America At War:
Inside the FBI: CALEA
With FBI's CIS Representatives
Thursday, Dec. 13, 2001; 1 p.m. EST
This week: Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act

In October 1994, Congress took action to protect public safety and national security by enacting the CALEA - a law that defines the obligations of telecommunications carriers to assist law enforcement in executing lawfully-authorized electronic surveillance as technology evolves.

This assistance is extremely important to public safety and anti-terrorism efforts. The CALEA Implementation Section (CIS) of the FBI works to preserve law enforcement's ability to conduct court-ordered electronic surveillance by working with other law enforcement agencies and the telecommunications industry in the implementation process.

Join CIS representatives on Thursday, Dec. 20 at 1 p.m. EST to discuss CALEA and its impact on telecommunications carriers.

NOTE: Per the FBI's request, please DO NOT use this forum to post crime leads or solicitations to investigate matters. If you have an emergency, please contact the nearest FBI office or, if outside the United States, contact the nearest Legal Attaché office.

A transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

CIS representatives: The CALEA Implementation Section (CIS) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) welcomes you to today's online chat discussing the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act. By way of background, CALEA was enacted in October 1994, to further define the obligations of telecommunications carriers to assist law enforcement in executing lawfully-authorized electronic surveillance in light of evolving technology.

CIS' mission is to preserve law enforcement's ability to conduct lawfully-authorized electronic surveillance. CIS does this by representing the interests of law enforcement agencies and working with the telecommunications industry and other government agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the implementation process.

Today, we intend to address questions regarding CALEA and its impact on telecommunications carriers. At this time, we welcome any questions.

Wayne, N.J.: Do I have to file a new flexible deployment template if a generic is not released by its scheduled date and switches are not compliant by the orginal template's date?

CIS representatives: Yes. As described in the FBI’s Flexible Deployment Assistance Guide a carrier is expected to update the FBI when any change occurs in its deployment schedule. The most convenient way for a carrier to modify its submission is to submit a revised template.

Washington, D.C.: Are any special provisions being made for small, rural carriers that may have very costly upgrades (or replacements) to their switches? How to they go about cost recovery? Where can they seek help in handling the administrative burden posed by CALEA?

CIS representatives: The law applies equally to all carriers regardless of whether or not the carrier is a small, rural carrier. A number of steps have been taken by FBI that have been beneficial towards small carriers. The Flexible Deployment Program and the Nationwide Right-To-Use Buyout Programs have both helped carriers to avoid unnecessary financial burdens.

Columbus, Ohio: What is the FBI's prefered method of connectivity for CDC and CCC data: Dial, T-1, ISDN, etc.?

CIS representatives: Connectivity for CDC and CCC data can vary from carrier to carrier and even on an equipment-specific basis. In many cases, connectivity is determined by the solution itself and not by law enforcement’s preference. In those instances where a carrier provides multiple options for law enforcement, the connectivity decision will be made by the law enforcement agency conducting the electronic surveillance.

Lubbock, Texas: When is the final deadline for all Carriers to be in total CALEA compliant and what is the penalty if the Carriers are not compliant?
Once the Carrier is totally compliant, then what is the testing procedures and who performs that task?

CIS representatives: There is no one single deadline for carriers to comply with CALEA. As you may know, the original CALEA deadline was 10/24/1998. Members of the telecommunications industry petitioned the FCC for an extension of that deadline. The FCC granted an industry wide extension and established 6/30/2000 as the deadline for all telecommunications carriers. Individual carriers were provided the opportunity to request further extensions of that date based on their individual needs. As of this date, the FCC has not granted any extension of the CALEA deadline beyond 6/30/2002. With respect to packet-mode communications, the FCC established the current compliance deadline to be 11/19/01. As in the case of 6/30/2000 individual carriers providing wireline local exchange, cellular, and broadband PCS may petition the FCC requesting an extension of the 11/19/01 deadline.

