A.T.&T. admits alarms failed in cutoff

Article Abstract:

AT&T's long-distance services were disrupted in the New York City area on Tuesday, Sep 17, 1991, because of a problem with power supply. On Wednesday, Sep 18, AT&T said technicians working at a switching center in Manhattan were to blame for the 'crash.' According to AT&T, the technicians did not notice warnings that indicated that the system was drawing power from batteries, and by the time the technicians did notice this, the batteries were drained and the system had to shut down. AT&T admits that some of its alarms did not work and some managers did not adhere to proper procedures. On Thursday, union officials responded, saying that the technicians were not even there. The technicians were gone that day, attending a class where they were to learn about an alarm system. A spokesman for the FCC says it is not yet clear who is to blame. Management errors, however, do seem to have occurred.

T, Long distance telephone services, Long-distance telephone service, American Telephone and Telegraph Co., Telecommunication switching equipment, Telecommunications switching equipment, Power Systems

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String of phone failures perplexes companies and U.S. investigators

Article Abstract:

Telephone company officials and federal investigators worry because of recent identical computer breakdowns in widely separated telephone systems. Bell Atlantic Corp experienced disruptions in the Washington and Pittsburgh areas, and Pacific Telesis Group experienced similar problems in Los Angeles. In both cases, the problem began with seemingly minor maintenance and ended by short-circuiting an important new call-routing system called Signaling System 7 from DSC Communications Corp. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is investigating, and the telephone companies are keeping the Federal Bureau of Investigation informed. The US Congress is also concerned, calling for a report by Jul 28. Sabotage by computer hackers has not been ruled out.

Communications Equipment, Software, Product quality, Product information, Regional Bell Operating Companies, Computer hackers, Hacker, Bugs (Software), Call Routing Equipment, Software Quality, Program Errors, Sabotage, Bell Regional Holding Companies, DSC Communications Corp., DIGI

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Theories narrowed in phone inquiry

Article Abstract:

John O'Rourke, from Bell Communications Research, is leading an investigation to discover the cause of recent telephone service disruptions in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Washington, DC. O'Rourke discounts the possibility of sabotage, saying he has confidence that there is no basic design flaw in Signaling System 7, the communications technology that was involved in all the disruptions. So far, the cause of the problems remains a mystery. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plans to hold a special closed hearing on the matter.

Holding companies, not elsewhere classified, Usage, Officials and employees, Defects, Bellcore, O'Rourke, John

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