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Many operators dismiss masscalling as a distraction fromcore business: too much troubleto implement, too little potentialfor return on investment.Sweden�s Telia begs to differ. Itsmass calling system handlesover 90 million calls a year andis used by every major TV andradio show as well as manyimportant retail brands.

Last year Telia set a new worldrecord by handling calls from theequivalent of over half the country�snine million population during asingle evening�s prime timetelevision.

How Telia reached this point ofpowerful critical mass is an objectlesson in turning near disaster intoopportunity. It is also an illustrationof the depth of partnershipbetween Telia and its mass-callingtechnology supplier Telsis.

mass callingmass callingTelia sets the global benchmark

Telia set a new world record by handling calls from theequivalent of over half the country�s nine million populationduring a single evening�s prime time television.

learning lessonsmass calling

The process began with a periodof intensive research from whichTelia aimed to discover what sortof mass calling services Swedishmedia and businessorganisations actually wanted.The survey revealed potentialdemand not just for voting, butalso for mass calling services tosupport competitions and otherevents. Brought onto the teamas system designer in 1989, itwas Wahlström�s task toarchitect an infrastructure thatwould enable Telia to respond tothese market wishes.

The story starts in the mid 80swhen Telia, then sole nationaltelco, built a centralised massanswering system for the useof national broadcasterSwedish Television. �Half ofthe country�s exchanges were digital, the other halfelectro-mechanical,� recallsTelia mass calling productmanager Stewe Wahlström.

�During the summer holidays of�87 so many children took part ina television quiz that the entiretelephone network crashed. Theelectro-mechanical element wasup and working again quite quicklybut the digital part was down fornearly four hours.�

The experience was bothinformative and encouraging, saysWahlström. It was informativebecause it exposed fundamentalweakness in the network but atthe same time it was encouragingbecause the volume of calls thatbrought the system to its knees

demonstrated clear revenue-generation potential. From thatpoint on, Telia resolved to explorethe potential of mass calling as aserious business � and to searchfor a system that could cope withthe sometimes massive peakdemands that it creates.

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While conventional voice networks are provisioned andconfigured for random call handling, a mass callingsystem must be able to handle synchronised call arrival.

Under Wahlström�s guidance amass calling system was designedaround a resilient distributedarchitecture. For several years itcoped well but by the mid 90straffic had reached the point whereit was once again posing achallenge. This time Wahlströmdecided to turn his attention to theplatforms supporting the service.Because Telia�s once very large in-house development team had bythen been radically scaled back, hehad little option but to seek apartnership with an externalsupplier. He interviewed a numberof potential vendors but quicklyrealised that conventional IVR(Interactive Voice Response)

But the trials were also designed totest the vendors themselves. �We had quite a range of systemsto choose from, but what matteredto us almost as much as theperformance of the products wasthe depth of expertise in masscalling behind them. We knew weneeded a supplier that really didunderstand the business dynamicsand human psychology as well asthe wider technical issues involved.That sounds like we were asking fora lot, but remember we werelooking not just for a box vendor,but a partner. That�s how we ended up selecting Telsis and itsOcean fastIP.�

platforms could not deliver thefunctionality he believed wasnecessary.

Mass calling places uniquedemands on telephony platforms.While conventional voice networksare provisioned and configured forrandom call handling, a masscalling system must be able tohandle synchronised call arrival.Therefore, a key element of thebench tests Wahlströmsubsequently organised was to put a number of contendingplatforms under pressure and seewhether they really could handlethe number of simultaneous callstheir makers claimed.

Stewe Wahlström, Telia and Ingegerd Tronde, TV3

Substantially more powerful and capable than a conventionalinteractive voice responsesystem, the Ocean fastIP is a carrier-grade programmableplatform holding up to 6000hours of high quality audio. With dedicated DTMF and voicedetection, plus start-at-the-beginning playback on everychannel, it supports up to 120simultaneous calls with the samehigh quality of audio andspeed of response as itdelivers when handlingjust a single call.

Telia currently has fastIPsco-located with switches atevery one of its Swedishtransit exchanges, each of whichis placed physically close to a majorpopulation cluster. It is a remarkablyflexible and robust arrangement,enabling huge bursts of mass callsto be handled without detriment toconventional voice and datatelephony. When satellite televisionchannel TV3 screened the final ofFame Factory, the Telia network wasput under real pressure as viewersresponded to the �vote now�instruction. Out of a total of some340,000 votes, most were placed injust a three-minute period, 50,000in a single 45-second burst.

