news.com. Globalstar close to pact with FBI over wiretaps
(via G* yahoo thread)
By John Borland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
September 13, 1999, 4:15 p.m. PT
A satellite phone firm is close to an agreement with federal law enforcement
officials who had threatened to delay its service if the FBI couldn't wiretap phone
conversations, company officials say.
Officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation have been concerned that Globalstar and
other satellite phone companies could undermine their ability to listen in on suspected
criminals' telephone calls by sending the transmissions across national borders--and
outside U.S. jurisdiction.
The issue had threatened to hold up Globalstar's long-awaited launch date, scheduled for
later this month. FBI officials had even raised the possibility that the company would have
to move several of its expensive land-based transmission stations from Canada into the
United States--an option that would have dramatically raised costs and delayed service for
the fledgling firm.
The FBI's scrutiny of the satellite phone business has
proved rocky for the struggling industry. Few providers can
afford to restructure their network to satisfy law enforcement
concerns, and many in the industry are watching Globalstar
to see if a cheap technical solution to federal demands can
be found.
After several months of negotiations with U.S. and Canadian
officials, the company may have found a way to deal with
the law as well as stay financially afloat. In a recent
meeting, FBI officials and Globalstar executives agreed to
pursue a technological fix that appears likely to satisfy the
FBI's needs to tap into the satellite calls, company officials
now say.
"We have tentatively agreed on a technical solution," said
Andy Radlow, a spokesman for Vodafone AirTouch, the
company that is managing Globalstar's North American operations. "We don't get any
indication that they intend to hold us up."
An FBI spokesman confirmed that the agency is in discussions with satellite phone
providers, but declined to comment specifically on negotiations with Globalstar.
Aside from federal concerns, Globalstar is just the latest player to enter an industry that
has seen two of its early pioneers fall by the wayside. The firm's largest competitor,
Iridium, has already filed for bankruptcy protection and is undergoing a company
reorganization. Another smaller competitor has also filed for bankruptcy protection.
Not quite a borderless world
Globalstar is run by a coalition of companies including Loral Space and Communications,
Vodafone AirTouch, and Qualcomm, among others. With satellites already in orbit around
earth, the company has said it plans to begin offering telephone service by the end of
September. By the time its $3.9 billion satellite system is complete, the company will be
able to serve customers almost anywhere on Earth.
But before it can begin serving customers in the United States, it needs to win approval
from the Federal Communications Commission--and that's where the trouble starts.
The FCC has already held up a license for at least one smaller Canadian satellite phone
company based on concerns that the FBI would not be able to tap and trace telephone
calls made over the system. FCC officials say they have wanted to allow negotiations
between the phone companies and the FBI to proceed before acting on the license
requests.
In Globalstar's case, two of the four ground stations--places where equipment sends calls
to and from the satellite network--serving the United States will be located across the
border in Canada.
This has worried FBI officials, who don't want to have to seek approval from foreign
governments when tapping telephones. Seeking permission from Canadian officials to
conduct surveillance of U.S. suspects--a likely outcome if the FBI had to physically put
taps in Globalstar's Canadian stations--would be a serious breach of national security,
officials say.
The fix that Globalstar and the FBI are reportedly discussing would allow law enforcement
officials a way to tap into the satellite system without having to cross the U.S. border. The
technical details are still being finalized, but Qualcomm--the company that provides the
land station and handset equipment to Globalstar--has assured the Justice Department
that the fix will satisfy their concerns, Radlow said.
"We feel we're going to continue to have a good relationship on the federal and local level
with law-enforcement," Radlow said. Once the FBI has officially signed off, Globalstar can
go to the FCC for its license without much fear of delay.
The company is running up against its own stated deadline to begin rolling out
service this month, however. But the North American version of the service still
plans a "soft launch" this November and appears likely to make this deadline
despite the wiretap concerns.
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