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Karl Feilder mentioned several telecoms that he thinks have y2k problems ("Telecommunications," Oct. 7). This posting was in response.
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From: Paul Pretorius To: year2000-discuss@year2000.com Subject: Telkom SA phone system: Correction
It was with disappointment that I read Karl Feilder's unnecessary and uncalled for derogatory statements towards Telkom SA and the company's ability to successfully address the year 2000 issues at hand. Messages of this nature add no value and only contribute to the hype flying around.
Karl has either mis-read our web site or have deliberately mis-quoted the facts. For instance, the statement quoted by Karl from Telkom's web site "a comprehensive company-wide year 2000 compliance project was launched in Telkom during January 1997" is only a half truth; Karl opted to ignore the first part of the same sentence which states "Although individual year 2000 compliance issues were receiving attention over the last two years, a comprehensive company-wide year 2000 compliance project was launched in Telkom during January 1997....". The statement on Telkom's web site is very clear, open and honest.
It should be quite obvious that Karl is trying to compare chalk and cheese by comparing the cost profiles of some companies with risk profiles of another company and by not understanding the underlying technology states and issues at hand.
Karl has no insight in or knowledge of Telkom SA's year 2000 project except for what he has read on the web page. I am Telkom SA's year 2000 project coordinator and I have never met or communicated with Karl.
Karl obviously has a reason for picking on Telkom SA out of all the options in the world and comparing a relatively small operator with world leaders like British Telecom, Telstra, baby Bells, etc. It is actually a compliment to be considered in the same league. Thanks Karl.
Kind regards Paul Pretorius Telkom SA
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