What does not make much sense is the cost, why spend billions on a system when you got 100.000. million citizens who are on the poverty line even below, they have no smart phones neither have any money to think on anything else but survival? (even if they got phones for free to be spy ed on) is ridiculous dos not-make sense at all waste of money time and even ideas. what is the purpose? Are the Elites so frightened that they fear a revolution? or are they incapable of being elites themselves and the only way to rule is by fear and force. the same for the French, British big brother how much does it cost when you got millions of unemployed. this mean as fact that washington spend money on surveillance to survey people it cant not survey, as anyone that does not have internet, neither a smart phone, cannot be surveyed. is a system that is useful only for electronic devices. useless for anything else... So when economies collapse and folks stop using electronic devices , Echelon becomes useless scrap-metal. for now folks are conditioned and addicted to the electronic devices but soon even those that can afford a smart phone will ditch it. as a useless disturbance surveillance item and moreover design to confuse you.