WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission this week plans to begin reviewing comments on what technical capabilities are necessary to implement the digital wiretap act.
The comments are expected to better focus the FCC’s attention on cost, said Steven Berry, senior vice president for congressional affairs for the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. “Some carriers say it could cost as much as $500,000 per switch to deploy the [industry interim] standard and the punch-list items.”
The punch-list refers to nine technical capabilities law enforcement says are necessary to implement the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and that the telecommunications industry and privacy advocates claim go beyond the scope of CALEA. In a further notice of proposed rule making, the FCC tentatively agreed with law enforcement on five of the items. It rejected three others and did not comment on the ninth item.
CTIA, along with the Personal Communications Industry Association, the United States Telephone Association and the Telecommunications Industry Association, last week sent a letter to Attorney General Janet Reno urging the Department of Justice and the FBI to justify the more than $2 billion Reno and FBI Director Louis Freeh said it would cost government if Congress extended the grandfather date.
“Given that DOJ has been able to provide Congress with cost data and has arrived at a $2 billion grandfather date change cost, we expect that DOJ will share its information with industry and the [FCC] as part of its comments … Industry is at a great disadvantage in these proceedings because no one entity, other than DOJ, has had the benefit of all cost information,” the letter said.
The government is required to reimburse telecom carriers for CALEA-related upgrades to equipment in place before Jan. 1, 1995. Any equipment in place that has not been significantly upgraded and that the government chooses not to pay to be upgraded would be considered in compliance. Equipment upgrades made after the Jan. 1, 1995, date are not grandfathered in the law, and telecom operators must pay to bring their networks into compliance.
Personal communications services carriers have argued this date needs to be extended because they did not exist in early 1995. Without a technical standard, these carriers argue, it is impossible to put in place CALEA-compliant equipment. The FBI contends carriers should have built out their systems to the FBI’s view of the functional requirements.
The telecommunications industry came close in October to getting Congress to extend this date but was thwarted when Reno stated it could cost government “in excess of $2 billion” if the grandfather date were extended.
