WASHINGTON-The FBI, fearful that national security will be compromised unless it can overcome legal and technical obstacles in conducting global phone wiretaps, is scrutinizing mobile satellite operators.
The latest wiretap flare-up comes on the heels of new revelations-and criticism by privacy advocates-of massive electronic eavesdropping systems developed by U.S. national security and intelligence experts. The systems are either already in place or on the drawing board.
The problem is terrestrial gateways of some global satellite systems are not located in the continental United States. These gateways offer law enforcement the best opportunity to execute court-ordered wiretaps on mobile satellite systems. But U.S. court orders are largely meaningless outside the United States.
Another legal complication is that it is not always clear whether a subject of a mobile satellite wiretap is calling from the United States or from another country.
Negotiations have been ongoing for months among FBI, Federal Communications Commission and MSS officials.
The FBI declined to comment publicly on the matter.
“The FBI has raised this issue. We’re cooperating with them,” said Mac Jeffery, a spokesman for Globalstar L.P., a unit of Loral. “We’re working it out. We will find a solution.”
The problem is that Globalstar has gateways in Ontario and Alberta, Canada, which effectively preclude U.S. law enforcement from eavesdropping at those two locales. One possibility is that Globalstar’s Canadian gateways could be linked by fiber, cable or wire to the United States, where wiretaps could be accomplished.
Jeffery said the wiretap issue is not expected to delay the launch of commercial satellite phone service later this year.
TMI Communications faces an even bigger problem. The Canadian mobile satellite firm filed an application with the FCC in March 1998 to offer service in the United States. It has yet to receive a license, in part because of the wiretap issue.
“We’ve met with the FBI on a number of occasions and we have offered a solution that meets their requirements. We are confident the FCC will approve our application so we can offer service in the U.S.,” said Fraser Claridge, TMI’s director of product development.
For the FCC, it is a tough balancing act.
“I think the commission is looking to ensure that national security concerns of the country are addressed, while recognizing the importance of acting on applications in a timely manner,” said Thomas Tycz, chief of the satellite and radicommunication division of the FCC’s International Bureau.
Meanwhile, federal regulators are nearing a decision on technical rules to implement the 1994 digital wiretap law while industry lobbies Congress to extend the Jan. 1, 1995, cut-off date for compensating telecom carriers that make digital wiretap upgrades.
The industry also wants the FCC to extend the June 30, 2000, digital wiretap compliance date. A ruling is expected by Sept. 1.
Last week, carriers got help on that front from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).
“Even if the final CALEA (Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act) technical standard and process for determining CALEA compliance were finalized soon, realistically, at this late date, it may be impossible to upgrade all switches by June 30, 2000,” said Hatch in a letter to FCC Chairman William Kennard last Thursday.
Hatch and other Senate members made the same point with Attorney General Janet Reno.
In other CALEA action, the industry has asked for another stay in its lawsuit against the Department of Justice and the FBI. This is the third time the industry has asked the court to put the case on hold while the FBI negotiates with manufacturers on a CALEA network solution.
