Additional information from the AT&T web site about Wednesday's Worldnet problem.
An Apology... And an Explanation.
On December 1, 1999, there was an outage that affected AT&T WorldNet Service members. First I would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, and second, I'd like to explain what happened.
This problem was not caused by AT&T's network. However, it did affect our system, and our members. Another Internet Service Provider made a network change that caused the public Internet to have incorrect information on how to reach AT&T WorldNet servers. As a result AT&T WorldNet customers could not browse the Internet, and mail from other Internet Service Providers to AT&T WorldNet members was delayed. AT&T engineers worked to isolate the problem and provided a work around to restore service by 4:30 p.m. In addition, AT&T notified the other Internet Service Provider, who in turn corrected their configuration. The smooth operation of the entire Internet depends on accurate information and cooperation from all Internet Service Providers. This reflects the distributed nature of the Internet and its design characteristics.
AT&T WorldNet Service continually works to improve its service. In fact, based on a recent study by Solomon Wolff Associates, AT&T WorldNet Service was rated as having the highest level of customer satisfaction among the five largest Internet Service Providers.
Again, you have our sincerest apologies for yesterday's outage. Please be assured that we are working to prevent this kind of an interruption in the future.
Thank you for being an AT&T WorldNet Service customer.
Ed Chatlos AT&T WorldNet® Service Vice President & General Manager