Two telecommunications industry groups filed a lawsuit Monday accusing the federal government of trying to stick companies and their customers with the lion's share of the tab for developing and installing a new digital wiretapping system.
The groups, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association and Personal Communications Industry Association, said in a suit filed in a Washington, DC, federal court that the FBI and the Department of Justice are asking for a system that is far more extensive and expensive than the one envisioned under the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act.
The suit contends that the FBI, in regulations issued last year, redefined what equipment costs would be covered by the government in a move to shift more of the burden to companies -- and ultimately to consumers. The bill set aside US$500 million in federal funds to pay for the project. The industry contends, and Attorney General Janet Reno has conceded publicly, that the system will cost much more than that.
Specifically at issue is who will pay for retrofitting equipment installed before 1995.
"The FBI's regulatory definition fails to acknowledge that Congress intended that carriers be reimbursed to retrofit all existing equipment, service, and features" at the time the law was enacted, the suit said.
Last month, the FBI and Justice Department acknowledged that the three-year effort to negotiate a digital wiretapping pact with the telecom industry had failed and asked the Federal Communications Commission to resolve the issue. The new surveillance system, required to be in place under the terms of the 1994 law by this October, is expected to be delayed at least a year.
