<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2716.2200" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=rhisiart@earthlink.net href="mailto:rhisiart@earthlink.net">R</A> </DIV> <DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=weasel@yahoogroups.com href="mailto:weasel@yahoogroups.com">Weasel</A> </DIV> <DIV><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, June 13, 2002 1:37 PM</DIV> <DIV><B>Subject:</B> Fw: Consumers Face Wiretapping Fees</DIV></DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080> <DIV class=blueCBold18lh20><STRONG>Consumers Face Wiretapping Fees</STRONG></DIV> <DIV class=black3> </DIV> <DIV class=blackBold15lh17>FBI demand for new surveillance functions forces telecos to upgrade equipment, forego new customer services.</DIV> <P> <DIV class=blackBold11>Anne Ju, Medill News Service</DIV> <DIV class=black10>Tuesday, June 11, 2002</DIV> <DIV class=black10><A href="http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,101837,tk,cx061202a,00.asp">http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,101837,tk,cx061202a,00.asp</A></DIV> <P> <P class=black13lh15>WASHINGTON -- Phone and Internet consumers could be cheated out of next-generation services and hit with higher rates as telephone companies scramble to make their lines wiretap-friendly for the FBI by the end of the month. </P> <P class=black13lh15>Under a 1994 law, the Federal Communications Commission requires carriers--including wireless services--to bring their voice-surveillance capabilities up to scratch with FBI rules. The clock is ticking for the telcos, which have until June 30 to upgrade their switches to give the FBI access to extract dialed numbers and conversations. </P> <P class=black13lh15>Despite the half billion dollars Congress set aside to offset costs, many telecom companies say obeying the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act--CALEA--is still an expensive endeavor, one that might harm consumer confidence and cause rate hikes. </P> <P class=black13lh15>"To the extent that the federal government doesn't pay for the upgrades, it will probably come down on consumers," says Mark Uncapher, vice president and counsel of the Internet Commerce and Communications Division of Information Technology Association of America, a telecommunications industry association. </P> <P class=black13lh15>Money isn't the only concern. Consumer advocacy and privacy groups fear abuse <A href="http://www.pcworld.com/features/article/0,aid,68769,00.asp">with surveillance</A>of digital communications, which lack some of the safeguards of older analog methods. Both those privacy concerns and the money matters are likely to affect many consumers in ways they do not yet realize. </P> <P class=black13lh15></P> <DIV class=blackBold15lh17>Small Services Hit Hard</DIV> <P class=black13lh15>Small phone companies say upgrade costs are affecting their business. In fact, many won't meet the June 30 deadline because wrangling with switch vendors and buying and installing software is a drawn-out process. </P> <P class=black13lh15>Wheat State Telephone, a Kansas-based phone and Internet service provider, has about 2500 local subscribers who may have to wait another two years before enjoying video over the network, according to general manager Archie Macias. </P> <P class=black13lh15>"We were looking at getting into video, providing movies, cable, and entertainment content," Macias says. But CALEA costs have set them back "one or two years," he says. </P> <P class=black13lh15>Updating Wheat State's switches cost about $50,000 per switch. Macias says it's especially frustrating because the FBI has never ordered an interception of the company's phone lines. </P> <P class=black13lh15>"We had to upgrade and expend this money for a function that probably won't be used," Macias says. "When we normally spend money for switch upgrades, we look at revenue streams it might generate, like optional calling features. This doesn't provide us any of that." The cost of these CALEA-mandated upgrades may eventually fall to consumers, he adds. </P> <P class=black13lh15>Consumers may be the biggest losers in the CALEA crossfire, agrees Rick Stevens, assistant general manager at Central Montana Communications. </P> <P class=black13lh15>"Ultimately, the end users will pay for it if we can't recover the costs," Stevens says. "I can't say it's been exorbitant, but it has certainly been expensive." </P> <P class=black13lh15>Independent telco Central Oklahoma Telephone is also juggling its budget to appease the FBI. Like Wheat State in Kansas, it must delay upgrades for other scheduled services, says Steve Guest, manager. </P> <P class=black13lh15>Central Oaklahoma Telephone has spent about $70,000 per switch so far, which is roughly a third of the original installation cost, Guest says. He called the costs a "setback" but does not think consumers will see a rate increase. </P> <P class=black13lh15></P> <DIV class=blackBold15lh17>[continued]</DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>