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INTELSAT Concerned For Y2K

By Sherman Fridman, Newsbytes.

December 24, 1999

One organization that will, literally, be following the sun over the Y2K weekend is INTELSAT, which, on behalf of its 143 member countries, owns and operates a global array of 17 satellites that provide voice, video, and Internet services to more than 200 countries and territories around the globe.

Tony Trujillo, director of corporate communications for INTELSAT, told Newsbytes in an interview today that INTELSAT was "very confident" there would be no Y2K related problems with any of its satellites. However, he also added that INTELSAT had reserved hotel rooms to accommodate the extra staff that would be on hand in INTELSAT's Washington, D.C. nerve center over the New Year's holiday weekend.

According to Trujillo, a major reason INTELSAT is so confident that its equipment will be trouble-free is due to the fact that satellites operate by referencing the sun and typically do not contemplate time and dates. New Year's Eve will look and feel the same to the satellites as any other eve in space.

However, although the orbiting satellites are not expected to be impacted by Y2K-related problems, INTELSAT said that its control center at INTELSAT headquarters, as well as its six telemetry, tracking, command, and monitoring earth stations around the world, which control their fleet of satellites, will be manned and alert for any problems.

Trujillo noted that INTELSAT's function was to deliver satellite service, what happened after that was out of its control. This means, Trujillo said, that INTELSAT could not predict if, when, or where there might be problems with local telecommunications infrastructure.

INTELSAT's Vice President of Operations and Chief Information Officer Ramu Potarazu, said that, although INTELSAT was well prepared, the company was concerned about the non-INTELSAT hardware and software that link to INTELSAT's services. "As a wholesaler of communications services, INTELSAT's direct responsibility ends with the delivery of satellite service to an antenna," he said.

Potarazu also said, "It's up to the rest of the distribution channel - our customers and vendors - to deliver the service to the end user. And it is their responsibility to be Y2K compliant. We are concerned about international communications, most of which is beyond our control."

In order to track the millennium transition as it unfolds around the world, an INTELSAT Y2K Command Group, as well as a Response Center, will be in operation around the clock during the New Year holiday weekend beginning from 7:00 a.m. EST on Dec. 31, Trujillo said.

The Command Center will monitor the satellite fleet, operations, and business functions, while the Response Center will receive reports from approximately 130 customers and earth stations in nearly 80 countries as the New Year comes around in each region and time zone.

"Starting at the International Dateline, we will track the impact of the millennium transition around the world by following the sun," Potarazu said.

More information about INTELSAT is available at http://www.intelsat.int

Reported by Newsbytes.com

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@AOL.COM), December 24, 1999

Answers

Thanks Uncle Bob...everyones always worried about the customers or vendors.....any embeds up in those Sats?

-- (karlacalif@aol.com), December 24, 1999.