University officials are closely monitoring the progress of a Federal Communications Commission mandate that could cost Iowa State millions of dollars.

The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994 is being extended by the FCC because of increasing Internet communication.

CALEA requires telecommunications companies to equip themselves for wiretapping, but will now also be applied to Internet service providers, including campus computer networks.

While the total national cost is estimated at $7 billion, the upgrades could cost Iowa State between $10 and $15 million, said James Davis, Academic Information Technology’s chief information officer.

University Counsel Paul Tanaka said tuition could be increased to compensate for the increased network costs.

“If we have a mandate to comply with and it costs money, there are a limited number of sources to go to,” he said. “Tuition may be one of those places.”

Davis said the Internet is an increasingly prevalent form of communication.

“Internet now carries what used to be solely in telephone lines,” he said.

The additional surveillance measures would be privately-funded and mandatory by June 2007. Davis said the final cost estimate would be released by December.

Privacy issues remain a concern, although a subpoena would still be required to begin surveillance of an individual.

“Anytime you have an opportunity for government to intercept communication, you have Constitutional rights issues,” Tanaka said.

Jeremy Putman, senior in management, said “even if it costs students nothing, I would still oppose it.”

Putman said he is uncomfortable with increasing government capabilities for spying. “Whatever primary purpose they claim it’s for, like fighting terrorism, will undoubtedly lead to the Secret Service knocking on my door because I made a joke about the President.”

Davis said the real question is “what’s broken in the process that we are going to spend $7 billion to fix?”

CALEA’s high surveillance costs concern universities and university interest groups nationwide. The American Council on Education recently filed a lawsuit, and EDUCAUSE, an information technology group, has spoken out to attempt to exempt universities from the law. Iowa State is a member institution of EDUCAUSE.

Davis said the university would wait until requirements are issued and legal matters are resolved to devote actual dollars to compliance, but planning is already being done, including talking to network vendors.

Potential changes include new equipment, trained personnel, policies and procedures. It would enable the government to “monitor information in real-time and do it remotely,” Davis said, including information “transient in nature and not stored, such as chat or instant message.” He added that CALEA would not vastly extend what already can be monitored by the government.