Cincinnati Bell may be feeling the pressure from Time Warner Cable's quad-play strategy, but it believes it has an effective counterattack: fixed/mobile convergence. Last month, Cincinnati Bell launched the first of what it hopes will be many applications aimed at linking its incumbent wireline with its wireless services.

The application is a speech-to-text voicemail system that spans the two networks. Powered by SpinVox, the service takes a home or wireless voicemail message, converts it to text using speech recognition technologies and then transmits that message via text message or e-mail to a customer's phone or computer screen. The service effectively turns what is one of telecom's biggest commodities — voicemail — into a cutting-edge data service, said Ron Dir, chief operating officer of Cincinnati Bell.

“A product like this definitely differentiates us,” Dir said of the voice-to-screen service. “We don't look like a stand-alone wireless company with this product.”

It also gives Cincinnati Bell an effective, distinguishing service to trump Time Warner's own FMC attempt. After two years of collaboration, Sprint and Time Warner have finally rolled out a joint service, giving Time Warner its long-awaited quadruple play, but the convergence is a bit on the light side.

Time Warner has joined the cable venture led by Sprint, which is designed to integrate its broadband, cable TV and voice-over-IP services with Sprint's wireless voice and data services. Time Warner will be offering Sprint's mobile TV services in conjunction with its own cable programming, but the MobiTV-powered video deck is fundamentally the same application Sprint is offering its customers nationwide.

Time Warner, however, has added a feature to Sprint phones that allows customers to view their channel guides, creating a slight link between the mobile and cable network. Time Warner doesn't yet offer the ability to program digital video recorders — a capability that has been gradually creeping into the wireless carrier's data portfolio.

What makes Cincinnati Bell's voice-to-screen voicemail service more intriguing, however, is that it's first to market. While solutions from SpinVox and other developers have been deployed by major carriers in Europe, Cincinnati is the first U.S. city to get the consumer services. Meanwhile, Revol Wireless is conducting some of the first non-browser-based mobile advertising trials in the U.S. in Cleveland.

SpinVox said it hopes to launch with other wireless services soon. But for now, it's content with optimizing its voice-recognition software for the distinct Cincinnati accent. So far, CEO Christina Domecq said, the SpinVox software has achieved the 97% word recognition it maintains in its other markets. However, she welcomes the residents of Cincinnati to try to stump it. Just don't try “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” It already knows that.