Year 2000 problem failures are inevitable both here and abroad and will disrupt global trade, the US State Department warned the Senate's special committee on Y2K last week.
"The global community is likely to experience some Y2K-related failures in every sector, country and region," said Jacquelyn Williams-Bridgers, inspector general of the State Department.
A U.S. Federal Communications Commission working paper says the success of the Internet hasn't been an accident, but the result of decisions by federal officials not to regulate it.
The paper, released this week, credits the FCC with developing a deregulatory environment that has allowed the Internet to flourish. For instance, the agency has helped to keep dial-up access affordable by exempting it from access charges and by deregulating telecommunications equipment.
Members of the US Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem last week viewed with alarm a report by the General Accounting Office (GAO) that said only two of the largest 21 US cities are Y2K ready: Dallas and Boston.
The US Federal Aviation Administration said it met its self-imposed deadline last Thursday on its year 2000 work, completing repairs and testing of its 65 air-traffic control systems.
The government today turned, once again, to Microsoft Corp. Chairman and CEO Bill Gates to introduce a new witness in its antitrust case against the software giant.
The World Congress on Information Technology ended yesterday with a look at the global impact of the year 2000 problem and a warning that many developing nations and small and medium-size businesses won't be able to address the glitch effectively.