Methods and apparatus for implementing communication services such as voice
dialing services are described. In one Centrex based voice dialing
embodiment, voice dialing service subscribers are given access to personal
voice dialing records including calling entries via the Internet as well
as via telephone connections. Each calling entry normally includes the
name and, optionally nickname, of a party to be called. It also includes
one or more telephone numbers associated with each name. Different
telephone number identifies, e.g. locations, can be associated with
different names. A user can create or update entries in a voice dialing
directory using text conveyed over the Internet or speech supplied via a
telephone connection. In order to facilitate updating and maintenance of
voice dialing directories over the Internet speaker independent (SI)
speech recognition models are used. When a calling entry is created via
the Internet the text of the name is processed to generate a corresponding
speech recognition model there from. When an entry is created via speech
obtained over the telephone, a speech recognition model is generated from
the speech and a text name is generated is generated using speech to text
technology. To avoid having to hang-up and initiate a new voice dialing
call the outcome of a voice dialing call is monitored and the subscriber
is provided the opportunity to initiate another call using voice dialing
if the first call did not complete successfully e.g., goes unanswered.
