Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: tel@cdsdb1.att.com (Tom Lowe) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: New AT&T Service -- AT&T VoiceMark Messaging Message-ID: <4593@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 1 Mar 90 13:48:58 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 94 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 135, Message 1 of 7 A few weeks ago, an item was posted announcing the new AT&T VoiceMark(sm) Messaging Service where you can call 800-562-6275 and record a one minute message in your own voice that will be delivered according to your instructions. There were several questions asked about the service which I am just now getting around to answering. I am on the project team for VoiceMark(sm). These are MY answers, not official statements from AT&T. If anyone wants official statements or answers, please send me email and I will try to put you in touch with appropriate people. I would love to hear from anyone who has used the service and hear your experiences with it, good or bad. I will pass any comments and suggestions to the decision makers up above. This is your chance to get your voice heard in the development of an up-and-coming service. If anyone has any ideas for other voice related services such as this one, please let me know. We are always looking for new ideas for services and many of the ones that we are working on now were suggested by people like yourselves. >Article about AT&T VoiceMark(sm) Deleted... >it seems funny that they would offer an operator assisted service. >Thought AT&T was trying to reduce live operators. When they say "Operator Assisted", what they really mean is Introduced by a real live person (attendant) who will ask for a specific person or a message taker if specified. The recipient won't hear any automation until after the attendant introduces the call and acknowledges that the appropriate person answered. >A lot of questions were not answered in the article. Primarily >relating to how AT&T plans on handling security for the status calls >and replies. Since this is a non-subscription service, it is not possible to assign a new PIN to each user. Therefore, it is basically up to the individual to prevent unauthorized people from using his or her Card Number, the same way unauthorized use of ATT Cards is done now. There are also several security features built into the system to prevent, report, and trace potential and actual abuse. >Unfortunately, the 800 number given was not working from >Western Michigan as of tonight, so I wasn't able to try it out. As far as I know, the 800 number should be working across the country. If anyone has any problems, please call the hotline listed below. >[Moderator's Note: Are they calling this 'voicemail'? Actually, a more >appropriate name would be 'store and forward'; a service offering >Illinois Bell has thought about a couple times but gone nowhere with. >The lady at Voicemark I spoke to this evening said only Southern Bell >and South Central Bell Calling Cards could be used (of course, those >are AT&T cards as well.) Another number to call for information and >literature between 7 AM and 11 PM daily is 1-800-662-2588. PT] You are very correct. It is not considered a Voice Mail system. It is a store and forward service. There are other vendors of this type of service, but few offer it to the general public from any phone nationwide, including rotary dial. Some are actually built-in to specific payphones. Most are 100% automatic, and all the ones I have heard about charge whether the message is delivered or not. Also, most don't give the oportunity to call back and get status or cancel a message. I would very much like to hear details about any other store and forward services that are out there, including, if possible, access numbers, etc. Calling Cards are restricted to Southern Bell and South Central Bell area because that is the official market introduction area and other technical reasons that are being worked on at this moment. Other regions of the country will be added in the future. However, anyone in the country is welcome to use the service using their MasterCard or VISA and eventually American Express (still under development). Answers can be posted to the TELECOM Digest or sent directly to me. I will do my best to reply as quickly as possible. Tom Lowe Room 2E637A AT&T Bell Labs Crawfords Corner Road Holmdel, NJ 08005 Voice: 201-949-0428 FAX: 201-949-3314 email: tel@cdsdb1.ATT.COM or attmail!tlowe VoiceMark(sm) Service: 1-800-562-MARK (Have your ATT/VISA/MasterCard ready) (6275) VoiceMark(sm) Hotline: 1-800-662-2588 (Call this for literature/information)