Ericsson reports on millennium shift in major parts of Oceania

Ericsson reports on millennium shift in major parts of Oceania The larger part of Australia has now entered in to the new millenium. Ericsson is the dominating telecom vendor in Australia and has all parts of its product portfolio installed in the country. According to initial reports everything is under control and the Ericsson equipment is functioning well all though congestion has been noticed in the networks. Earlier on today the millenium shift in Tonga and New Zealand has passed without any disturbances in the Ericsson equipment. The load on the public systems is very high and some subscribers might experience problems getting a dialing tone, or receiving a congestion tone, when trying to set up a call. This is not due to any fault in the systems but purely a matter of overload in the networks. The condition is temporary and service levels are expected to be restored when traffic load is normalized. Ericsson has put substantial efforts into eliminating and minimizing any disturbances that could be caused directly or indirectly at the millennium shift in systems delivered by Ericsson. All Ericsson products have been tested for millennium compliance and upgrades have been offered to customers if necessary. Critical internal information systems have been tested and upgraded in order to secure internal working conditions. All phases in the supply chain from order to installation including external vendors have been reviewed so that Ericsson can maintain continous high quality supply of products and services. In order to assist it's global customer base, Ericsson has more than 3,000 people on duty around the clock during the millennium shift in more than 200 locations all over the world. To co-ordinate this effort, a number of new routines and systems have been established and tested, including a dedicated world-wide communication system used for rapid information collection and deployment. Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world, with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacom technologies with freedom of mobility for the user. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for its customers - network operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers - the world over. Please visit Ericsson's Press Room at: http://www.ericsson.se/pressroom FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Pia Gideon, Vice President External Relations Tel: +46 8 719 28 64 Helena Norrman, Press Manager Tel +46 70 344 40 88 ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/12/31/19991231BIT00040/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/12/31/19991231BIT00040/bit0002.pdf