ATT freezing installation of new systems prior to Y2K. What is the effect on LU and other telecom equipment vendors?
AT&T to Institute Quiet Period Ahead of Y2K
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Corp (NYSE:T - news)., the No. 1 U.S.
long-distance company, said on Monday it will not introduce any new software or
hardware or support systems during the last days of 1999 and into the new year.
``To maintain a state of readiness and further protect against potential Y2K-related
service disruptions, AT&T is instituting a special 'quiet period' from Dec. 1, 1999 through
Jan. 15, 2000,' the company said in its quarterly earnings report filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
The huge telecommunications group also said it will limit provisioning and scheduled
maintenance during that period.
The so-called ``Y2K bug' could prevent some computers from distinguishing the year
2000 from 1900 because of old shortcuts that recorded the year with only two digits.
Unless fixed, this could disrupt everything from airlines to hospitals to communications
systems.
AT&T, based in New York City, said it has spent about $675 million since 1997
preparing its systems for the century date change and will likely expend another $64
million during the rest of 1999.
Plans are also being drawn up to place personnel at key locations to monitor operations
and increase in work and call volumes and engineer more network capacity as the new
year draws near, AT&T said.
The company will also stage supplemental power, fuel, water, heating, air conditioning
and ventilation sources to support critical business operations and personnel
requirements.
As of the end of September, ``AT&T's network services and AT&T-developed
applications and their external interfaces are year 2000 compliant,' the company said. |
