Narus and Pen-Link, which both provide software and systems for the collection, storage and analysis of call data and content, have reportedly teamed up to provide a lawful intercept solution that is fully compliant with the CALEA T1.678 VoIP standard in the United States, as well as the European ETSI TS 102 232/233/234 standards for Internet access and e-mail.

News of the partnership was announced June 13 - just days after the FCC (News - Alert) upheld a ruling that CALEA must be applied to all IP communications, including VoIP, for law enforcement purposes. VoIP service providers have until May of 2007 to comply with the FCC ruling - and, as per a separate action recently taken by the FCC, have until Aug. 1, 2006, to have the appropriate wiretapping equipment installed on their networks.

The agreement between the companies means they will work together to market the NarusInsight Intercept Suite (NIS) software in conjunction with Pen-Link’s LINCOLN 2 intercept collection and reporting solution. By combining the two solutions, the companies claim they have developed a single, turn-key solution which can be used by a wide variety of operators delivering services over a range of network architectures. The tested, combined solution is said to ensure “seamless integration and easy implementation for carriers - paramount as they strive to meet their respective government’s regulatory requirements.”

“Pen-Link’s relationship with Narus marks both companies’ continued dedication to providing the most comprehensive solution available for lawful intercept compliance,” said Mike Murman, CEO of Pen-Link, in a press release. “We are keenly aware of the difficulties surrounding the implementation of lawful intercept components that do not properly adhere to regulatory standards. Both Pen-Link and Narus have tremendous experience with LEAs and standards bodies around the world. We’ve leveraged that wealth of experience to deliver the industry’s most comprehensive end-to-end LI solution.”

Narus claims NarusInsight “is the only carrier-class IP traffic processing system that provides the complete, real-time network visibility essential to secure, manage and deliver Services over IP (SoIP).” The software, which serves as the foundation for many IP security, intercept and traffic classification applications, “is unique in its ability to simultaneously provide deep packet inspection from layer 3 to layer 7 and complete correlation across every link and element on the network.” The software can be deployed on the edge, on the network backbone, or both, and provides “additional application functionality that can turn the ‘sunk cost’ of LI into support for revenue-generating applications, such as IP security and traffic classification.”

Pen-Link’s LINCOLN 2 consists of a “collection server” that manages and distributes call content (CDC/HI2) and call data (CCC/HI3). According to the company’s website, the software “was developed in the mid-1990s to function as the front-end, real-time collection server for all advanced telecommunications that comply with U.S. Communication Assistance to Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).” The company has also created interfaces proprietary standards such as the British GISH and other individual, country-based requirements.

LINCOLN 2 is designed to work with Pen-Link 8 – software which combines all intelligence data bases, reporting, GIS Mapping, and analysis graphics into one package. Pen-Link claims it is “the standard for nearly all law enforcement agencies in the United States and is experiencing wide-spread adoption internationally.” When combined, the two pieces of software enable law enforcement agents to seamlessly access call data and call content from a service provider’s interception delivery system, thus enabling an “authorized government’s collection system to receive all intelligence related to a call or session event in real-time.”

Narus and Pen-Link have each worked for a number of years in the area of legal intercept software solutions (as has SS8, another major player in this market), and, as a result, both companies are well-positioned to capitalize on the regulatory challenges U.S. service providers will be facing as the FCC’s deadline for CALEA compliance draws nearer.

For more information, visit www.narus.com and www.penlink.com.

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Patrick Barnard is Associate Editor for TMCnet and a columnist covering the telecom industry. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page.