Judge to VoIP carriers: heed CALEA

A federal judge has sided with the FCC, ruling that VoIP carriers had to comply with a law that lets the federal government tap digital phones. The law, known as CALEA, was passed just as VoIP and mobile telephony were becoming popular and there was some question about whether they were covered. CALEA specifically exempts information services, but the FCC ruled--and the judge agreed--that what really counts is how the network is being used. If it's being used for telephony, the judge said, then a network is subject to CALEA.

For more information about the CALEA ruling:
- read this article in RCR News.