Sender: Arun Mehta <•••@••.•••> The Economic Times of March 21, 1996, carries news that I find very disturbing under the front-page headline "Metro cellular operators told to instal tapping equipment" by Manoj Gairola: "DOT officials had recently called a meeting of all the cellular operators to discuss the modalities for providing sophisticated monitoring equipment." ... "DOT is alarmed. The extensive use of mobile telephony played an important role in Karachi violence. Last year, Pakistani authorities suspended all cellular and paging services as gunmen were using these facilities to coordinate terrorist attacks." .... "The government is also very careful in awarding frequency clearances for the cellular services. It proposed security clearance on case-to-case basis as a precondition for issue of wireless licences to prospective cellular operators. This has created apprehension among the cellular licence-holders as a security clearance on case-to-case basis is likely to delay the process of allocation of frequencies. The process of setting up the cellular infrastructure will, in turn, be delayed as the equipment cannot be ordered without knowing the specified frequencies that are allocated. And the tele-tapping rider will cost dear as any delay in providing services will result in huge losses for the companies due to a prolonged gestation period." _________ So, higher cost, and delay. What else is new? Does anyone have further info on what happened in Karachi? Apparently, phone tapping requires only a "special request" from the investigating agencies, I don't think that means a court order. Arun Mehta B-69, Lajpat Nagar-I, New Delhi-24, India. Phone +91-11-6841172 Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;... Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sands of dead habit;.. Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake! -- Rabindranath Tagore ~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~-~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~ Posted by Andrew Oram - •••@••.••• - Moderator: CYBER-RIGHTS (CPSR) Cyber-Rights: http://www.cpsr.org/cpsr/nii/cyber-rights/ ftp://www.cpsr.org/cpsr/nii/cyber-rights/Library/ CyberJournal: (WWW or FTP) --> ftp://ftp.iol.ie/users/rkmoore Materials may be reposted in their _entirety_ for non-commercial use. ~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~-~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~