CALEA contains an enforcement provision under section 108 which takes effect only when a carrier can not satisfy an electronic surveillance request from law enforcement.

Any equipment and or software testing is left to the discretion of the carrier.

Haymarket, Va.: Can a flexible deployment template be rejected by the FCC even though the template has been supported by the FBI?

CIS representatives: Yes. The FCC uses the support provided by the FBI as one factor in its determination of a carrier’s petition for an extension of CALEA’s compliance date.

Estacada, Oregon: Will a FBI agent come to our Telephone office and assist in verifing that our CALEA software is working up to standards. I beleive, we also need an added box from the FBI to be fully compliant. We have a Nortel DMS-100, we are at Let00014, have all cables and software in place.

CIS representatives: The FBI does not expect to play an active role in an individual carrier’s testing of the solution made available to it by is equipment manufacturer.

Springfield, Va.: One of the big questions is "How do you define what an information service is, which does not fall under CALEA as opposed to communications?" Is it fair to say that information services are those services, readily available to the public, which are static in nature, such as retrieving a music file, or a posted document or web page, and that communications are typically, more private, between set parties and dynamic.

CIS representatives: This question has been posed by a number of our on-line participants. The CALEA Statute defines both “information services” and “telecommunications carriers” under the definitions part of the law. The FCC took further action to clarify the distinction between information services and telecommunications carriers. That determination can be found in the FCC’s Second Report and Order released on August 31, 1999.

Connecticut: Who besides law enforcemet can use electronic surveilience and who has to authorize such use?

CIS representatives: Intercept statutes allow authorized law enforcement agencies to conduct intercepts. There are federal and state statutes with varying requirements. Generally, it is illegal to conduct electronic surveillance in the absence of a court order. It is also commonly a crime to possess intercept equipment without authorization.

Bill, Minn.: Carrier gets a court order. How are costs for
the facility to the LEA recovered?

CIS representatives: Costs for delivery of an intercept to a law enforcement agency are borne by that agency.

Richardson, Texas: What is the status of the "punch list items," and when is a ruling expected?

CIS representatives: The FCC stated in its Order released September 21, 2001 that they anticipate addressing the court’s remand decision by year end.

Chicago, Ill.: Does CALEA address cellular location tracking?

CIS representatives: The industry’s technical standard (J-STD-025) allows for the provision of location information under certain circumstances.

Philomath, Ore.: CALEA is to supposedly secure law enforcement's ability to do surveilence but not change the law authorizing surveilence so why have CALEA, what has changed that necessitates CALEA?

CIS representatives: CALEA deals with access not authority. It resulted from technical changes to the telecommunications infrastructure that impeded traditional access. Statutes dealing with authority were unchanged by CALEA.

Norfolk, Va.: You stated: "With respect to packet-mode communications, the FCC established the current compliance deadline to be 11/19/01. As in the case of 6/30/2000 individual carriers providing wireline local exchange, cellular, and broadband PCS may petition the FCC requesting an extension of the 11/19/01 deadline." Does that mean that other wireless services that provide packet-mode communications aren't covered by CALEA or don't have a deadline?

CIS representatives: All telecommunications carriers are subject to the 6/30/00 deadline and/or the 11/19/01 deadline.

Chicago, Ill.: Besides cellular phones, what other types of wireless technologies does the FBI intend to perform surveillance on?

CIS representatives: Law enforcement needs to have the ability to perform lawfully authorized electronic surveillance on all telecommunications services.

Albany, N.Y.: According to the askcalea Web site, the reimbursement fund has $102M available. What is the plan for the remaining balance?

CIS representatives: Available funding is expected to be used primarily for costs associated with deploying solutions on switching equipment installed or deployed on or before 1/1/1995.

CIS representatives: Thank you for your interest in CALEA, the CALEA Implementation Section, and the topic of lawfully-authorized electronic surveillance. We appreciate all the submitted questions and would like to thank washingtonpost.com for providing this forum.

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