NETWORK RELIABILITY AND INTEROPERABILITY COUNCIL IV (NRIC IV)

SUMMARY OF MEETING

October 14, 1998

NRIC IV was convened for its first meeting at 9:30 A.M. on October 14, 1998 in the Commission Meeting Room of the Federal Communications Commission, 1919 M Street, Washington, DC. Mr. Michael Armstrong, Chairman and CEO of AT&T, presided over the meeting.

In accordance with Public Law 92-463 (The Federal Advisory Committee Act), the meeting was open to the public. Approximately 100 people attended the meeting in the Commission Meeting Room, and it was viewed by way of closed circuit television at various sites around the Commission.

Panelists present:

FCC staff members present:

Ms. Marsha MacBride of the FCC, the Designated Federal Official for the Y2K initiative, introduced Mr. Armstrong, the Chairman of NRIC IV, who invited the members to introduce themselves and then summarized the mandate of the Council. Only 443 days remain, Mr. Armstrong said, to determine the extent of problems associated with the transition to the Year 2000, and this short time frame requires that government, industry, and consumer interests reach a consensus quickly on an approach to solving Y2K problems in order to ensure that the nation's networks will continue to function.

Mr. Armstrong then called on Commissioner Michael Powell, who thanked the members of the Council and underscored the need for swift action. Few things have revealed the vulnerability of the Information Age as starkly as the Y2K problem, Commissioner Powell said, and it is the responsibility of NRIC IV to provide the means for various groups to plan together, to share information, and to prepare networks for contingencies.

Mr. Armstrong then introduced Mr. John Koskinen, Chairman of the President's Year 2000 Council, who stressed the past leadership of the FCC and industry groups, such as the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) and the Telco Forum, in focusing attention on the problems associated with Y2K. He noted that Congress last week passed legislation, expected to be signed by the President, which would facilitate information sharing among various affected groups, particularly in industry. The Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act provides legal protection to those who offer information on readiness, testing plans, results, and other matters germane to Y2K issues. While larger companies have committed substantial resources to address these issues, small- and medium-sized firms have not progressed as far, and transfer of information among all affected parties will be helped by this new legislation. He further noted that next week (October 18) will be Y2K Action Week, designed to bring smaller companies into the compliance effort. He emphasized again that the public must be assured of the efforts of government, industry, and consumer groups to address the Y2K problem, since public uncertainty or loss of confidence could have a negative impact on the markets and the economy generally.

Mr. Dale Hatfield, Chief of the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology, likewise emphasized the importance of the Council's work and introduced Marsha MacBride and Kent Nilsson, who will take over OET's representation on NRIC IV from Jim Keegan, who recently retired from the FCC.

The meeting next turned to NRIC Transition Matters, which were discussed by Cas Skrzypczak of Bellcore Inc. Mr. Skrzypczak briefly discussed the background of the NRIC, which was chartered to prepare recommendations for oversight of network planning and design in accordance with the dictates of Section 256 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Mr. Skrzypczak reported the recommendations of The Report of NRIC III in July 1997, as follows:

• Testing was essential to maintaining network interoperability and reliability;
• Because cable cuts are the greatest source of service disruption, "One Call" legislation was required (and was later passed by Congress);
• The voluntary consensus standards setting process has been very effective and should be continued with certain modifications, such as incorporating the needs of disabled persons within the process;
• Because congestion of the Public Switched Network arises in large part as a result of Internet usage, joint planning activities are recommended;
• Security guidelines should be observed to minimize risks to interoperability; and
• The FCC should designate a list of National Services, which should be organized across industry. National Services are those which, like 911 emergency calling, require that any new technology or service be backward compatible.

Mr. John Pasqua of AT&T then detailed the operational aspects of NRIC IV. The group is a Federal advisory council dedicated to decision-making by consensus. Meetings of this Public Council will be announced at least fifteen days in advance. Minutes of the meetings are available to its members and also to the public on the NRIC Web site www.nric.org.

