Subject: [NEXTEL-1] LAW ENFORCEMENT CALEA PETITION POSES DIFFICULT ISSUES, FCC OFFICIALS SAY ATLANTA

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 07:29:23 -0500

LAW ENFORCEMENT CALEA PETITION POSES DIFFICULT ISSUES, FCC OFFICIALS SAY
ATLANTA

- A law enforcement petition filed earlier this month asking the FCC to
resolve issues related to how the Communications Assistance for Law
Enforcement Act (CALEA) should apply to Internet protocol and broadband
networks presents some difficult issues for the agency and has
implications for the wireless industry, FCC officials said today.

"Part of the challenge here is we're dealing with a law that's 10 years
old," Julius Knapp, deputy chief of the Office of Engineering and
Technology, said during a regulatory panel discussion at the Cellular
Telecommunications & Internet Association's show here. "I think we've
got some tough issues that have been laid out in the petition." The
Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration filed the petition seeking a rulemaking.
Mr. Knapp noted that the FCC is seeking comments on the petition and
said the Commission plans to hold a workshop on CALEA, probably in May.

The challenge will be to "find out where the right balance is" to
accommodate the concerns of law enforcement agencies while allowing new
services to prosper, he said. The FCC officials stressed Chairman
Michael K. Powell's belief that the agency should take a light
regulatory touch regarding voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services,
focusing mainly on public interest obligations related to CALEA,
enhanced "911" (E911) services, access to services for the disabled, and
universal service. Bryan Tramont, the FCC's chief of staff, said the FCC
must decide how to apply these obligations to new services while making
sure it "doesn't overreach" and expand mandates on networks simply
because of their technological abilities. William Maher, chief of the
Wireline Competition Bureau, said the law enforcement petition presents
a chance for the public and industry to weigh in on key CALEA issues.

Mr. Knapp said industry has done considerable work to update technical
standards related to CALEA. "We're not starting with a blank slate," he
added. Regarding efforts on Capitol Hill to rewrite the 1996 Telecommu-
nications Act, K. Dane Snowden, chief of the Consumer & Gov- ernmental
Affairs Bureau, noted that federal preemption of state wireless
regulation, as well as access to services by the disabled "will be hotly
debated."

Steve Largent, CTIA's president and chief executive officer, said
recently that federal preemption would be on the industry's wish list
when the Act is rewritten. Mr. Tramont, however, cautioned industry
lobbyists that there are "certain risks" to their companies of federal
preemption, including the FCC being responsible for matters now handled
at the state and local level, such as the approval of tower sitings.
"There are some tradeoffs there," he said. Mr. Maher said his bureau
would like to get a proposal for reforming the agency's intercarrier
compensation rules from the industry Intercarrier Compensation Forum by
the end of April. If it doesn't, the staff will make recommendations to
Commissioners on what actions they should take in the proceeding, he
said. Regarding local number portability (LNP), Mr. Snowden said it is
up to the FCC and carriers to "get prepared to make sure that consumers
know what's going on" with the May 24 compliance deadline for carriers
outside the top 100 markets. He acknowledged, however, that state
regulators are considering scores of petitions from rural local exchange
carriers seeking extensions of the deadline.

Mr. Maher pointed out that state regulators have lobbied for LNP and
said he hoped they wouldn't do anything to postpone its implementation.
Messrs. Tramont and Snowden both advised industry representatives to be
more aggressive in proposing self-regulatory solutions to issues before
the FCC begins considering mandates. "You just can't wait too long," Mr.
Tramont said, citing rules the agency adopted mandating that some
digital wireless phones be compatible with hearing aids. "Come early and
productively and substantially to solve the problem."- Paul Kirby,
[email-masked]

http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2004/td032204/index.htm

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