September 10, 1998

Re:	Petition for the Extension of the Compliance Date under Section 107 of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act by AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., Lucent Technologies, and Ericsson, Inc.

I concur in today's decision to extend the CALEA compliance deadline. Clearly we needed to grant such an extension pursuant to our authority under Section 107(c)(3). I would personally have preferred for us to grant the maximum allowable 24 months. I concur with the 22 month extension, however, because it allows nearly as much time for compliance as I would have preferred. I do not believe, however, that we can predict with such great precision when compliance will be possible.

Perhaps our decision to grant a 22 month extension can be read as a signal to industry that we do not plan to grant a series of maximum length 24 month extensions and that we take seriously our responsibilities under CALEA. This much is true. But I don't believe in simply "sending signals" and, if any signal needed to be sent, it should have been to those parties who simultaneously demand haste and create uncertainty by seeking rapid implementation of technology that is based on a standard they still are seeking to modify.