April Letter from the Editor:

The Long Arm
of Telecommunications Law.

“Law is order, and good law is good order.”
~ Aristotle, Politics

There is no hiding from legal implications. The law pervades many areas of our lives, from tax obligations to speeding ordinances to passive surveillance on many major streets and in many public places. We generally tolerate any inconveniences presented by the law, knowing that these laws represent an important aspect of society, and generally protect more liberties than they deprive. We trust the laws because we trust the intentions of the lawmakers who crafted them. We expect, as Aristotle termed it, good law.

Like every other aspect of society, telecommunications is in no way exempt from legal implications. In fact, very often it is the OSS professionals who are on the front lines in assuring that laws are complied with and other laws enforced. Telecommunications has been in the spotlight even more lately as the wider media focuses on wiretapping, lawful intercept, and other aspects of call monitoring. How does the wider legal picture impact the OSS industry? How can OSS professionals help to ensure that this good law and good order are implemented and maintained effectively and unobtrusively?

This month, Pipeline takes a look at a few answers to these and other questions. We take a look at how CALEA, Sarbanes-Oxley and other laws impact the needs and choices of telecom providers and OSS professionals alike.