December 24, 1999

Y2K issues will be handled through the normal IBM support structure. (See IBM Service Level Expectations, page 2). The IBM aligns its support structure by hardware and software. The phone numbers are:

Hardware Support: 800-IBM-SERV (800-426-7378)

Software Support: 800-237-5511 (In Canada call 800-IBM-SERV for Software support)

General Information: 800-IBM-4YOU (800-426-4968)

When calling IBM support, be sure to have all the relevant information available, such as your customer number, model/serial number, software levels, call back number, a description of the problem, and the severity of the problem. IBM defines severity levels as follows:

Technical Support Center Year 2000 Help Center -call for information on Year 2000

Year 2000 Marketing Information Center -for written responses to customer requests.

800-426-2255

fax: 800-426-1748

IBM Year 2000 Websites

Year 2000 service and support requests will be handled in the same manner as other requests. IBM's first priority will be to satisfy existing agreements. Customers without contractual agreements may encounter delays when requesting assistance. IBM will not correct date-related problems on not-ready products. IBM’s obligations regarding its products and services are governed solely by the agreements under which they are provided.

As far as support goes, the Year 2000 does not change IBM's normal service and support policies and practices. The support to which a customer is entitled has always depended on the product license agreements and fee-based services contracts that customers have contracted for. In general, IBM addresses support requests sequentially among similar severity levels. We make no distinction by customer size or industry.

We are obligated, however to meet our contractual obligations first. This means that a customer with a contractual support agreement will receive support before customers without support contracts. If a non-entitled customer comes to IBM for support today, hourly support agreements are available to them. Due to the uncertainty of the Year 2000 and it's impact on IBM's support structure, however, we will provide support to our entitled customers first and those customer without contractual agreements may experience delays in obtaining assistance. As a result, many customers have chosen to review the status of their support contracts to ensure they have the coverage in place that they will need during the transition.

IBM is also obligated to adhere to any government mandates and government voluntary appeals for assistance. Governments may request expedited support in cases like, national security, natural disaster, etc. These events can alter our support delivery. IBM's response to government mandates and voluntary appeals for assistance have been in place and is considered "business as usual" for our support structure.

Customers set the severity level of their support issues. Recently, we were asked for a definition of these severity levels. These definitions are as follows: