What Happened When Nationwide System Crashed
The massive collapse of American Telephone & Telegraph’s long-distance network Monday--the worst breakdown in its history--meant missed opportunities and lost business for many customers.
What happened? And did the impact have to be so severe? Here’s a primer to answer basic questions raised by the breakdown:
Question: What happened to the long-distance system Monday?
Answer: In a nutshell, a problem in a new computer software program was triggered at a telephone switching facility in New York. It set off a chain of events that affected the ability of AT&T;’s remaining 113 switching facilities nationwide to handle long-distance calls.
Q: Can it happen again?
A: Absolutely. As telephone technology becomes more sophisticated, it is increasingly relying on computer software, not traditional “metal and wire” hardware, for its power and features. And computer software is nothing more than a series of encoded instructions, devised and written by humans. As the software becomes more sophisticated, the instructions become more complicated and interconnected. And the chance for error increases virtually exponentially.
For example, such fancy phone features as call waiting and call forwarding are nothing more than software commands that instruct the network to route and hold calls, said Steven Kropper, an analyst for International Data Corp., a technology market research firm in Boston. Available telephone technology, he adds, permits an additional 47 features, all of which will add to the complexity of the phone network.
“If you think this was bad, just wait,” Kropper warned. “It’s only going to get worse.”
Furthermore, local telephone service is just as susceptible to software glitches as long-distance service--and the consequences for customers could be more serious. Unlike long-distance service, which is provided by more than 500 carriers nationwide, most communities have just one telephone company providing local service. Although major metropolitan areas are increasing getting second and third local carriers, it is for business users only. Residential customers still have only one service, and if that one shuts down, they are cut off.
Q: How badly were major consumers hurt?
A: It depends. Obviously, customers using other long-distance carriers, such as MCI or US Sprint, weren’t affected at all. And among AT&T; customers, the problems varied. At American Airlines, which typically receives 292,000 reservation and information calls per day on its toll-free 800 number, incoming traffic was off by about two-thirds, the company reported Tuesday. However, the company’s Sabre reservation system uses separate phone lines that are not connected to the AT&T; network. These were unaffected.
A Marriott spokesman said the hotel chain received about 10% of its normal call volume during the height of the nine-hour crisis. Fidelity Investments said callers had “extensive” trouble getting through to the Boston-based mutual fund operator.
Arizona Telemarketing Inc. of Phoenix, which places 4,000 to 9,000 calls a day, gave its 40 employees an unexpected holiday in the afternoon. “We had to close the place down,” said Miriam Benson, company president.
Q: What can a typical phone user do if faced with a collapsed telephone network?
A: Actually, more than you might think.
If you’re using a phone at home or in a small business, chances are that you can merely connect with an alternate long-distance service by dialing the appropriate codes, said Mark Brandstein of the Yankee Group, a Boston technology research firm. For example, the code for MCI is 10222; it’s 10333 for US Sprint and 10444 for Telecom USA.
For an AT&T; subscriber to use an alternate code, all he has to do is pick up the phone, punch in the code and proceed with dialing 1 plus the area code and phone number. The code for AT&T;, which can be used by subscribers to other networks, is 10288. Don’t worry about the billing; you will get one from the alternate carrier you use.
Large businesses and other major users may discover that their systems do not permit them to use alternate carriers without reprogramming their in-house telephone computers. Many users on Monday apparently didn’t do this, however, because they did not know the extent of the problem or what they could do to bypass it.
Although AT&T; long-distance operators at first declined to pass out the alternate access codes Monday, by the end of the day they did, the company said.
“I’m putting those codes in my wallet,” said Ed Stewart, an American Airlines worker. “If I had known about them Monday, it would have saved me a lot of grief.”
Q: Do businesses have contingency plans?
A: In addition to instructing their employees how to use the alternative access codes, many corporations have installed telephone routing systems that automatically switch outgoing calls to an alternative service if problems occur with their primary carrier. Further, other companies, such as American Airlines for its Sabre system, have separate phone lines outside the networks to handle important, ongoing phone traffic.
Q: What is AT&T;’s legal liability?
A: AT&T; Chairman Robert E. Allen said he believes that the company has no legal liability for Monday’s collapse. However, he added that the company would try to make up for the problems it caused.
For starters, he said, the company would apply to the Federal Communications Commission for a discount long-distance calling day to compensate customers for the disruption of calls Monday. Further, he said AT&T; would honor its 800 Assurance policy, a program that guarantees that the company will switch 800 line customers to an alternate service in the event of problems, or provide financial compensation for the disruption. AT&T; was unable to switch the 800 lines to alternate carriers.
Times staff writer Karen Tumulty in New York contributed to this story.