STORY:
Y2K Hotline Calms Millennium Fears

Government fielding questions and concerns over the Y2K computer bug

Will my microwave work? What will happen to my television? Should I store food in my garage? These are just a few of the questions coming into the Y2K hotline this year. The special hotline is staffed by 100 and is expecting 3 million calls this year.

The toll-free government hotline is based in the Appalachian Mountains, and there are 60 lines just for computer Y2K queries and operators are standing by five days a week from 9a.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) If you call during office hours you will get a real person on the line, after hours you will get a recording. The recording is broken into sections. With just the touch of the dial you can still receive specific information. Callers who press "4" will hear about air travel and how it will be affected by the Y2K computer bug. Other options offer information about banking, personal computers, telephones, electricity and the food supply.

Are you wondering what the number is? Dial up 1-888-USA-4-Y2K it’s a free call and you too can be up to date on how best to prepare for the New Year. The Y2K experts have gone through a two-week basic training class. The operators have brushed up on geography, research and have studied the public and private sector responses to the Year 2000 threat. The fear lies in what might happen if computers read the two digits 00 as the year 1900 instead of 2000.

Operators are trained to handle the common questions like; will my personal computer work? The answer: Maybe, especially if it was bought after mid 1997. They are also trained to answer the unusual questions such as: Will the Y2K bug effect elevators? The Answer: probably not. For the most part, operators advocate personal preparedness. That means storing up a couple weeks’ worth of food, and saving a little extra cash. Operators help callers find numbers for their electrical companies and local hospitals.

There has been a change in the types of calls coming into the hotline over the past few months. At first people were very concerned about power problems and bank failures. As the months wear on people are now being much more specific asking about home appliances and telephones.

The Y2K hotline didn’t start out as a millennium program. The hotline actually started in 1990 to answer a variety of government questions from taxes to the "adopt a burro" program. It branched off into Y2K specific lines when the number of calls kept increasing. The Federal Information Center number is 1-800-688-9889, the Y2K number is 1-888-872-4925.

DATE: 10/25/99

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