Telcordia Recoding LNPA System; FCC Says Initial Work Inconsistent With 2015 Order
Telcordia is developing new software code for a system it would use as local number portability administrator (LNPA), after the FCC learned foreign nationals may have worked on preliminary coding, the commission said Friday. Telcordia confirmed the new coding project and that foreign nationals had worked on an initial version, but it again said an ex-employee's lawsuit making certain allegations was without merit (see 1604260049).
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The two foreign nationals doing previous code were from China and Great Britain, an informed source told us. Responding to concerns raised by LNPA incumbent Neustar, Telcordia had said its employees working on the Number Portability Administration Center/Service Management System (NPAC/SMS) would be U.S. citizens, said the commission's March 2015 order that conditionally chose Telcordia (also known as iconectiv) as the next LNPA.
"Through a rigorous oversight process, the FCC learned Telcordia performed preliminary work that was inconsistent with the Commission’s Order and the contract proposed by industry," an FCC spokesman emailed. "The Commission promptly initiated a thorough review of the facts in consultation with its federal national security partners. Consistent with that review and in close coordination with the national security agencies, the Commission and Telcordia agreed that the company would discard the pre-contract work performed and start entirely anew. The contract being reviewed by the Commission includes rigorous oversight measures and explicitly requires that only appropriately vetted U.S. citizens work on the project.”
Telcordia/iconectiv said it began work on an initial version of the NPAC application on its own initiative and at its own expense early in the request for proposal process. "A limited portion of the coding on that version was done by a very small number of highly qualified legal U.S. residents with work permits who were not U.S. citizens," emailed Sharon Oddy, iconectiv vice president-corporate communications. "The final application will be an entirely new version, designed and coded by vetted U.S. citizens.”
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) cleared Ericsson's purchase of Telcordia in 2011. "Telcordia has been and remains in compliance with all applicable requirements," Oddy said. The Department of Treasury, which chairs CFIUS, and the DOJ and FBI didn't comment Friday.
Allegations raised by former iconectiv employee Michael Stern in a lawsuit are meritless, Telcordia told the FCC April 25. Another employee with access to certain systems was "not CFIUS compliant," Stern alleged. "The coding issue is totally unrelated to the litigation filed by a former iconectiv employee, and the coding issue was independently brought to the attention of the appropriate regulatory authorities during the contract review process," Oddy said. Telcordia/iconectiv "investigated the allegations in the Stern Suit and we believe the claims alleged in this lawsuit are without merit," she said Friday. "Telcordia takes any allegations seriously and we intend to vigorously defend against them. What we said [April 25] remains accurate."
The FCC said it learned in the course of overseeing contract negotiations that Telcordia may have used foreign nationals on the development and testing of software code for the new LNPA, a commission official emailed. Because the use of foreign nationals is inconsistent with the 2015 order and national security requirements, and also prohibited by a proposed LNPA service contract negotiated between Telcordia and North American Portability Management, the FCC and Telcordia agreed the company would start all over, including with respect to all source code and other matters such as testing protocols and system development, the official said. Telcordia is no longer using any foreign nationals on the project, said the official, who noted the approach was coordinated with federal security partners.
The actual incident took place before the contract was in place, the FCC official said. The commission is still reviewing the proposed contract, which contains rigorous security measures, the official said. The contract has strict provisions to safeguard national security, including that coding be done by appropriately vetted U.S. citizens, the official said. If the FCC approves the contract, then the commission understands from the parties that the LNPA transition from Neustar to Telcordia/iconectiv appears on track to take place in Q3 2017, the official said.