Barack Obama: Spying reforms could force US telcos to collect more data. Photo: Reuters

US President Barack Obama's plan for overhauling the National Security Agency's phone surveillance program could force American telcos to collect and store customer data that they are not currently legally obliged to keep, officials say.

One complication arises from the popularity of flat-rate or unlimited calling plans, which are used by the vast majority of Americans.

While the US Federal Communications Commission requires phone companies to retain records on "toll" or long-distance calls for 18 months, the rule's application is vague for subscribers of unlimited phone plans because they do not get billed for individual calls.

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That could change if the Obama administration pushes through with a proposal to require carriers instead of the NSA to collect and store phone metadata, which includes dialled numbers and call lengths but not the content of conversations. Under the proposal, phone companies would be required to turn over the data to the NSA in response to a court-approved government request.

US officials said the carriers might be forced to create new mechanisms to ensure metadata from flat-rate subscribers could be monitored. They said these issues will require further discussion between the White House, Congress and industry.

"These are very complex systems," said one industry source familiar with data storage policies. "I doubt there are companies out there that have a nice, neat, single database that can tell you how long records are kept universally."

To great fanfare last month, the Obama administration unveiled a proposal to end the NSA's bulk collection of millions of records of phone calls. But the announcement glossed over key practical issues in implementing the new procedures.

The potential gap in records for flat-rate subscribers, as well as the telcos' strong opposition to onerous data retention requirements, underscores the still-fluid nature of the NSA reforms.

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NSA overhaul may require phone carriers to store more data