Alternate Access Introduces FAXlynx.

RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 1 1999--

Fax Solution Provides Immediate Information and Product Fulfillment 

Alternate Access(R), a call center solutions provider integrating computer telephony products and services for increased operations efficiency and caller convenience on a worldwide basis, today announces its development of a powerful real-time communications link that addresses caller service and fulfillment.

FAXlynx(tm) provides businesses with multi-lingual automated options for instantly sending printed information on demand, eliminating paper and mailing costs that are generally associated with document transmission. It incorporates Alternate Access' UltimateRECO, speech recognition that uses callers spoken words to identify themselves and the fax image they want transmitted (e.g. "fax me my last bank statement now"). FAXlynx and UltimateRECO provide a new level of ease-of-use, convenience and round-the-clock universal access to information.

FAXlynx supports both one-call fax and two-call fax. With one-call fax, the caller can request and receive a fax while calling from a fax machine, ensuring confidentiality and immediacy. With two-call fax, the requested information is transmitted to a customer designated fax number after the caller hangs up.

Kelly Lumpkin, Director of Business Development for Alternate Access, states, "Businesses offer a tremendous convenience and service to customers by allowing them to retrieve hard copies of important information instantly. For companies faced with increased demands for their time and services, full customer support is available with FAXlynx 24 hours per day, 7 days a week."

A recent implementation of Alternate Access' FAXlynx is at Banco Mercantil, a financial institution in Caracas, Venezuela with over $1.4B in assets in 1997 and more than 200 branches across the country. Banco Mercantil implemented FAXlynx to allow its patrons to receive faxed copies of their bank statements instantly and on demand. Callers are prompted for their account number and associated PIN and then for the fax number to which they would like the document sent. Over 5000 pages can be faxed per hour.

Alternate Access has also provided an overlay template feature allowing the information collected from the host to be enhanced with grids, logos or other appropriate graphics giving the document a customized and professional appearance. All transmitted faxes are archived by FAXlynx to provide a secure, permanent image of these requests.

As in Venezuela, callers from around the world who need written confirmation or fast hardcopy documentation will be excited with the introduction of Faxlynx. Applications include travel customers requesting a fax copy of itineraries or flight schedules; consumer goods customers placing their orders using interactive voice response (IVR) and receiving a fax confirmation; prospects requesting copies of proposal forms, newsletters, or promotional announcements; and sales reps routing technical or marketing documents to any fax in the world.

In developing FAXlynx, Alternate Access has built on the fax server technology of Optus Software. Optus' client/server networked based fax capabilities allow call center representatives to send and receive faxes from their desktop via their local area network. Dialing directories, DSP-based fax telephony interface cards, and archive logs are shared for easy retrieval, management, backup and recovery. Alternate Access is an authorized reseller of FACSys, Optus' base and client software.

About Alternate Access

Alternate Access provides a full range of products, consulting and systems integration services that build and manage Call Centers effectively. Products are available in the areas of Interactive Voice Response (IVR), Speech Recognition, Text-to-Speech conversion and Fax Server capabilities for companies that require volume in-bound or out-bound calling. ( http://www.alternateaccess.com )

About Optus

Optus works closely with leading corporate solutions partners to help IT departments effectively exploit the convenience of fax for fast, reliable, and effective business communications. The company introduced FACSys in the LAN marketplace in 1990. ( http://www.facsys.com )