dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
view:
topics flat nest 
Comments on news posted 2013-06-14 09:35:07: An anonymous source insists to the Wall Street Journal that Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile do not "directly" help the NSA due to the potential issues raised by their foreign ownership ties. ..

meta
join:2004-12-27
00000

meta

Member

Participation is irrelevant

Because inter-carrier compensation is changing in the next 5 years, the old telco to telco cash exchange model is going away. The need to keep swapping calls on analog pstn connections is rapidly approaching its death.
Many customers are unaware, newer connections between phone providers are crossing the internet at one or more points. Even if the phone on either side is a traditional analog connection or wireless device, the tandem switching providers or inter exchange carriers in the middle between the mobile switching offices and end user telco are often converting the calls to IP, and then passing them between eachother over public IP trunking (the internet).

Guess who has passive optical splitters and communications intercept equipment on major fiber routes between internet exchanges? The NSA does not NEED carrier cooperation to get the content of every phone call. The collection of CDR's (metadata telcos use those call data records for billing, troubleshooting, etc) has sufficient information ABOUT the audio portion captured via another mechanism to corelate back in time should the need or desire arise. Way to find yet another way around those pesky due process procedures like specific warrants! I wish I were that creative, I could have been an evil lawyer for disney or something!

delusion ftl
@comcast.net

delusion ftl

Anon

T-Mobile

What it does sound like though is that a t-mobile to t-mobile call may not be watched/recorded without court orders.

tiger72
SexaT duorP
Premium Member
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO

tiger72

Premium Member

Unlikely. T-Mobile doesn't own/operate their own networks. Most T-Mobile traffic is passed through other networks - like Level3 - or over to the PSTN. Under both circumstances, you don't need T-Mobile's participation to listen in on T-Mobile customers. Simply get access to the upstream providers.
TBBroadband
join:2012-10-26
Fremont, OH

TBBroadband

Member

TMO may not own any dark fiber like ATT or VZ but they could operate on their own leased dark fiber. Something that TMO would not really disclose if they didn't need to.

morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000

morbo

Member

The likely reason this was mentioned by the Journal

The most likely reason this was mentioned by the journal is because the business implications:

1. T-Mobile wants out and will happily be acquired by another provider.

2. Verizon and Vodafone merger or acquisition or whatever that has been in discussion for a while.

The unmentioned goal is that we bring these communications companies in house to simplify and control the information. To do this, the government needs to allow actions like AT&T buying T-Mobile, despite the anti competitive environment it creates. The cover story is that it creates value, which AT&T's own lawyers accidentally made public.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

KrK

Premium Member

Irony: When the Patriotic thing to do is avoid US business

Isn't that interesting.... to do the right thing for the US Citizen, you need to avoid using US owned businesses and instead use foreign corporations.

Isn't reality grand.