The Revised Charter of the group centers on the goal of assuring optimal reliability, interoperability, and interconnectivity of, and accessibility to, the public telecommunications networks. In particular, NRIC IV is charged with considering the following questions, each of which will be addressed by an individual Focus Group:

• What is the impact of the Y2K problem on the public telecommunications networks, and what are some of the solutions to perceived risks and dangers (Focus Group I);
• What is the impact of the Y2K problem on access to telecommunications networks and services from the standpoint of consumer provided equipment (Focus Group II); and
• What is the current status of network reliability as established by NRIC III? (Focus Group III).

Each of the three Focus Groups will be composed of a number of subcommittees to address the issues involved in the Groups' larger questions. Focus Groups I and II will each include a Subcommittee on Y2K Readiness, a Subcommittee on Y2K Testing, and a Subcommittee on Y2K Contingency Planning. Each of these Subcommittees will assess status and plans and will develop recommendations for action. Focus Group III will include a Subcommittee on Industry Best Practices Review and a Subcommittee on Data Analysis and Future Consideration. These Subcommittees will review current best practices, analyze outage data and reporting, respectively, and develop an approach for future consideration. The initial membership of the Focus Groups and Subcommittees is attached as an appendix to these minutes, and Mr. Pasqua invited interested parties to volunteer to serve on one or more of the Groups and Subcommittees.

Overall, NRIC IV will be directed by a Steering Committee, which will meet monthly to establish agendas, review membership, consider progress, and develop policies for further action. In addition, the Steering Committee will oversee an administrative fund, made up of contributions by industry participants (ideally $1000 each), which will be used to defray certain expenses of the Council, such as travel expenses for member representatives from non-profit organizations. The members of the Steering Committee are: John Pasqua (Chair, AT&T), Judy List (Vice-Chair, Bellcore), Pete Spring (Focus Group I Leader, AT&T), Bill Blatt (Focus Group II Leader, Nortel), Ray Albers (Focus Group III Leader, Bell Atlantic), and Marsha MacBride (NRIC Federal official, FCC). Each Focus Group will establish a subsite on the NRIC public Web site (www.nric.org).

Because of the nature of the Y2K problem, NRIC IV will work under a strict timeline. Today's kickoff meeting will be followed by a meeting on January 14, 1999 devoted to progress reports from the Focus Groups and a status report from the Network Reliability steering Committee (NRSC). A meeting on April 14, 1999 will again include an NRSC report and recommendations from Focus Groups I and II, based on results of tests to be completed during the first quarter of 1999. A meeting on July 14, 1999 will include Focus Group and NRSC reports. Between July and October 1999, an industry forum is planned to share NRIC IV results. A meeting on October 14, 1999 will hear status reports from the Focus Groups and NRSC, and a final meeting on January 6, 2000 will review the success of NRIC IV and propose future actions for NRIC V.

After taking questions from members of the panel and the audience, Mr. Armstrong declared that a consensus on the governance of NRIC IV had been approved.

Ms. P.J. Aduskevicz of AT&T, speaking for Ray Albers of Bell Atlantic, then delivered the NRSC report on network reliability. She briefly reviewed the NRSC Governance Model, which comprises four teams: Data Assembly and Analysis, Process and Procedure, Facilities Solutions, and Procedural. The NRSC will meet quarterly, while the inidividual teams will meet as required. Information on NRSC is available on the ATIS Web site, www.t1.org/html/nric.htm.

Ms. Aduskevicz then displayed charts showing outage frequency in the second quarter of 1998. The data compiled and represented on these charts demonstrates that the number of reportable incidents and their impact on customers-- in terms of duration, number of services and number of customers affected-- were within control limits. She indicated, however, that continued vigilance is required and that continued reporting will give rise to further Best Practices discussion. There were no questions.

In closing the meeting, Mr. Armstrong urged every Focus Group and Subcommittee chair to appeal for people to become involved in the Y2K effort. While problems associated with the transition to the Year 2000 are soluble, difficulties can be expected to arise. However, with the work being directed toward solutions, the significance of such difficulties can be minimized.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:05 A.M.

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