As noted in my last entry, I attended ISS World this week in Washington D.C. The usual suspects (pun intended) were there: law enforcement (FBI, state/county police, FCC, DOJ), vendors and carriers. In addition to U.S. attendees, representatives from over 30 different countries (mostly law enforcement) were also there.

For those that had been there before it didn't hold much new information but I continued to be amazed by those that were new to the conference and how informative they found it to be. I guess once you have been embedded in something for so long you forget how much information there is on the subject and how much of a specialty it is.

I think the two things that stood out for me were the number of "probe" vendors exhibiting and the strong stance the FCC is taking with regard to compliance by May 14 2007 (see earlier post "Current CALEA Deadline".

There have always been probe vendors and LI solutions that utilize probes but to date they have played a fairly minor role in most LI solutions. With new requirements on broadband and VoIP providers to become compliant, many IP companies that have packet analysis capabilities have started positioning themselves as LI providers even though they have never deployed an LI solution. While these capabilities will become important in the ensuing deployments, a comprehensive solution incorporating these capabilities into established and well known solutions will be the best approach, ensuring that both carriers and law enforcement are comfortable with the solution.

With regard to the FCC's stance, in several conference sessions they, along with the FBI and DEA, made it quite clear that they are expecting full compliance and no extensions to the deadline. After repeated delays, exemptions and extensions the first time in the '90s, they don't want anything to drag out this implementation.

Feel free to sends comments or questions on ISS World or anything LI related and I'll take a crack at responding. Till next time