Dear Brothers This is dr. Yahia Abdalla, DG of National Telecommunication Cooperation, the telecommunication Regulator of Sudan This is to confirm the following: 1- the change of time (to be GMT +2 instead of GMT+3 ) is going to be permanently starting from 1st November 2017 2- The governmental decision has been taken already, and no way to delay it. 3- the change will be through the entire country. 4- we already contacted the telecommunication operators in Sudan to prepare for the change. hope these point answered your questions.... and we are ready to answer any more questions Thank you for your cooperation -----Original Message----- From: Paul Eggert [mailto:eggert@cs.ucla.edu] Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2017 9:49 PM To: ahmed.atyya@ntc.gov.sd; tz@iana.org Cc: 'abdin'; 'nadir'; 'yahia '; 'abdelhafiz ' Subject: Re: [tz] [IANA #985615] Sudan Time Zone change On 10/16/2017 05:34 PM, ahmed.atyya@ntc.gov.sd wrote:

the Republic of Sudan is going to change the time zone from (GMT + 3:00) to (GMT+ 2:00) starting from Wednesday 1 November 2017.

Thank you for letting us know. Can you please cite a government publication or a newspaper argument that specifies this change? Preferably with a URL, so that others can read it. Although English publications are preferred, Arabic is also fine. When exactly will the change occur? What time of day? Is the change intended to be permanent? Does the change affect all of Sudan, or only some regions? If so, which regions?

Correction... We are working on the assumption that South Sudan will *not* change. Still, it would be good to have clarification either way. Thanks. ________________________________ From: tz-bounces@iana.org <tz-bounces@iana.org> on behalf of Matt Johnson <mj1856@hotmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2017 11:50 AM To: yahia; 'Paul Eggert'; ahmed.atyya@ntc.gov.sd; tz@iana.org Cc: 'abdin'; 'nadir'; 'abdelhafiz ' Subject: Re: [tz] [IANA #985615] Sudan Time Zone change Dear Dr. Yahia Abdalla, Do you have any information as to whether this change will also take place in the Republic of South Sudan (Juba, etc.)? We are working on the assumption that it will, but it would be good to have clarification. If this is not something you can state affirmatively, can you please help us to locate someone who can? Thanks. ________________________________ From: tz-bounces@iana.org <tz-bounces@iana.org> on behalf of yahia <yahia@ntc.gov.sd> Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2017 10:37 PM To: 'Paul Eggert'; ahmed.atyya@ntc.gov.sd; tz@iana.org Cc: 'abdin'; 'nadir'; 'abdelhafiz ' Subject: Re: [tz] [IANA #985615] Sudan Time Zone change Dear Brothers This is dr. Yahia Abdalla, DG of National Telecommunication Cooperation, the telecommunication Regulator of Sudan This is to confirm the following: 1- the change of time (to be GMT +2 instead of GMT+3 ) is going to be permanently starting from 1st November 2017 2- The governmental decision has been taken already, and no way to delay it. 3- the change will be through the entire country. 4- we already contacted the telecommunication operators in Sudan to prepare for the change. hope these point answered your questions.... and we are ready to answer any more questions Thank you for your cooperation -----Original Message----- From: Paul Eggert [mailto:eggert@cs.ucla.edu] Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2017 9:49 PM To: ahmed.atyya@ntc.gov.sd; tz@iana.org Cc: 'abdin'; 'nadir'; 'yahia '; 'abdelhafiz ' Subject: Re: [tz] [IANA #985615] Sudan Time Zone change On 10/16/2017 05:34 PM, ahmed.atyya@ntc.gov.sd wrote:

the Republic of Sudan is going to change the time zone from (GMT + 3:00) to (GMT+ 2:00) starting from Wednesday 1 November 2017.

Thank you for letting us know. Can you please cite a government publication or a newspaper argument that specifies this change? Preferably with a URL, so that others can read it. Although English publications are preferred, Arabic is also fine. When exactly will the change occur? What time of day? Is the change intended to be permanent? Does the change affect all of Sudan, or only some regions? If so, which regions?

Dear Mr. Ahmed Atyya, Thank you for updating us all about this change. Respectfully, please understand that two weeks notice is very little time for this change to be processed. Even if we move quickly, it is likely that those in the affected region, and those who interact with Sudan worldwide, will not get the change installed onto their computers and devices before the change goes into effect. Can you please let us know if this change is already official and enacted - definitely to take effect on November 1, 2017 as you stated? Or is the effective date something the government is still working on? Is there an opportunity to request a delay? For more about the sorts of things that happen with short-notice time zone changes, please read this article on my personal blog: https://codeofmatt.com/2016/04/23/on-the-timing-of-time-zone-changes/ Regards, Matt Johnson Microsoft Corporation ________________________________ From: tz-bounces@iana.org <tz-bounces@iana.org> on behalf of Paul Eggert <eggert@cs.ucla.edu> Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2017 12:47 PM To: ahmed.atyya@ntc.gov.sd; Time Zone Mailing List Cc: 'abdin'; 'yahia '; 'nadir'; 'abdelhafiz ' Subject: Re: [tz] [IANA #985615] Sudan Time Zone change A proposed tzdb patch is attached, and I've installed it into the tzdb repository on GitHub. Before releasing a new tzdb version, I would like to improve on the patch by citing a public announcement by Sudan's government or in a reliable news source.

