Just before the New Year I received a Cease and Desist from Tata Communications, the owners of TCR. It’s a warning that threatens potential legal action. In this case, the release of conversations between a US carrier and TCR, now owned by Tata communications, on planned election interference. I’ve attached the cease and desist document, so you can see what one looks like.

Major William Peter’s complaint is that of a whistleblower, not only did it include how TCR covered up election interference, but also sending embargoed traffic (which Kaleyra later admitted in an 8k filing), the cyber-crime frame-up TCR attempted against Bill, etc.  I’ll not get into the legal details of how whistleblowers are allowed to release confidential information. Generally the company trying to stop the whistleblowing relies on NDAs. Hence why the cease and desist refers to NDAs and other agreements.

Compare Bill’s complaint to Tata Communications cease and desist. Bill’s complaint is detailed and backed by specific evidence. The lawyers I’ve talked to who reviewed Bill’s complaint consider it a strong case, they believe Bill, and are surprised Tata Communications is continuing with its current path. I’ve advised Tata Communications on this blog to independently review what happened to Bill, get their eyes on the situation, they’re also welcome to join us on the TADSummit Podcast to share their position. In my opinion, Bill was simply doing his job and abused for that.

The cease and desist includes opinions, for example, “The lawsuit itself is without merit and was filed by Peters to air misleading grievances, while hiding behind anti‐SLAPP laws, following his termination from employment with TCR.” Bill clearly presents the evidence in his complaint, he did not want to do this, the process has been dragged out by Tata Communications’ lawyers that persist in alleging Bill’s cyber crime, which was a frame-up, as shown in his complaint. Bill was fired from TCR in 2022, it’s now 2024, for an individual, that’s a long time.

Anti-SLAPP laws, or Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation laws, are intended to prevent people from using the courts to intimidate those exercising their First Amendment rights. On US election interference, we should all be concerned, regardless of the country you live in, this is of global concern. 2024 will be a pivotal year for the world on many fronts.

In my opinion the carrier involved in the recorded conversations is worried. They are putting pressure on Tata Communications to ensure the release of the recordings does not happen, and I’m sure, get this wrapped up as soon as possible as it makes the industry look bad.

The bottom-line is, Bill is one of the best CFOs in our industry, he was punished for doing his job. It’s being drawn out as Tata Communications has time, while Bill does not; they want him to cave-in. Compare Bill’s complaint to Tata Communications cease and desist, who do you believe?

I do not have a signed NDA with the TCR, and I do not have the recordings in my possession. My role here is to draw the industry’s attention to what I consider abuse of someone doing their job well. This is not an industry of crooks, this is an industry of professionals who conform to a code of conduct.

On Friday 5th Jan we’ll have the usual Truth in Telecom podcast where Johnny deposes himself every week across this topic and many more. Given T-Mobile’s new fines effective 1st January, the FCC’s knee jerk rulings in December, the rising chorus of complaints from the A2P messaging industry, and many brands now seriously examining IP Messaging to avoid the risks of A2P SMS fines. 2024 starts with A2P SMS/MMS in a significantly different position than it began in 2023. I did have some these in my predictions for 2024, however, I didn’t expect them to come in so fast.