quiet summer months. Eckoh Technologies, a leading supplier of automated speech solutions for thecontact centre industry, has established a partnership with US based TFCC todeliver power outage communications solutions to UK utilities. This is thesecond substantive deal signed for the partnership, the first being withNorthern Ireland Electricity for HVCA(R) service, which went live in December2004. Jim Hennigan, Eckoh's Managing Director, estimates that, "the market forautomated speech solutions within the UK utilities industry will be worth around£3 million in 2006 and will grow at a CAGR of between 25 and 30% between now andthe end of the decade as customer service quality becomes an ever moreimperative concern for utilities providers in both regulated and de-regulatedareas of their business. With TFCC already providing services to over 70 millionhouseholds in the US utilities market, we believe there is considerablepotential to extend our reach here in the UK." -ends- NOTES FOR EDITORS About Eckoh Technologies:Eckoh Technologies plc designs, builds, hosts and manages Speech Solutions forlarge corporations and organisations using ASR (Advanced Speech Recognition) andIVR (Interactive Voice Response) technologies. It is a leading UK serviceprovider and infrastructure owner/operator, and intends to exploit theanticipated growth in demand for Speech Solutions across Europe. Eckoh has direct contracts to supply hosted Speech Solutions to clientsincluding Vue Cinemas, William Hill, 02, Virgin Mobile, Ideal Shopping Direct,Tote and The London Stock Exchange. Eckoh has a partnership with US-based TFCC to provide power outage communicationservices for the UK utilities industry. Eckoh has a call processing platform of 10,000 lines (capable of handling over650,000 calls an hour) of which over 8,000 lines incorporate speech recognitiontechnology making it the largest speech enabled call processing platform inEurope. Eckoh also operates the following businesses: •IVR - Eckoh is one of the largest providers of managed IVR and SMS services in the UK to media clients including ITV, BBC, Trinity Mirror, Channel 4, Endemol, IPC and EMAP. •Network Services - under the "Symphony" and "Anglia" brands, Eckoh supplies fixed line and mobile telephony services, broadband and data services to SMEs in the UK and Ireland. Following the acquisition of Anglia Telecom Centres Limited in April 2005, Network Services now has an SME customer base of over 15,000. In the year to 31 March 2005 Eckoh Technologies plc generated a turnover of£79.7 million and had a cash balance of £13.3m. Further information can be foundat www.eckoh.com. Further information: www.eckoh.com About Twenty First Century CommunicationsTwenty First Century Communications, Inc., (TFCC) is an Ohio-based privatelyheld corporation founded in 1989. TFCC serves over 70 major utility clients inNorth America covering over 70 million customer meters, as well as serving over4 million customer meters in the UK. In 2004 TFCC processed over 32 millioninbound and outbound call minutes. Further information: www.tfcci.com About Scottish PowerScottish Power is a leading international energy company that includes servingover five million homes and businesses in the UK. Scottish Power generateselectricity, operates and maintains large power delivery networks and provides afull range of energy supply services including metering, billing and call centresupport. Further information: www.scottishpower.co.uk For further information & access to interviews please contact: Eckoh Technologies plc Tel: 08701 100 700Martin Turner, Chief Executive OfficerNik Philpot, Chief Operating Officer Buchanan Communications Tel: 020 7466 5000Mark Edwards/Jeremy Garcia Annie Garthwaite Communications Tel: 0174 6764909 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange