UTStarcom and VeriSign to Offer CALEA to VoIP Providers

UTStarcom and VeriSign announced a joint marketing agreement through which UTStarcom will refer its mSwitch IP telecom softswitch platform customers -- those who need assistance in compliance with the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) -- to the VeriSign NetDiscovery Service. The two companies have made NetDiscovery interoperable with mSwitch in order to support service providers' VoIP and other voice-over-broadband (VoBB) deployments.



UTStarcom's mSwitch platform supports traditional PSTN and softswitch protocols. VeriSign's NetDiscovery Service is a lawful-assistance and CALEA-compliance service that handles provisioning, access, delivery, and collection of call information for service providers and network operators, to facilitate directives from Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). Until recently, CALEA applied only to PSTN switches. Recently, the FCC published a proposed rulemaking regarding the applicability of IP voice services to CALEA, which is expected to take effect early next year.
CALEA requires carriers to assist LEAs in lawfully authorized interception and subpoena requests for subscriber records. To comply, carriers often have to purchase dedicated hardware, invest heavily in training, and maintain connectivity with a variety of LEAs. The VeriSign NetDiscovery Service streamlines CALEA compliance requirements by maintaining all LEA connections, and it eliminates the need for UTStarcom's mSwitch users to purchase additional equipment. http://www.verisign.comhttp://www.utstar.com