By March 2009, an EU directive requires European telecom operators and internet-service providers to store telephone and IP communications data so that it is available to law enforcement agencies upon request.  

Kjell Yving, Sales Manager at Ericsson’s Business Unit Networks, says that although most countries have passed legislation based on EU Directive 2006/24/EC, the implementation of data-retention regulations remains a work in progress, as local communications and law-enforcement authorities sort out specific requirements. The legislation clearly requires the storage of information revealing the source, destination, time and date, and type of communication, as well as the equipment used, for all telephony and IP communications. At the same time it leaves important issues, such as privacy and legal processes, to be decided by local authorities.

“The EU directive is broadly stated in order to get a political consensus,” Yving says. “But in many countries, further refinement is needed. Someone still needs to define exactly what data must be stored and in which cases. That will take time.”

As the only telecom supplier offering a data-retention solution, Ericsson is intimately aware of the relationship between evolving regulations and evolving networks. Yving explains that, for example, Ericsson is the sole telecom supplier involved in the standardization of data-retention technology, including sensitive areas such as the interface for requesting and handing over information.

The company developed its Automatic Data Retention Solution in parallel with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute’s (ETSI) standardization activities, building on its vast experience in areas such as lawful interception, multi-mediation and charging.

“The Ericsson Automatic Data Retention Solution was built from scratch to comply with the requirements of the EU directive, and it is scalable for regulatory needs at all levels,” Yving says. “With our expertise in networks and systems integration, we are able to provide a solution that is future-proof in terms of network evolution as well as regulatory evolution.

”Vodafone Netherlands was the first operator to implement Ericsson’s Automatic Data Retention Solution in late 2007. Yving says the company was won over by Ericsson’s solution design and architecture, its system integration and implementation capabilities, cost-effectiveness and operational capabilities.

Given the advantages of a telecom-centric solution, Yving says he is surprised more telecom suppliers are not competing with the IT companies that dominate within data retention.

“Data retention is really a telecom-centric event,” he says. “The directive requires uninterrupted retention, but that’s tricky to maintain without strong expertise in networks.

“There is a wealth of traffic nodes out in the networks. All of them are subject to upgrades and maintenance, and the networks are evolving. You have different suppliers, different equipment and different platforms in play, but the solution must work all the time.”

Yving says that Ericsson’s Automatic Data Retention Solution is optimized in terms of security, availability and performance, and it is available for all types of networks, with or without Ericsson nodes.