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<br />services that, have historically, have
<br />bElen in a few cities. The fact is, many
<br />existing telephone company network,
<br />especially in rural communities are ob-
<br />solete. Telephone companies are strug-
<br />gling to decide how to use their out-
<br />dated, existing facilities to deliver
<br />modern telecommunications services,
<br />Information partnerships give cities
<br />the opportunity to start anew and in-
<br />stall state-of-the-art fiber-optic lines
<br />which, in conjunction with the latest
<br />switching equipment, provide high-
<br />quality voice and data transmission
<br />capability.
<br />Cities and counties that own and ad-
<br />minister their own fiber-optic telecom-
<br />munications networks have an added
<br />economic-development incentive to
<br />persuade businesses to relocate to
<br />their areas. The fact that a city has
<br />taken steps to acquire a progressive
<br />fiber-optic network for its ~itizens
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<br />speaks highly of the pro-business
<br />stance of the local government.
<br />
<br />Fractionalized ServIce
<br />
<br />The breakup Df AT&T led to a frac-
<br />tionalization of services and service de-
<br />livery. Today, a subcontractor can wire
<br />a home or business, another lease or
<br />sell phone equipment, another supply
<br />local service, another to provide long~
<br />distance service and perhaps others to
<br />customize software, program equip-
<br />ment and provide periodic mainte-
<br />nance on all or parts of it,
<br />For many customers, what was once
<br />a "cozy" (and costly) relationship with
<br />the local phone company has now be-
<br />come a disjointed, hard~to-understand,
<br />increasingly complex and technical
<br />(and stilI costly) telecommunications
<br />industry,
<br />Cities are in a unique position to of-
<br />fer the unity of services and carry the
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<br />legal clout to provide enhanced
<br />... telecommunications. The consent de-
<br />crees leading to the breakup of AT&T
<br />prevented the company from becoming
<br />involved in local phone service again,
<br />and local service providers cannot get
<br />involved in long-distance service,
<br />A city-governed network is the real·
<br />ity behind a truly unregulated net-
<br />work. It would ensure the greatest cit-
<br />izen access to the broadest spectrum of
<br />telecommunications service. Informa-
<br />tion partnerships are the only method
<br />that support a true "open network," al·
<br />lowing competing companies to oper-
<br />ate within that network. The network
<br />is not the sole property of an individ·
<br />ual company, but rather the property
<br />of the citizens.
<br />The telecommunications products
<br />that can be offered on open networks
<br />can only be accomplished when cities
<br />own and govern the infrastructure of
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<br />Voice Recognition Passes Trial Run In California,
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<br />With services like banking-by-phone and pay-per-view
<br />movies now readily available, people are beginning
<br />to expect and even demand the convenience and efficien-
<br />cy of interactive telephone services from public as well as
<br />private sector service providers. For government, this
<br />means citizens and corporations are coming to expect con·
<br />venient and timely access to public information through a
<br />simple phone call.
<br />Interactive telephone applications are nothing new for
<br />local, county and state government agencies. They are a
<br />simple, cost-effective way to fulfill citizens' requests for
<br />routine information on subjects ranging from taxes and
<br />upcoming community events to èhild welfare services, zon-
<br />ing laws and permit requirements. Teale Data Center, an
<br />information-processing hub in California, designed a tri-
<br />al program that uses interactive technology tò lead the
<br />way for state, county and local governments to provide
<br />more sophisticated information services for citizens.
<br />The trial, conducted in July 1993, tested the latest com-
<br />puter/telephone technology, as well as an implementation
<br />model that combined the state's existing resources with
<br />outside services in an effort to make these technologies fi-
<br />nancially feasible.
<br />Teale worked with ffiM, Northern Telecom and Pacific
<br />Bell Information Services to develop custom interfaces
<br />that ]inked the state's existing equipment with PBIS's
<br />text-to-speech, speech recognition and fax-on-demand ser-
<br />vices. This allowed the state to use its considerable prior
<br />investment in computers and minimized the need for ad-
<br />,ditional capital equipment which could become outdated
<br />within just a few years.
<br />The trial was conducted in one of the state's most in-
<br />formation-intensive environments: the Secretary of
<br />State's Office. Tlús office is mandated by law to provide
<br />corporate information, such as incorporation status, cor-
<br />porate name checks and business activity reports, to the
<br />public. Though callers are charged processing fees for this
<br />information, the state could not keep up with the volume
<br />of requests.
<br />"Private companies such as banks have been automat-
<br />ing fulfillment of information requests for years," says Jim
<br />Clevenger, corporation division chief in the Secretary of
<br />State's Office. "When well designed, these interactive tele-
<br />phone services bring significant cost-savings and cus-
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<br />tomer service gains. But, unlike banks, state and local
<br />governments couldn't afford to purchase and then main-
<br />tain the expensive new equipment needed for that kind of
<br />automation. '
<br />"Now, by combining existing equipment with the ex-
<br />pertise of an outside servicè provider, government agen-
<br />cies like ours are findiRg we can not only afford to provide
<br />this service, but actua1ly save money on the cost per trans-
<br />action," he says.
<br />During the trial, callers to the Secretary of State's Office
<br />were given the choice of having a computerized voice give
<br />them information about a corporation's status (text-to·
<br />speech) or having the information faxed to them (fax-on-
<br />demand). Requests that once took weeks to process now
<br />can be fulfilled in just a few minutes. For example, callers
<br />could use their touchtone keypad to enter their request
<br />and fax number which prompted the system to immedi-
<br />ately transmit the requested information to the callers'
<br />fax machines.
<br />If needed, callers also had the option of transferring to
<br />live representatives by pressing zero. The "screen-pop-
<br />ping" capability (computerltelephone integration) allowed
<br />caller information that had already been entered through
<br />a touchtone keypad, such as name and address, as well as
<br />previous account history, to appear on the agents' com-
<br />puter screens. As a result, agents had instant access to
<br />caller information and could directly update the comput-
<br />er record - saving time for both caller and agent.
<br />The Secretary of State's Office reports that, even with
<br />reduced staff and budgets, it handled a significant in-
<br />crease in call volume, made better us~ of existing re-
<br />sources and provided faster, more comprehensive service.
<br />Based on trial results, the Secretary of State's Office is
<br />developing a proposal that, if approved, will alJow the
<br />agency to continue using these technologies, Other state
<br />agencies and local government entities, such as the coun-
<br />ty of San Joaquin, Calif., are reviewing technologies used
<br />in the trial as a cost-effective way to provide citizens quick
<br />and convenient access to information, 0
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<br />This article was written by Andrea Owad, systems de-
<br />sign engineer, Pacific Bel/Information Services, San
<br />Ramon,Calif.
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<br />July 1994 AMERICAN CITY. COUNTY
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