Rivals put heads together to tackle Y2K problem

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Rivals put heads together to tackle Y2K problem

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ATLANTA (AP) - While Delta Air Lines and its competitors spend their summer dueling over discount fares and fighting for frequent fliers, they're also teaming up to take on a common enemy - the Y2K bug.

The nation's major airlines still want to beat each other out of a buck. But they're also swapping tips to ensure each others' computer systems don't crash when the Year 2000 arrives.

They aren't alone. Rival banks, phone companies, hospitals, electric utilities and other industries have reached a similar conclusion - there's little or no advantage to be gained from a competitor's Y2K catastrophe.

``If one airline happens to have a (Y2K) problem ... the flying public is going to perceive the whole industry has a problem,'' said Walter Taylor, Atlanta-based Delta's vice president for technology.

The Year 2000 computer bug threatens computer programs that read dates using only two digits for the year. If computers read the year 00 as 1900 rather than 2000, they could spit out inaccurate data.

In worst-case scenarios, it's a problem that could shut down airline reservation systems, short-circuit bank transactions, cause telephone networks to crash and scramble credit reports.

So competitors are holding joint tests of their computer systems, sponsoring Y2K roundtables through their trade associations and pooling their money to pay consultants to target problem areas.

``In a lot of ways it's not altruism. It's a recognition of the fact that if the systems break down, everybody's going to be at risk,'' said John Koskinen, chairman of President Clinton's Council on Y2K Conversion. ``They all need to live to fight another day and the best way to do that is to work together.''

Dave Johnson, a Bedminster, N.J.-based spokesman for AT&T Corp., says the reason for the cooperation is simple: ``Corporate America is not stupid.''

AT&T and BellSouth Corp. have been locked in a series of regulatory fights over the Baby Bells' efforts to offer long-distance service and AT&T's attempts to expand into local telephone markets.

But they recently put those differences aside to conduct tests together to ensure customers will be able to complete calls on New Year's Day.

Each company set up labs to see how their phone switches would work when computer clocks were forwarded to Jan. 1, 2000. They tested local calls, long-distance calls, collect calls, calling-card calls, international calls and 911 calls.

``We just think the overall health of the industry is more important than fighting over customers at this moment,'' said Clay Owen, Year 2000 spokesman for BellSouth.

The cooperation hasn't been easy. BellSouth and AT&T spent months hashing out the details with their lawyers and contract negotiators before they could agree on what tests to conduct.

And some corporations remain skittish to share information, afraid they might run afoul of antitrust laws or be sued for giving Y2K advice that doesn't work.

Last year, President Clinton signed into law two measures aimed at calming those fears. One prohibits companies from suing each other over faulty advice unless they can prove intentional deception.

The other says trade associations can collect Y2K information from members and allows companies to share information directly without fear of antitrust sanctions. The exemption sunsets in July, 2001.

``There are still some lawyers giving what I call crummy legal advice,'' Koskinen said. ``They're saying the statute's fine but you can't get in any trouble if you don't say anything.''

Knowing many of their customers are edgy about possible Y2K disruptions, companies are getting together in part to reassure the public that things will be OK.

The New York Clearing House, an association of nine New York banks, has been working to calm fears after focus groups showed people are worried that hype about the Y2K problem could induce panic.

``One of the things we're trying to do is not to get them to overreact. All these industries are working hard, they're prepared,'' said George Thomas, director of information systems for the banking group.

Not everybody's being so chummy when it comes to the Y2K bug, said Bruce Webster, a Dallas consultant who co-chairs the Washington, D.C.-based Year 2000 Group, an organization of professionals who work on Y2K issues.

``The truth is, I think a lot of businesses hope their competitors have problems and may be counting on it,'' Webster said.

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Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), July 26, 1999


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