If federal law-enforcement officials get their way, colleges may have to spend millions of dollars to re-engineer their networks so federal agents can eavesdrop on Internet-based voice conversations, higher-education officials say.

Thirteen college and library groups urged the Federal Communications Commission this week to reject giving agents electronic surveillance authority that would require such re-engineering. The organizations' comments came in a 26-page response to a recent petition by three federal agencies asking the FCC to force Internet-service providers to reconfigure broadband networks to enable such monitoring.

Federal officials say they worry that without the changes, conspiracies to commit terrorist acts and other crimes will go undetected if the plotters use Internet telephony.

At issue is the scope of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, adopted in 1994. The law requires telephone companies to equip their networks with wiretap features so police can intercept e-mail messages and phone conversations. But it is unclear if the act also applies to networks that offer telephone services online. Several colleges were among the earliest adopters of the technology, known as "voice over IP." But it is now being offered as a replacement for traditional home phone lines.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Justice Department, which filed the petition last month, told the FCC that they wanted it to make clear that the act does apply to providers of Internet telephony. Although the petition does not specifically mention colleges, higher-education groups say that law-enforcement agencies do not want to exempt campus networks from their request.

Officials from the agencies did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

"If law enforcement gets what they want, it really does look like it's going to mean re-engineering the Internet," said Wendy Wigen, a policy analyst at Educause, a higher-education technology group that signed the comment.

"All of these new requirements would take place without a penny of compensation in a time of tremendous budget stress on the individual members of our coalition," the 13 groups wrote.

According to Ms. Wigen, Internet-service providers, including colleges, would have only 15 months to make their networks conform to federal standards.

In addition to cost concerns, higher-education officials say, the changes sought by law-enforcement agencies could jeopardize the privacy of students and faculty and staff members, and could stifle technological innovation.

"This would prevent colleges from implementing any new technology until the FBI has had a chance to check out and make sure that it's compliant with their needs," Ms. Wigen said.

The new interpretation of the law, she said, could force colleges and academic libraries to maintain records they might otherwise purge from databases. That could encourage federal officials to subpoena such information under the Patriot Act, she added.

Ms. Wigen also said that the changes sought by law-enforcement agencies require Congressional action. Congress, not the FCC, should determine the intent of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, and if and how it applies to Internet telephony, she said. Having the matter debated in Congress would give privacy advocates, industry representatives, and higher-education officials an opportunity to influence any changes to current electronic surveillance practices, she said.

Joining Educause in filing the brief were the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Association of University Professors, the American Council on Education, the American Library Association, the Association of American Universities, the Association of College and Research Libraries, the Association for Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education, the Association of Research Libraries, Internet 2, the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, and the National Association of College and University Business Officers.