Mpower Communications forms alliance with SpeechPhone.

Mpower Communications Corp., a provider of broadband Internet access and local and long-distance voice services, has announced a strategic alliance with (SpeechPhone to provide unified communication services that will complement Mpower's existing integrated communications solutions. SpeechPhone provides speech recognition-based virtual receptionists and assistants. Through its "Mandi" service, SpeechPhone unifies voice, e-mail and messaging services through a single phone number, integrating existing phone numbers, e-mail services and messaging solutions into one interface, driven by the user's voice. Mpower will introduce SpeechPhone services to both new and existing customers with applications for multiline businesses as well as individual subscribers. Services include Virtual Receptionist, in which Mandi answers calls to a main business number with a customized greeting. Callers speak the name of the person or the department they wish to reach and Mandi connects them. Employees can be virtually present anywhere off site, at home or on the road. Also included is Virtual Assistant. In addition to routing calls, Mandi is a personal communications assistant to everyone in the company. Mandi offers one call productivity with features such as voice dialing, e-mail by phone, unified messaging, automatic call return from voice mail and broadcast messaging. Integration with Outlook and other contact management programs was added to make set-up easier and provide instant access to contacts from any phone.