Re: Sat phone permit "wire"taps

[johnl@radix.net (John A. Limpert)]

>  "Officials said government police authorities have expressed concern
>that satellite telephone systems may enable people to conduct
>conversations that are out of the earshot of government investigators. 
>This would be particularly true in an area where, for example, there
>were no gateway through which government investigators could tap into
>calls. 

Is there a technical reason why communications through these future
satellite systems couldn't be encrypted? I thought that all of these
systems were based on vocoders and digital transmission, just like
a secure telephone.

If the future telecommunications infrastructure is digital end to
end, the carriers are going to be transporting streams of bits
at some predetermined rate, not analog voice. Whether the bits are
mu law encoded audio or PGP encrypted pictures of Senator Exon and
his favorite gerbil should be irrelevant to the network.

I wouldn't conduct a sensitive conversation over a wireless or
cellular phone system. Why would the prospective customers of
a satellite based system be satisfied with a system that allows
anyone with the proper equipment to secretly monitor their
conversations? I assume the market for this type of system is
going to be lawyers, business executives and others who are
willing to pay the high rates. Just the sort of people who should
be concerned about the confidentiality of their conversations.

--
John A. Limpert
johnl@Radix.Net