�When we talk about resilience andbeing able to cope with bursts,that�s the kind of loading we mean.You can�t do that kind of thing witha conventional network,� saysWahlström.

How calls are handledand how winners are

selected is controlledcentrally by a Telsis Ocean

fastSCP service control point thatuses Telia�s own wide area network(WAN) to communicate with thefastIPs. This communication usesvery little WAN bandwidth and ishighly efficient. As each fastIPreceives a call it asks the servicecontrol point what actions it should take.

For example, Telia�s support of theEurovision Song Contest can meandifferent response telephonenumbers for anything up to 25songs. The service control pointcommands the fastIPs to play audioannouncements appropriate tocallers� choices, and receivesdetails of their votes. Inthis way, customers cantrack votes cast in lessthan two seconds.

Sweden selects its Eurovision entry at the end of several weeks of televised Swedish Song Contestsemi-finals. Watched by around half of the country�s population, the final programme last yearattracted over 900,000 calls withthe major proportion of revenuegoing to charity.

But short-duration voting eventssuch as this, though highly popularwith television and radio audiences,are only one of five different genericmass calling products built by Teliaaround different service templatesdeveloped by Telsis. The range ofservices enables Telia to offercustomers a portfolio of solutionsfor interacting with radio and TV

audiences. Wahlströmexplains that at any

one time there maybe typically 40different eventsrunning

choosing the right technologymass calling

simultaneously, some of them high-profile �call-now� events such as votes tied to prime-timetelevision and radio shows, othersmuch longer duration votes andcompetitions � perhaps running fordays or even weeks � which attractmuch less bursty but stillcommercially attractive call volumes.It is competitions, says Wahlström,that can generate the most powerfulrevenue because of the strongincentive they give callers.

Fair Winner SelectionA key feature of the Telsis system isFair Winner Selection which enablesTelia to prove that competitionwinners are selected in a fair, openand auditable way, wherever in thecountry they dial in from. Organiserscan choose from a range ofselection criteria including �nthcaller�, timed (for example, once aminute), and totally random (fromamong all calls received). FairWinner Selection uses the robustsecurity of the service control pointto produce its results in a tamper-proof environment to the higheststandards of compliance. Full audittrails will prove the fundamentalintegrity of the selection processshould it ever be questioned.

Winning calls are routed onwards tospecified destinations such as thetelevision studio. Users can requestboth primary and secondarywinners. A primary winnermight be routed throughto the studio toparticipate in the live

programme, while secondarywinners might be invited toleave their name and addresses to receive consolation prizes.

Telia�s customers are certainlycreative in the way they rewardwinners. Major prize draw operatorBingo Lotto offers multiple back-to-back opportunities to win prestigecars and other high value prizeswhile television broadcasters aregenerally more inclined to offerexperience-based prizes such asgolfing tours, or invitations to jointhe studio audience during high-profile programmes.

�Overall, the system�s flexibilitymeans that if creative people havean idea, then we can probablysupport it. For example, last year acustomer promoted a competition inwhich callers to a premium ratenumber could win the services of atop class chef in their home for oneevening. There�s also an increasingtrend for television programmes touse our system not justto hold a vote, butto promote theprogrammebeforehand.Callers mightdial in

days before to hear the presentergive them a preview of what�scoming on the show, for example.�

Another growing use of the masscalling system is PABX protection.Wahlström explains: �Say a radiostation wants to broadcast a politicaldebate and invite listeners to call inwith their views, but the station�sswitchboard and studio team simplycannot handle the expected volumeof simultaneous calls. We put ourmass calling system in between,answer all the calls automatically inreal-time and filter them through tothe station at a rate it can manage.�

Ocean fastIP locations

caller interactionmass calling

Right Answer is another resultof the Telia/Telsis partnership. It generates multiple premiumrate calls where previously onlyone might have been expected� surely every telco�s idea ofgood business.

Developed by Telsis for Telia, Right Answer lets over 10,000simultaneous callers key in DTMFdigits in response to recordedquestions � then hear whetherthey are correct or not. Thesystem can be used for a widevariety of applications fromchecking lottery draw numbers and prize numbers printed on

soft drink can ring-pulls to entering numerical answers toquestions posed on radio ortelevision shows.

�It�s possible to let callers knowwhether their answer was too lowor too high, giving them theopportunity to call back if theywish to try again,� saysWahlström.

Right AnswerRight Answer�s new level of callerinteraction is not its only feature.Initially, Telia�s service onlyincluded the capture of CLI and,of course, voting choice, giving

customers the option of receivingcoarsely grained and ratherrudimentary demographic information.Right Answer�s data capture ability issubstantially more sophisticated andlets callers input through theirkeypads whole strings of numbers or letters.

