Etisalat goes live with voice directory service

http://www.itp.net/news/544069-etisalat-goes-live-with-voice-directory-service

After months of in-house tweaking and testing, Etisalat has launched its voice directory service in an effort to reduce response times.

Initially available only to landline customers calling ‘181’, the service will soon be made available to Etisalat’s mobile customers as well.

The service works with the help of an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system that uses automatic speech recognition to distinguish commands in both Arabic and English, regardless of caller accent or dialect.

As the service is only in its first phase, it can presently only provide listings for five main categories – finance, travel, hotels, restaurants and healthcare. Other categories will be included at a later stage.

Customer service agents at Etisalat, who previously handled directory enquiries, will now provide support for other categories and requests that the system can’t handle.

New Dh200 note to be issued from tomorrow

Keypoints from the Khaleej Times article:

"...The amended Dh200 currency note with new security features will go into circulation from May 27, 2008..."

"....The overall design and other specifications of the note are the same as on the currency note currently in the circulation, but additional security elements have been added, which can be seen only under ultraviolet light...."

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