Macra and Agilis International Inc signed a contract agreement in which the USA firm is expected to install systems to help government agents to see and read text messages, hear conversations and read emails in real time using Lawful Intercept.

Lawful Intercept is the legally sanctioned official access to private communications, such as telephone calls or email messages.

The contract, signed by Macra finance director Ben Chitsonga and Executive vice president Agilis International Inc Rawlvan Bennett on July 21, 2010, reveals that the US tech company will train and hand over the operations of the Lawful Intercept function to “appropriate government authority.”

Information and Civic Education minister Patricia Kaliati, has warned that if the operators will continue resisting releasing of the Call Detail Records (CDRs), they will have no option but to close them down.

The three companies, Airtel Malawi, TNM and MTL obtained an injunction against the government’s move.

‘If any operator is against the move, then they should just bring the license. We don’t want anyone to derail our progress. We will not dance to their tune, not at all; it is not for the parent to dance to the child’s tune.

“Why are they the ones going to court? Why not local Malawians? I think democracy is so sweet here in Malawi because when we take someone on this side of the coin, they have all the privilege of taking us to the other side,” queried Kaliati.

Phone network coverage in Malawi is at 25 percent, with 80 percent of the citizens living in the rural areas.

The number of mobile subscribers grew from 39,000 in 2002 to 3,000,000 by 2010 and the sub-sector absorbed over US$ 100 million in investment.

Airtel Malawi Public Relations Officer Edith Tsiliza refused to comment when contacted saying the matter is still in court.

“We don’t want to comment on the issue which is in court only that our friends are lucky because they are able to speak on the issue. So let’s wait for the court’s decision,” she said.

In the contract, Agilis International Inc, explains how they will roll out the systems in three years including Lawful Intercept.

“Lawful intercept functionality is provided by a component of NetMind, which allows the operator to set up the signalling intercept of a call in the mentioned network…once the intercept has been set, then if this number makes a call or receives a call, a notification via sms/email will be sent to the respective telephone number or email address with the details of the call,” reads the contract.

“In addition to this near real-time intercept, the system also provides the functionality to produce records to fulfil information request from a legal agency.

The controversial Lawful Intercept is scheduled for Phase II after completion of the installation of a Macra Network Operations Centre, Macra Monitoring Network during Phase I.

The Macra Monitoring Network solution will help check the quality of service provided by each operator.

This solution will also facilitate fraud management by being able to detect illegal entry of international calls into Malawi by passing international access fees, a solution telephone operators have described as an unnecessary duplication because their equipment already does this.

But the new system cannot work without the cooperation of the telephone operators, Airtel Malawi, TNM, MTL, and ACL who have so far been resolute blocking every move that Macra is making to have the equipment installed and functional.

A few weeks ago, the operators went public explaining the capabilities of the equipment and disclosed that Macra has asked them to surrender Call Detail Records (CDRs) to facilitate the eavesdropping part of the equipment.

CDRs provide detailed information including who called which number; details of calls received; time and duration of calls; location where call was made or received; sms sent and received; type of handset used and other detailed subscriber information.

The operators took the initiative two weeks ago and obtained an injunction successfully but temporarily stopping the rolling out of the new system.

Their lawyer Ralph Kasambara argued that Lawful Intercept is a violation of privacy and confidentiality.

The operators said in a statement released earlier that they will no longer be in a position to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of customers’ communication activities “as we understand it to be our obligation under our respective operating licenses, the Communications Act (1998) and the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi.”

Macra has already spent US$2 million on the equipment and still needs to pay US$4 million as the balance before the other components can be shipped into the country.