Capitol ideas: AT&T again looking to reform telecom laws

Example of residential network including VoIP
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Andrew Robinson – Telecommunications companies want to meet their obligation to provide basic phone service to all consumers by using high-tech, less costly solutions such as wireless or voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) service, said Mary Pat Regan, president of AT&T Kentucky.

Regan said AT&T Inc. has committed $14 billion during the next three years to bringing wireless to 99 percent of the company’s U.S. footprint.

But, she said, AT&T chairman Randall L. Stephenson has said the money will be allocated first to states that have modernized their telecommunication laws. more> http://tinyurl.com/azxkp28

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FBI: We need wiretap-ready Web sites – now

By Declan McCullagh – CNET learns the FBI is quietly pushing its plan to force surveillance backdoors on social networks, VoIP, and Web e-mail providers, and that the bureau is asking Internet companies not to oppose a law making those backdoors mandatory.

The FBI’s proposal would amend a 1994 law, called the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA, that currently applies only to telecommunications providers, not Web companies. The Federal Communications Commission extended CALEA in 2004 to apply to broadband networks. more> http://tinyurl.com/856ba6o

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• FBI renews push for ready-made Web wiretaps (zdnet.com)
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• FBI: We Need Wiretap-Ready Web Sites – Now (yro.slashdot.org)