The New York Times, April 24, 1998, p. D2.

   Cellular Phone Groups to Sue Over Wiretapping Regulations

   By John Markoff

   Two cellular telephone industry groups plan to file a
   lawsuit today seeking to narrow the Government's
   interpretation of 1994 legislation intended to help law
   enforcement agencies listen in on the phone calls of
   suspected criminals.

   Industry executives and civil liberties advocates contend
   that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is asking for
   regulations under the 1994 law that would give the agency
   broad new wiretapping powers while forcing consumers to pay
   for expanded surveillance features through increased rates.

   The lawsuit, which industry executives said they would file
   in United States District Court in Washington comes a month
   after the Justice Department and the F.B.I. broke off
   negotiations with industry executives over wiretapping
   capabilities and over who will pay for extensive
   modifications the Government contends is necessary to fight
   crime in the digital era.

   Officials at the Justice Department and the F.B.I. have
   said that the development of a wide range of new features
   that have been added to telephones and the emergence of
   wireless networks have made their ability to conduct
   surveillance more difficult. The officials contend that
   they are only trying to maintain their current ability to
   wiretap suspected criminals with court authorization.

   The dispute stems from the Communications Assistance for
   Law Enforcement Act, which Congress passed in 1994 to
   preserve law enforcement's electronic surveillance
   capabilities. The law requires telephone carriers to insure
   that Government agencies would still be able to conduct
   surveillance over wireless phone systems despite the
   development of advanced communications technologies.

   Industry executives and law enforcement authorities were
   required to work out a set of guidelines under the law,
   which authorized $500 million for upgrading existing
   switching equipment.

   But industry executives and civil liberties advocates say
   these guidelines go beyond the scope of the law.

   "This can only be described as bait and switch from what
   the F.B.I. told Congress, consumers and the industry in
   1994," said Tom Wheeler, president of the Cellular
   Telecommunications Industry Association, a Washington-based
   trade group. The association is being joined in its suit by
   the Personal Communications Industry Association, which
   represents companies developing a variety of digital
   cellular telephone networks.

   The industry groups contend that because what the F.B.I. is
   asking for would cost far more than the $500 million
   allocated by Congress, the F.B.I. has redefined its
   definitions of what equipment should be covered to force
   the cellular phone industry to pay for many upgrades.

   The dispute centers on equipment installed before Jan. 1,
   1995, and whether it is should be modified at taxpayer or
   industry cost.

   "That $500 million isn't enough for what they want to do,
   so they have to play hide the pea," Mr. Wheeler said.

   F.B.I. officials said yesterday that they were merely
   trying to require industry to meet the letter of the law.

   "The law is very clear with regard to what was authorized
   for reimbursement and what was not," said Barry Smith, an
   F.B.I. spokesman.

   The dispute over wiretapping between the cellular telephone
   industry and the Government is also continuing on other
   fronts. Last month, the F.B.I. turned to the Federal
   Communications Commission in an effort to force industry to
   adopt a series of controversial regulations that would
   expand the agency's capabilities. The F.C.C. will likely
   rule on the dispute later this year.

   [End]