Before Tuesday, the chief concern of broadband telephony providers was the possibility of facing a hodge-podge of state regulations.
The Federal Communications Commission took care of that yesterday, asserting
Washington’s jurisdiction over Voice over Internet Protocol
providers.
But other challenges remain, including technology to allow federal law enforcement agencies to tap calls. In August, the FCC ruled that VoIP should be subject to the traditional wiretap law, the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act ( CALEA).
Today, network gear maker UTStarcomand Internet
services and security specialist VeriSignannounced a joint effort in the space.
Under the pact, UTStarcom will recommend that its mSwitch IP telecom
softswitch customers use VeriSign’s NetDiscovery Service to ensure that they meet requirements of emerging wiretapping laws.
The two companies will make NetDiscovery interoperable with mSwitch in order to support service providers’ voice-over-IP and other voice-over-broadband (VoBB) deployments.
“UTStarcom is targeting to complete development at the end of this year and have the joint solution available in the first quarter of 2005,” Stephanie Gallagher, a spokeswoman on behalf of UTStarcom said.
VeriSign’s global present allows the offer to be extended to international customers. UTStarcom has deployed the mSwitch gear in a number of systems, including China Telecom, Yahoo BB and Vietnam Post and Telecommunication.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. A VeriSign spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.