Voice broadcasting is a communication technology developed in the early 1990’s. With the ability to initiate a large number of telephone calls simultaneously, a voice broadcast can reach be created and delivered to thousands of points of termination at the same time. Broadcast technology of this type is now commonly employed in many business settings as well as a means of connecting with people during political campaigns and even emergency situations.
Sometimes referred to as blast broadcasting, the process of creating and executing a voice broadcast requires several components in order to function correctly. First, there must be a source of telephone numbers to use for the dialing phase of the broadcast. A digital recording of the message that is to be delivered must also be created in advance. Hardware and software are added to either Voice over Internet Protocol applications to execute the dialing or a bank of traditional telephone lines, or trunks routed through a conference bridge may be used for the one way broadcast.
While voice broadcast systems vary somewhat in design, most of them are configured to allow each telephone number in the call database to be dialed at regular intervals until a connection is established. Using voice recognition software, the automated message begins to play as soon as the system detects that the line has been answered. If a line fails to connect due to a busy signal or continual ringing with no answer, the phone number is returned to the queue and is redialed several minutes later. Most systems allow for three to five connection attempts before ceasing to try a given phone number.
Today, there are also ways to create a more robust platform that makes it possible for the recipients of a voice broadcast to respond by using the touch tone keypad on their phones to respond to questions, hear the voice broadcast again, or be transferred to a live attendant. This particular application is especially helpful with telemarketing campaigns, as it makes it possible for the originator of the voice broadcast to qualify a sales lead, gather information for future contacts, or simply to receive feedback regarding the subject matter of the broadcast.
Interactive voice response protocols can also be integrated with voice broadcasting. Rather than using the keypad to register responses, the system may allow recipients of the broadcast to provide verbal responses to questions or allow the called parties to request further information by mail or other electronic communications. This function can make it possible to obtain more detailed data from surveys or to confirm information that is needed to further assist the party with any questions or requests.
Businesses may use voice broadcasting as a promotional tool, alerting existing customers of new product or service offerings. Some municipalities use broadcast technology as a means of providing citizens with important data in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency. Politicians also make use of voice broadcasting as a way to reach out to voters in hopes of informing them of positions taken and securing their votes. For essentially any situation where there is a need to dispense information quickly to a large group of people, voice broadcasting is a highly viable option.