�It depends what the customer wantsto do. Maybe they want the caller toinput their social security numberwhen they register for a service, orperhaps they want them to enter apost code so that they can mail thecaller a catalogue. They might wantto run a vote that offers a much moregranular expression of opinion than a

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going live with a skills-based contestlinked to a television campaign.�

One global brand has already useddRight Answer to award prizes tocallers who were invited to inputunique numbers printed onsoft drinks containers.

Undoubtedly, much of thecommercial success of Telia�s totalmass calling system is due toWahlström�s vision and infectiousenthusiasm. With typical Swedishreserve, he disregards theimportance of his own role, yet thesystem is a testimony tohis ability to combinetechnical know-howwith a realunderstanding of howorganisations canuse mass calling,

and what motivatesthe public to lift thehandset and call.

The way Telia marketsthe service tobroadcasters is a casein point. Wahlström�steam � just threepeople, including him �work directly withprogramme producersrather than just the TV andradio channels. �It meansyou get much closer to the pointof creativity and can help them

use mass calling to maketheir output trulyinteractive. We also don�tcharge them. The deal iseffectively that we providethe mass-calling facility andthey advertise it.�

�We are successful here because as our technicalcapability has grown, so too has the imaginationof our customers.�

Stewe Wahlström, Telia

simple yes or no � like so much inmass calling, how the technology isused is really in the hands of thecreative thinkers. We are successfulhere because as our technicalcapability has grown, so too hasthe imagination of our customers.When we first went to them withRight Answer the response was realexcitement. It was just two weeksfrom launch to our first customer

management controlmass calling

Another example of innovativethinking is the way Telia hasembraced the three-tiermanagement model developedby Telsis for mass calling.

The model essentially plays the self-interest of programmeproducers, broadcast companiesand of the network operator in away that produces benefits foreveryone. It recognises thatproducers by instinct want controlover as many elements of theirprogrammes as possible while theiremployers or customers, thebroadcast companies, want nohands-on involvement at all.

Meanwhile, the network operatormay not want hands-oninvolvement either, but will want toretain sufficient control so that theintegrity of the network cannot bethreatened by accidental mis-use ofthe mass calling system.

In practical terms the model workslike this: the network operatorregisters an �agreement� with abroadcast company (this couldequally be any other type ofcommercial organisation withmultiple brands) which defines the�customers� (production teams,brand managers) who may wish torun �events�.

Customers are given creation andmanagement software free ofcharge by Telia. This acts as anautomated helpmate, letting themtake mass voting events fromservice creation, throughdeployment, to results gathering, allwithout requiring in-depth technicalknowledge. The software isconfigured for each customer insuch a way that they can build andoperate events of a defined type,but are prevented from doinganything that could damage themass calling network.

AgreementMedia

Organisation

ProductionTeamCustomer

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The Telsis three-tier management model

They use a PC to configure theevent, load their own audio �perhaps using the programmepresenter�s own voice � then receiveon-line statistics and post-eventreports. The speed and flexibility ofthe system is such that audio andparameters can be changed in realtime while programmes areunderway, enabling swift reaction toevents as they unfold in the studio.

�The three tier model means we givethem the toolbox and they are incharge,� says Wahlström.�Customers actually like being ableto run their own events, and theagreement holders have noadministration to worry about. It alsomeans we can run a highly efficientservice with no worries about thenetwork being damaged.�

But Wahlström injects a note ofcaution. Deployment of a masscalling system is not just a case ofdistributing clever telephonyplatforms around a network andsitting back while the profits roll in.�You need to understand exactlyhow implementing a mass callingsystem will affect your network.

That�s where a partnership with avendor like Telsis which has broadexperience really works well.�

The commercial success of Telia�smass calling system sets anexample that, increasingly, othertelcos are beginning to notice. SaysWahlström: �In just the last year thephone calls have started frompeople asking strange questions.But you know, there�s really nosecret. I do believe our model willwork pretty much anywhere. All itneeds is a commitment to beingcreative in the way the service isshaped and priced � that and apartnership with an experiencedtechnology supplier.�

Perhaps the most remarkable thingof all is that now, more than 15years after he became involved inthe Telia mass calling project,Wahlström is still having plentyof new ideas.

�I think that we�ve a long way to gobefore we reach the limits of whatmass calling can deliver,� he says.So why is it that so few other telcoshave embraced mass calling, andthose that have, have done so onsuch a comparatively modest scale?

