Now let me see if I have this right. First its "We'll be Y2K compliant". Then its "We'll be Y2K ready". Now its "We'll are Y2K CONFIDENT". What next "Sorry but all lines are dead. Please try again in March.

AT&T [NYSE:T] is confident that there will be no Y2K problems with its international calling network this New Year. This confidence also extends to AT&T Wireless Services and to its Internet access service as well.

That's the assurance given to Newsbytes by AT&T spokesperson, Janis Burenga.

To get ready for the next century, AT&T plans on spending a total of $650 million, checking more than 3,000 applications and more than 380 million lines of computer code, all before close of business on December 31.

In addition to reviewing its own operations, AT&T says that it is undergoing tests with selected local telephone companies, competing long distance carriers, as well as the telephone companies of other countries. Tests have also been conducted with certain business segments such as the financial industry and electrical power utilities. Government agencies have also been checked for any potential problems in operating through the AT&T system.

However, AT&T is reminding customers that, while it is confident about the reliability of its own international network, other countries and telephone companies may not be as far along in their readiness for the Year 2000. And, if there are delays or difficulties, AT&T is advising international callers that they may not be limited to midnight in the caller's time zone. There are 17 international time zones, and as the New Year works its way from Fiji and Easter Island, telephone company technicians will be watching for any "snafus."

When asked by Newsbytes if there were any countries that appeared more likely to have Y2K-related telephone system problems, Burenga stated that AT&T does not make those "predictions." She advised that consumers could obtain more information about potential interoperability problems with specific countries by visiting the Web site of the Network Reliability and Interconnectivity Council (NRIC).

The NRIC is operated under the auspices of the Federal Communications Commission and its Web site can be found at http://www.nric.org.

-- y2k dave (xsdaa111@hotmail.com), October 06, 1999