Almost all gov’t agencies are Y2K ready

Almost all government agencies in the CNMI are already Y2K compliant, easing fears that there will be major public service disruption due to failure of computer systems to recognize the year 2000.

A Y2K Task Force created by the Office of the Governor has been coordinating efforts in beating the millennium bug that could jeopardize the delivery of basic services in the CNMI.

Representatives from the government and the private sector met yesterday in a conference to address the issue of Y2K preparedness in the Northern Marianas.

“We are not looking for an Apocalypse but we do need to be ready for isolated disruptions for possible public service assistance,” he said Bob Webb, special assistant for telecommunications.

Based on the assessment made, only the Emergency Management Office and the Department of Public Safety are still rushing to upgrade some equipment to avoid problems related to the computer glitch.

According to Tony Calvo, EMO planner, the Global Positioning System Clock for the seismographs of the Seismic Section is not Y2K compliant, thus, it will not be able to provide an accurate time and date in the event an earthquake occurs. But he assured the public that the manufacturer of GPS Clock, California-based True Time Inc., will fix the system.

While the communication console is not Y2K compliant, Calvo said it may still continue to operate beyond the year 2000 since it is not time and date sensitive.

Major Clyde Norita, DPS assistant chief of the Office for Special Services, said the lockdown at the Division of Corrections is the only system so far that has not been upgraded in time for the year 2000.

DPS has expressed concern on the Motorola Smartnet System that they are using, which is already over eight years old, because it may delay the ability of police cars, ambulance and fire trucks to respond to emergency calls. Webb said he is discussing with Motorola the assessment it made on the DPS system to address the problem immediately.

In the Department of Public Health, Deputy Secretary Joe Santos said the only equipment that the Commonwealth Health Center cannot replace is the 13-year-old remote monitoring system, which cost $100,000.

The Commonwealth Ports Authority has revealed that all the airport and the seaport systems for Saipan, Tinian and Rota are now Y2K compliant after months of upgrading, ruling out any possibility that the Northern Marianas will be isolated from the rest of the world in case of a computer shutdown brought about by the millennium bug.

The CNMI will become part of the U.S. President’s Council, a Y2K clearing house that has been established in all states and territories, when it sends a representative from EMO for training in the mainland.

This will allow Washington to respond immediately in case any glitches occur since the Northern Marianas is the first U.S. territory in the Western Pacific to enter the new millennium.