Wahlström doesn�t know.�Conservatism perhaps? Anyway, Ican tell you that we have run masscalling commercially now for over 10years and every year we haveincreased call volume and turnover.�

TV3 � Power User of the

Few television stations understand this better than TV3,Sweden�s first commercial satellite broadcaster and nowcelebrating its 15th birthday. Aiming a mix of sport andlight entertainment at some six million subscribers, TV3has placed mass calling � from dominant Swedish telcoTelia � right at the centre of its programming.

Ingegerd Tronde is TV3�s manager of mass calling. Sheworks with producers to build it into their programmes,then runs each event personally to ensure that it deliversas expected. She is, not surprisingly, an enthusiast. �It�sa very powerful technology and we know that we attracta lot of extra viewers because of the way we use it.�

TV3 has been using mass calling since 1995, beginningby adding voting to sports programmes such as coverageof the European football championships and the RyderCup golf matches, but rapidly broadening its exploitationof the technology into many other types ofprogramming. On the way, it has learned someinteresting lessons about humanpsychology and the worth ofmass calling as a tool forinteracting with theaudience. �Basicallywe�ll now use it

anywhere we believe we can generate extra interest and value,� says Tronde. �But that does not mean we are not selective.�

Sweden�s mass calling market is uniquely mature amongEuropean nations, largely due to Telia�s vision. The telco�smass calling team led by Stewe Wahlström has not onlybuilt the benchmark robust mass calling infrastructure, buthas proved highly adept at selling capacity to broadcasters,brands and value-added service providers. With masscalling being offered from so many directions, Sweden�spopulation regards it as familiar, just another part of thesocial and commercial landscape. Tronde: �It means thereis no novelty value for people. So we have to be particularlycreative with how we use it.�

TV3�s response to this problem of familiarity is to watchwith great care how audiences react to mass calling

propositions, something that Tronde can do in realtime, whether she�s at home in the evening, orworking at the office during the day. Telia

provides her with a software packagethat connects her direct to themass calling system and lets herset up mass calling events, thenmonitor their progress.

Telia Mass Calling ServiceEveryone in television from station executives and producers to marketers recognises the power of mass calling. Next to compelling, topical programming, it is the prime mechanism by which viewers can be hooked. And viewers + advertisers = revenue.

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Audience reaction to voting has matured too. �Eventsthat let viewers directly influence the outcome of atelevision programme get an amazing reaction. We arevery excited at the potential we believe exists in thisarea,� says Tronde.

Latest � and most impressive example of this genre � isthe programme Fame Factory. Broadcast for the firsttime by TV3 in September, it followed the fortunes of 14young hopeful singers being schooled at an academy forthe performing arts. A studio panel of judges was meantto eject one singer a week until eight favouritesremained for the finale, but viewers were also invited tovote for their favourites and in a remarkabledemonstration of audience power overturned thedecision of the judges to re-instate several contestants.

It was graphic evidence of a direct connection betweenvotes cast and the outcome of the programme andcaused nationwide comment with the leading Swedishtabloid newspaper Aftonbladet running, on the day of thefinal, a whole centre-page spread featuring eachcontestant and the phone number viewers needed to callin order to vote for them. Citizens participated inunprecedented numbers. �We took nearly 340,000 votesat a peak of nearly 1,300 a second,� says Tronde. Butthe income from mass calling events such as this is notour prime motivation. It�s the ability to engage ourviewers in a direct relationship. That, for a broadcaster, isthe real prize.�

Using a standard PC, she can pre-configure an event inless than 10 minutes, then connect to the mass callingsystem again while the event is in progress. �The PCshows me, on-screen, the volume of calls coming insecond by second and lets me decide there and then howI want to handle them. If it�s a competition for example, Imight want to ask the system to select every hundredth orthousandth caller, or I might simply press a keyboardbutton at random intervals to make the selection. Winningcallers can be switched straight through to my mobilephone and I can talk to them right there and then, or theycan be automatically asked to leave their name andnumber for later call back. We can also switch themthrough to the studio to talk live on-air with the presenter.�

Whatever method Tronde chooses, she cannot see thecalling numbers and the selection is made by the masscalling system. �This is very important. Viewers must haveconfidence that the system is fair and cannot beinfluenced by me or anyone else or they simply will notuse it.�

Audience reaction to TV3�s mass calling events has thrownup evidence of two emerging trends. �Competitions forcars and other high-value prizes were very popular at onestage, but people seem less and less interested in eventslike this now. What really gets viewers engaged with us iscompetitions that feature experiences such as a golfingtour, dinner with a celebrity, or a fully funded trip to watchthe UEFA Cup final as prizes.�

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