WITH THE possibility that Year 2000-related problems would exacerbate the high volume of calls during the holidays, the millennium turnover might be the first big test for the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.'s new Network Traffic Management System.

"The system wasn't actually designed with the Y2K problem in mind," said PLDT president and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan.

Pangilinan stressed that the new computerized monitoring system is intended to ensure call completion by automatically rerouting voice traffic to less congested circuits. He added that better traffic management is necessary because of the growth of network applications, saying that this would play an even more crucial role in future converged voice and data services. The system would not only be capable of managing the carrier's fixed lines and international leased lines, but also the cellular networks of PLDT sister companies Pilipino Telephone Corp. and Smart Communications Inc. and, eventually, data services.

"The goal is for us to serve our customers and the customers of other carriers as well in a better, more efficient manner," he said.

PLDT executive vice president for Network Services Ricardo Zarate, however, acknowledged that the NMTS could be a useful tool in addressing the Y2K problem.

"This facility enables us to monitor and manage our core network. Any telecommunications problem that could be caused by Y2K will probably be manifested as congestion on the network, not necessarily because of our systems but because of problems with other networks or external factors," Zarate said. "So it is a helpful system that would aid us in dealing with the transition on Dec. 31."

"Even before the problem of congestion arises, we could already address the potential problems," Pangilinan also noted. He added that, in case of disaster or emergency situations, PLDT is willing to make the facilities available to the government for free.

The Alcatel-designed NTMS is actually the first of eight components that would complete PLDT's Integrated Network Management System. Through the NTMS, PLDT can collect traffic measurements from its switching equipment every 15 minutes. Previously, the manual collection of data took more than month, with traffic managers receiving monthly reports that then took at least three days to be processed.

The National Network Management Center located at the PLDT Teltec Building in Mandaluyong City houses 30 workstations and a huge 30-screen video wallboard displaying the geographical information system. A color coding scheme is used, with green and blue standing for minimal congestion and orange and red indicating massive congestion. Initially, the NTMS will manage 45 of PLDT's 160 exchanges.

"The NTMS will definitely play a role in our Y2K contingency plans. We're going to use this system for the Y2K rollover to monitor the status of all our trunk circuits," said Emeraldo Hernandez, senior manager at PLDT's Switching Technical Services Division. Hernandez is the team leader for contingency planning for switching.

He said that the thresholds for Y2K contingencies have already been programmed into the system, and that the management commands are already in place in the switches themselves. Three shifts of traffic managers are manning the center 24 hours a day.

According to Hernandez, the NTMS would also give PLDT the capability to help ensure that the Y2K hotlines would not suffer from congestion during and immediately after the rollover.

"Actually, our plan is to give them a priority feature, and for other contingency centers, we would give them a catastrophe ranking," he said, explaining that the latter rating is only for severe conditions. A catastrophe call would override other calls.

To deal with the expected high volume of calls that the millennium celebrations and Y2K might bring, PLDT will also resort to cap calls to prevent or minimize congestion. Call capping means limiting the number of calls to a circuit that is already experiencing heavy traffic. Calls that are blocked in this manner can then either be routed to a less congested area. He, however, admitted, that if no alternate routes can be found, callers would hear the familiar "All circuits are busy now."

Stressing that the millennium turnover will be business as usual, PLDT chief information officer Ariel Roda said that the public can rest assured that they will be able to enjoy the same communications services during ordinary days.