A close GI friend of mine has been having an ongoing discussion/disagreement with his brother about the severity of Y2K for over a year now, with his brother saying it's not going to be much of anything. His brother works for AT&T and called over the weekend to say that he has to work New Year's Eve, for the first time ever, because the company is worried about Y2K. The brother is no longer a DGI. Better late than never?

-- cody varian (cody@y2ksurvive.com), December 20, 1999

Answers

I work for AT&T, [formerly T.C.I.] and know the guy in charge of back- up planning for the Customer Service Department in this area. About 1/4 million cable customers. I jokingly asked him if his back-up plan included #2 lead pencils and notepads. He just looked at me and said yes. Said he wasn't worried at all about Y2K until he was given this position. He then asked ME how to store water. This was 2 mos ago and he is now fully prepped.

-- John Malone (paranoid@mybunker.com), December 20, 1999.

I know these guys are real scared.

TO: All AT&T BIS Employees

FROM: Dan Somers, Bill Fitzgerald, Carl Vogel, Curt Hockemeier, Tony Werner

DATE: November 2, 1999

SUBJECT: Y2K Status Update

As promised, here is our employee update on the companys Y2K status as of the end of October. The rollover is less than sixty days away.

Since early 1998, when the company created the Year 2000 Program Management Office to coordinate nationwide Y2K activities, nearly every employee of AT&T BIS has participated -- or will participate during the next few months --in the important efforts surrounding the millennium rollover.

Current Status AT&T BISs top leadership have been personally involved in our Year 2000 Program from the very beginning, and the active leadership and direction from top levels have enabled us to make enormous progress. We are now at a point to publicly state that for AT&T BIS cable systems owned and operated as of September 30, 1999, our customer- impacting systems are Y2K ready. We should all be very proud of this impressive work.

Upcoming Issues However, we arent done yet. Customer impacting systems need to remain Y2K ready, and we need to continue verification and validation activities. We need to finalize contingency plans. We need to train our staff, both technical and front line, on procedures for the rollover. We need to educate our customers and others interested in our Y2K status.

Despite continuing changes at AT&T BIS, our Y2K goals remain the same -- to ensure business continuity and to continue to provide our customers products and services that meet their expectations for performance and satisfaction in the Year 2000 and beyond.

Over the next two months, the Year 2000 Program Management Office will be distributing checklists to teams at Corporate and in the field. These checklists will guide the company through the many steps that need to be taken between now and January 1st to prepare for the rollover. If you are asked to assist with the completion of a checklist task, please consider the request of the highest priority.

There is no way to determine with certainty what the Y2K impact will be to AT&T BIS, our customers, our suppliers, or the communities in which we live until the Year 2000 turnover occurs. We must be ready to respond to any unforeseen impact on our business and be able to support our customers, local franchises, governments and our communities at large. Those of you who have been requested to work during the rollover, either on-site or on-call, remain critical to our success.

In November and December, a computer-based training (CBT) program will be available for on-site and on call staff required to work during the Year 2000 rollover. Modules will be short with checklists and focused on job functions for all personnel working. The training will highlight the process, procedures, and tasks that will allow us to better communicate and track events during this critical period.

If you have any questions about AT&T BISs Y2K efforts, additional information is available on the AT&T BIS Intranet at inside.tci.com, or email questions to Stubsten.Rebecca@tci.com. Additional updates will be provided directly and through other communications (One Voice) over the next few months, as we work towards our goal that January 1, 2000 will be business as usual at AT&T BIS.

Dan Somers Bill Fitzgerald President & CEO COO, Operations Administration

Carl Vogel Curt Hockemeier COO, Field Operations COO, Telephony

Tony Werner EVP, Chief Technology Officer

-- John Malone (paranoid@mybunker.com), December 20, 1999.

John Malone,

We have something in common: we both work for AT&T (formerly TCG). I've gotten a good look at the CPs for the rollover, impressively detailed, but few of my fellow employees are GI. All switches will be staffed...I find it to be an interesting study in obliviousness and nervousness...IN THE SAME PEOPLE!

-- Anon (anon@for.now), December 20, 1999.

Three guys in my Department [one is a supervisor] have bugged out. Vacation, personal days and comp time. They are not coming back till they hear from me that it's safe. The rest are happily making plans for marriages, parties, etc. for after the first of the year. Go figure.

-- John Malone (paranoid@mybunker.com), December 20, 1999.