BellSouth and AT&T Achieve 100% Success in Private Line Year 2000 Tests

Strategic Insights -

AT&T and BellSouth have completed a series of successful Year 2000 tests on private lines, demonstrating a 100% success rate. The tests, which took place in the companies' laboratories, involved rolling the clocks forward to simulate critical dates, including 9/9/99, the rollover from December 31, 1999 to January 1, 2000, and leap year. Private lines, used by institutions such as airlines, universities, and financial institutions, were tested to ensure their ability to withstand the transition to the year 2000.

Key Takeaways:

  • The tests were designed to simulate critical dates, including 9/9/99, 12/31/99, and leap year, to ensure private line services could handle the transition to the year 2000.
  • Private line services were chosen for testing because of their importance to business customers, including airlines, universities, and financial institutions.
  • The tests were conducted in multiple clock-forward environments using private line equipment supporting T1 speeds, OC3, OC12, and OC48.
  • BellSouth and AT&T have worked together before on testing their networks in preparation for the Year 2000, with nearly 500 tests conducted earlier in the year.
  • The two companies have a long history of cooperation, with Rick Harder, BellSouth's Vice President, emphasizing that the efforts are a "cooperative effort, not a competitive issue."
  • AT&T and BellSouth use private lines for trunking between central offices, voice services, and data services such as local area networks.
  • Companies such as banks, gas companies, and call centers rely on private lines for critical operations.

Statistics:

  • 100% success rate in Year 2000 tests on private lines.
  • Nearly 500 tests conducted by AT&T and BellSouth earlier in the year.
  • 1.544 Mbps to 2488.32 Mbps speeds tested in private line equipment.
  • Over 34 million customers served by BellSouth in 19 countries.
  • 23 million access lines served by BellSouth's telecommunications operations.
  • Over 80 million customers served by AT&T.

Sources:

  • BellSouth Corporation. (n.d.). BellSouth Corporation. Retrieved from www.bellsouth.com.
  • AT&T. (n.d.). AT&T Home Page. Retrieved from www.att.com.
  • BellSouth Corporation. (n.d.). Year 2000 Testing by BellSouth. Retrieved from www.bellsouth.com/year2000.
  • AT&T. (n.d.). Year 2000 Program. Retrieved from www.att.com/year2000.