Political Quotes

“in 1994, I authored the first law to provide specific protection against "clone" telephones. While the main focus of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA, was to help our law enforcement agencies deal with the challenge of new digital telecommunications equipment and services, the law also contained important bans on the use and trafficking of clone phones, scanning receivers, and hardware and software used to steal cellular service. Specifically, in CALEA, we amended the Counterfeit Access Device law, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1029, by adding a provision to criminalize the use and possession, with intent to defraud, of altered telecommunications instruments, or scanning receivers, hardware or software, to obtain unauthorized access to telecommunications services. This law also added to the federal criminal code a definition of scanning receivers to mean devices used to intercept illegally wire or electronic communications. "Clone" telephones are used illegally to allow free riding on the cellular phone system and result in theft of that service. The cellular telephone industry estimates that it loses $650 million per year due to clone phones.”