Inet -- a public data network currently operational in eight cities and used for e-mail, database services, credit card verifications, travel reservations and corporate communication -- will, however, achieve compliance by October end, DOT says. Y2K problem would make computers fail to recognise the year 2000 due to memory problems leading to their malfunctioning.

Though full compliance in the telecom sector would be achieved by November end, most of the DOT systems would be compliant by the end of next month, says a DOT report on Y2K preparedness in the telecom sector presented to K C Pant, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, on Friday. Except Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL), which would achieve compliance by October end, the rest four public sector units (PSUs) under DOT -- Bangalore-based Indian Telephone Industry(ITI), Chennai-based Hindustan Teleprinters Ltd (HTL), Technolgy Corporation of India Ltd (TCIL) here and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) -- are Y2K compliant.

More than 90 per cent of DOT's satellite and switching systems are compliant and the rest would achieve compliance within two/three months, the report says.

"The progress made by DOT in compliance efforts is quite positive," a member of the National Y2K Task Force stated. DOT's only network management system at Chennai, about one-fourth of its computer application systems and 18 out of its 22 telex systems are yet to become compliant.

The computer application systems include fault repair and directory enquiry service systems and telephone billing systems.

In the private sector, only three out of 22 cellular operators and five out of 15 paging service operators have reported Y2K compliance, the report says.

Eight of the 10 very small aperture terminal (VSAT) operators and 65 of the 139 internet licensees are compliant and reports areawaited for the rest. Among the three basic service operators, only one is compliant.

Only eight out of 446 main switching exchanges (switching technology efficiently directs data in a network) in the country are to achieve compliance. All the 94 analog exchanges are compliant, it says.

More than half of the switching exchanges that use technology from Bangalore-based Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) have not achieved compliance, but DOT says they would by October end.

Most of the 495 satellite systems of DOT are Y2K compliant leaving 38 which would achieve it by November end. All transmission systems are compliant.

VSNL's six Ericsson switching systems and two telex systems would take some time to achieve compliance.

DOT has prepared a preliminary contingency plan to meet any eventuality and a final plan would be ready by September end the report says.