Background
The Telecommunications (Interception Capability) Act 2004 (TICA) requires Network Operators to ensure that Public Switched Telecommunications Networks and Public Data Networks have Interception Capability. This obligation became due for the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) infrastructure on 5 October 2005 and for the Public Data Network (PDN) on 5 April 2009.
The TICA is non-prescriptive in its approach to outlining how Network Operators shall deliver Interception Capability. As such, Network Operators are currently engaging with the relevant government agencies in order to agree the appropriate standards, processes and platforms required to meet the legislative requirements. However, as all Network Operators are primarily engaging in these discussions independently, there is little coordination or standardisation of solutions or processes across the industry. This creates significant risks:
- That the Network Operators may interpret the requirements of the TICA in different manners, and will therefore provide different levels of service to government agencies;
- That the government agencies may be required to liaise differently with each Network Operator, which may create confusion and delay in the appropriate method for engaging different operators for assistance;
- Without standardisation, government agencies may receive intercept related content and data from each individual Network Operator in a manner that is significantly different. This is likely to create issues for the government agencies in specifying their interface technologies and Network Operators interpreting and assuring the integrity of that data;
- That the individual government agencies may specify individual requirements in Interception Capabilty that are not consistent across all government agencies, which may require Network Operators to deliver to more requirements and incur greater costs than would otherwise be necessary; and
- That ultimately, individually developed “point solutions” are likely to result in an inefficient and counterproductive industry solution to the TICA and increase the risk of future regulatory intervention to streamline processes.
Interception Guidelines
A TCF working party was established in 2008 to develop a set of Interception guidelines which would streamline processes and reduce confusion by implementing an industry agreed solution. These guidelines will assist Network Operators and Service Providers in complying with the TICA in an efficient, timely and cost effective manner. These guidelines must be read in conjunction with the TICA - the TICA takes precedence over these guidelines.
Where there is any ambiguity between these guidelines and the TICA, Network Operators and Service Providers should consult their own independent legal advice and consult with the Surveillance Agencies through the Lawful Interception administrator (the “Administrator”).
The Interception guidelines were orginally endorsed by the TCF Board in June 2009 with a subsequent update to the guidelines being endorsed in August 2009.
Working Party
Due to the work being done on Interception by the Surveillance Agencies and other industry forums, the TCF Board agreed at the Board meeting on 12 February 2010 the Interception working party will be put on hold at this stage.