Report No. WT 98-33     WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACTION 
September 11, 1998
                                
               FCC ADOPTS EXTENSION OF CALEA COMPLIANCE DATE

     The Commission has adopted a Memorandum Opinion & Order (Order) extending
the compliance date for meeting the assistance capability requirements of the
Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA or the Act).  This extension
is necessary because compliance with the original date of October 25, 1998 is not reasonably
achievable for telecommunications carriers due to the lack of equipment for meeting the
requirements.  Pursuant to its authority under section 107 (c)(3) of the Act, the Commission
has extended the compliance date until June 30, 2000. 

     CALEA, enacted by Congress in 1994, was designed to enable law enforcement
personnel to continue to conduct electronic surveillance efficiently and effectively in the
wake of rapid advances in telecommunications technology.  CALEA requires
telecommunications carriers to ensure that their equipment, facilities, and services will meet
the assistance capability requirements that are specified in section 103 of the Act.

     On March 30, 1998,  AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., Lucent Technologies, Inc. and
Ericsson, Inc. jointly filed a petition for extension of CALEA's compliance date, arguing that
technology that would allow carriers to comply with CALEA will not be available by the
deadline.  On April 20, 1998, the Commission placed the Petition on Public Notice.  The
Commission has also received numerous additional petitions for extension seeking similar
relief from CALEA's compliance deadline.  

     The record before the Commission indicates that no manufacturer will have
equipment available in time to allow carriers to comply with the assistance capability
requirements of section 103 by the October 25, 1998 deadline.  Thus, in the interest of
conserving administrative resources, and in an effort to ensure that the objectives and
requirements of CALEA are met in a timely manner, the Commission has decided to grant
an industry-wide extension for all telecommunications carriers subject to the requirements of
section 103.

     The Commission believes that an industry-wide extension until June 30, 2000 is
necessary for carriers to comply with that requirement of section 103.  This conclusion is
based primarily upon all parties general agreement that it should take manufacturers
approximately two years from the date technical requirements are standardized to develop
and begin deploying technology capable of complying with that standard.  The industry
interim standard, the J-STD-025 standard, was adopted in December 1997.  The
Commission also 



believes after manufacturers produce CALEA-compliant equipment, carriers will require an
additional period of time to purchase, test and install such equipment and facilities
throughout their networks.  Based on the record in this proceeding, the Commission
concludes that six months will provide carriers with sufficient time to accomplish these tasks. 
Therefore, an industry-wide extension until June 30, 2000 is necessary to give carriers
sufficient time to install CALEA compliant equipment based on the core J-STD-025
standard, which is the industry's interim standard, excluding the provision of location
information and technical requirements related to packet-switched communications. 

     As a result of a disagreement among the various parties over the scope of the
CALEA capability requirements, and in response to petitions for rulemaking, the
Commission will soon initiate a rulemaking proceeding under section 107(b) of CALEA to
consider modifications to the core J-STD-025 standard that may be necessary to comply
with the requirements of section 103.  If this standard is ultimately modified and new
CALEA capabilities or functions are added to the core J-STD-025 standard, we will
consider establishing a separate deadline for upgrading carrier equipment and facilities to
provide those additional capabilities or functions in that proceeding.

     Action by the Commission, September 10, 1998, by Memorandum Opinion and
Order (FCC 98-223).  Chairman Kennard, Commissioners Ness, Powell and Tristani with
Commissioner Furchtgott-Roth concurring and Commissioners Ness and Powell issuing a
joint statement and Commissioner  Furchtgott-Roth issuing a separate statement.
.
                             -FCC-

     News Media contact:  Meribeth McCarrick at 202-418-0654
     Wireless Telecommunications Bureau contact:  Steve Weingarten at (202) 418-0620