----- Original Message ----- From: "yahia" <yahia@ntc.gov.sd> To: "Matt Johnson" <mj1856@hotmail.com>, "Paul Eggert" <eggert@cs.ucla.edu>, "ahmed atyya" <ahmed.atyya@ntc.gov.sd>, "Time Zone Mailing List" <tz@iana.org> Cc: "itisalat" <itisalat@ntc.gov.sd>, "abdin" <abdin@ntc.gov.sd>, "nadir" <nadir@ntc.gov.sd>, "abdelhafiz " <abdelhafiz@ntc.gov.sd> Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2017 8:37:09 AM Subject: RE: [tz] [IANA #985615] Sudan Time Zone change Dear Brothers This is dr. Yahia Abdalla, DG of National Telecommunication Cooperation, the telecommunication Regulator of Sudan This is to confirm the following: 1- the change of time (to be GMT +2 instead of GMT+3 ) is going to be permanently starting from 1st November 2017 2- The governmental decision has been taken already, and no way to delay it. 3- the change will be through the entire country. 4- we already contacted the telecommunication operators in Sudan to prepare for the change. hope these point answered your questions.... and we are ready to answer any more questions Thank you for your cooperation From: Matt Johnson [mailto:mj1856@hotmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2017 11:47 PM To: Paul Eggert; ahmed.atyya@ntc.gov.sd; Time Zone Mailing List Cc: 'abdin'; 'yahia '; 'nadir'; 'abdelhafiz ' Subject: Re: [tz] [IANA #985615] Sudan Time Zone change Dear Mr. Ahmed Atyya, Thank you for updating us all about this change. Respectfully, please understand that two weeks notice is very little time for this change to be processed. Even if we move quickly, it is likely that those in the affected region, and those who interact with Sudan worldwide, will not get the change installed onto their computers and devices before the change goes into effect. Can you please let us know if this change is already official and enacted - definitely to take effect on November 1, 2017 as you stated? Or is the effective date something the government is still working on? Is there an opportunity to request a delay? For more about the sorts of things that happen with short-notice time zone changes, please read this article on my personal blog: https://codeofmatt.com/2016/04/23/on-the-timing-of-time-zone-changes/ Regards, Matt Johnson Microsoft Corporation From: tz-bounces@iana.org < tz-bounces@iana.org > on behalf of Paul Eggert < eggert@cs.ucla.edu > Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2017 12:47 PM To: ahmed.atyya@ntc.gov.sd ; Time Zone Mailing List Cc: 'abdin'; 'yahia '; 'nadir'; 'abdelhafiz ' Subject: Re: [tz] [IANA #985615] Sudan Time Zone change A proposed tzdb patch is attached, and I've installed it into the tzdb repository on GitHub. Before releasing a new tzdb version, I would like to improve on the patch by citing a public announcement by Sudan's government or in a reliable news source.

Please find attached the decision in Arabic, the file contain: 1- the Government decision (the official decision) 2- letters send from the regulator to the operators to take action the change occur at the start of the 1st of November at (00:00) -----Original Message----- From: Paul Eggert [mailto:eggert@cs.ucla.edu] Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2017 10:04 AM To: yahia; 'Matt Johnson'; ahmed.atyya@ntc.gov.sd; 'Time Zone Mailing List' Cc: 'itisalat'; 'abdin'; 'nadir'; 'abdelhafiz ' Subject: Re: [tz] [IANA #985615] Sudan Time Zone change yahia wrote:

1- the change of time (to be GMT +2 instead of GMT+3 ) is going to be permanently starting from 1st November 2017

Thank you for letting us know. Will the change occur at midnight at the start of the day (00:00), or at some other time of day?

2- The governmental decision has been taken already, and no way to delay it.

Where can we find a record of this decision? I would like to cite it in our database's comments.

Dear Mr. Paul Eggert With respect to the topic, please be updated that the change was applied successfully, Apple handsets did the update automatically but Android handsets didn’t. We kindly request to communicate with Google in order to update Android OS with the changes for the handsets take the time automatically. We would appreciate your swift assistance as we wish to have smooth transfer to the new time zone. Regards, Ahmed Atyya ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Eggert" <eggert@cs.ucla.edu> To: "yahia" <yahia@ntc.gov.sd>, "Matt Johnson" <mj1856@hotmail.com>, "ahmed atyya" <ahmed.atyya@ntc.gov.sd>, "Time Zone Mailing List" <tz@iana.org> Cc: "itisalat" <itisalat@ntc.gov.sd>, "abdin" <abdin@ntc.gov.sd>, "nadir" <nadir@ntc.gov.sd>, "abdelhafiz " <abdelhafiz@ntc.gov.sd> Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2017 11:30:22 AM Subject: Re: [tz] [IANA #985615] Sudan Time Zone change yahia wrote:

