Tapping cellphones for National Security

[Bill Stewart]

Total Telecom is a free (registration-probably-required) news-clipping
service covering telecom issues.  This lovely article is about the
FBI's current hypocritical pretenses of protecting "national security"
and "privacy" by increasing their wiretapping abilities,
using laws that were written to prevent hostile foreign domination of
(ok, and competition with US firms for) critical national infrastructure.
(Mind you, I think the laws are bogus, but the FBI is increasing
the bogon density around them considerably.)

http://www.totaltele.com/view.asp?ArticleID=35057&pub=tt&categoryid=0

U.S. works out security issues with VoiceStream & DT 
By Jeremy Pelofsky, Reuters
20 December 2000
			  
U.S. law enforcement authorities are working to address national security
concerns
about acquisitions of VoiceStream Wireless Corp. and Powertel Inc. by Deutsche
Telekom AG , which is partially owned by the German government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the companies filed a joint petition 
made available on Tuesday asking the Federal Communications Commission,
which has to determine whether the combinations are in the public interest,
to hold off ruling until the parties reach an agreement.

VoiceStream , based in Bellevue, Wash., agreed to be acquired by the German
telecommunications giant earlier this year in a $34 billion deal. 
VoiceStream also agreed to acquire Powertel for about $6 billion in August.

Law enforcement agencies "have concerns that the merger could, absent an
appropriate agreement, impair the ability of authorized governmental agencies
in the U.S. to satisfy their obligations to preserve the national security,
enforce the laws and protect the public," according to the petition.

Germany's 44 percent stake in DT, which the government has pledged to divest,
has raised concerns among some in the U.S. Congress about the impact the
German
government backing could have on competition and U.S. national security.

The agencies are seeking assurances of the ability to conduct
lawfully-authorized electronic surveillance of domestic calls and
those that begin or end in the United States, the petition said,
a copy of which was filed with the FCC.

The FBI and U.S. Justice Department also said they are seeking to prevent
as well as detect foreign-based or other illegal surveillance that could
risk U.S. security and the privacy of the nation's telecommunications system.

"The parties are currently and in good faith working diligently working
toward such an agreement," the filing said.

A VoiceStream spokeswoman declined to comment on the petition.

The company in the past said it expected to have to address concerns raised by
U.S. law enforcement authorities but did not anticipate any problems
reaching an
agreement.

The merged company would represent a "substantial U.S. wireless service
provider"
offering near nationwide personal communications service (PCS) coverage as
well
as in Europe using the global system for mobile communications standard (GSM),
according to the petition.

Sen. Ernest Hollings, a South Carolina Democrat, has urged the FCC to block
the
VoiceStream-DT deal because he says U.S. law prohibits a telecommunications
company that is more than 25 percent owned by a foreign government from
acquiring U.S. firms.

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				Thanks! 
					Bill
Bill Stewart, bill.stewart at pobox.com
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