Please find attached the decision in Arabic,

Thank you. Attached is a proposed update to tzdb that cites a copy of this decision. I plan to issue a tzdb release soon, in order to get this change propagated into cell phones and computers around the world. As Matt Johnson mentioned, two weeks is not enough notice for a change like this to propagate through tzdb and through hardware and software suppliers, and into production. Almost surely, most cell phones and computers in Sudan will not be updated before November 1, and will therefore be an hour off after November 1. As a temporary workaround to get the correct time after November 1, Sudanese users of non-updated devices can set their clocks to Mozambique time (TZ='Africa/Maputo' in tzdb), since Mozambique is also 2 hours ahead of Universal Time. If the government of Sudan plans to change the time zone again, it would be helpful to give us more notice. We suggest giving notice at least one year in advance. For more information, please see: https://www.iana.org/time-zones/repository/tz-link.html#changes

Dear Mr. Paul Eggert Greetings We would like to inform you that we have changed the time zone of Sudan since 1 November 2017 but we are still facing problem with Google and Microsoft. Can you help us to update them? Regards ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Eggert" <eggert@cs.ucla.edu> To: "ahmed atyya" <ahmed.atyya@ntc.gov.sd> Cc: "yahia" <yahia@ntc.gov.sd>, "Matt Johnson" <mj1856@hotmail.com>, "tz" <tz@iana.org>, "itisalat" <itisalat@ntc.gov.sd>, "abdin" <abdin@ntc.gov.sd>, "nadir" <nadir@ntc.gov.sd>, "abdelhafiz" <abdelhafiz@ntc.gov.sd> Sent: Wednesday, November 1, 2017 6:57:00 PM Subject: Re: [tz] [IANA #985615] Sudan Time Zone change On 11/01/2017 01:35 AM, ahmed.atyya@ntc.gov.sd wrote:

With respect to the topic, please be updated that the change was applied successfully, Apple handsets did the update automatically but Android handsets didn’t.

In what sense didn't they change? My Android phone's time zone menu has entries for Cairo, Harare, and Nairobi, but not for Khartoum. If it is a matter of the user's time zone settings, users need to change from (say) Nairobi time to Cairo time. On the other hand, if it is a matter of the time zone supplied from the cellular service company, then this is something for your local cell company to address.

We kindly request to communicate with Google in order to update Android OS with the changes for the handsets take the time automatically.

As I understand it, Google engineers monitor this mailing list and so already know about the time zone change. There is a gap between the time that Google releases software updates, and the time that phones actually change. For example, even though I have a Google Nexus 6P phone and live in the United States, my phone is well behind Google's release schedule: it upgraded over-the-air to Android 8.0 Oreo only last night, even though Oreo was released on August 21 *. Other manufacturers' Android phones are even slower to update. This underscores the importance of governments announcing time zone changes well in advance: we currently recommend one years' advance notice. When other countries have run into similar problems, they've had some luck by contacting the U.S. State Department and asking for its help in adjusting the priorities of commercial providers. I suggest that you contact the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission in Sudan and ask for his advice for how to proceed. See: https://sd.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/dcm/ https://sd.usembassy.gov/embassy/khartoum/offices-departments/public-affairs... From what you tell me, though, the problem is likely to involve the protocols used by your local cellular service providers (that is, the problem may not be in Android at all), so they'll need to be in contact with their suppliers too.

Thank you very much Mr. Paul We don't have another choice rather that do it manually for now. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Eggert" <eggert@cs.ucla.edu> To: "ahmed.atyya" <ahmed.atyya@tpra.gov.sd> Cc: "yahia" <yahia@ntc.gov.sd>, "Matt Johnson" <mj1856@hotmail.com>, "tz" <tz@iana.org>, "itisalat" <itisalat@ntc.gov.sd>, "abdin" <abdin@ntc.gov.sd>, "nadir" <nadir@ntc.gov.sd>, "abdelhafiz" <abdelhafiz@ntc.gov.sd> Sent: Monday, June 25, 2018 12:39:05 AM Subject: Re: [tz] [IANA #985615] Sudan Time Zone change ahmed tajelsir. atyya wrote:

We would like to inform you that we have changed the time zone of Sudan since 1 November 2017 but we are still facing problem with Google and Microsoft. Can you help us to update them?

As Matt Johnson noted, Microsoft fixed this on December 12, 2017, and computers that get regular updates for Microsoft Windows should be OK. I expect that users will be out of luck if their computer is running an unauthorized version of Microsoft Windows, or is running a version so old that Microsoft no longer supports it. The current rules for which versions are too old is summarized in <https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13853/windows-lifecycle-fact-sheet>. The situation with Google is more complicated, since Google typically distributes Android indirectly via OEMs like Samsung, Huawei, and Xiaomi. Since each OEM traditionally has treated their platforms the way Microsoft treats Microsoft Windows, each OEM needed to incorporate time zone changes and users need to update their phones' system software. This procedure was streamlined in Android 8.1 (see <https://source.android.com/devices/tech/config/timezone-rules>) so that OEMs can push updated time zone information without requiring a system update; however, most Android phones run releases older than 8.1 and so must go through the older, more-lengthy update process. There should be a simple workaround for computers or phones that are not updated properly: users can set their time zones to Cairo time.