Insights

The Federal Communications Commission (the FCC, the Commission) voted unanimously (5:0) on Thursday (21 November) to begin a comprehensive review of submarine cable licensing rules – the first such review since 2001, as the technology, economics, and national security environments surrounding these systems have greatly changed. 

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said during the meeting that in 2020, he laid out the case for the agency to better secure cables “from bad actors who seek to block, intercept, or re-route internet traffic, or sabotage the cables altogether.” He said the risk isn’t theoretical. 

On 31 October 2024, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Review of Submarine Cable Landing License Rules and Procedures to Assess Evolving National Security, Law Enforcement, Foreign Policy, and Trade Policy Risks, Dkts. No. 24-523 and 24-524 (Oct. 31, 2024). The proposed rulemaking would launch the FCC’s first major comprehensive review of its undersea cable rules since 2001, would propose to codify its legal jurisdiction, improve oversight, and take several actions to protect the infrastructure from national security, law enforcement, and other risks.

Oversight of submarine cables traces back even before the existence of the Commission itself. The Cable Landing License Act of 1921, Executive Order 10530 of 1954, and even the Submarine Cable Act of 1888 highlighted the importance of such communications systems and the importance of securing them. Still today, this infrastructure is vital to global communications and economic activity. There are 84 FCC-licensed cable systems and, as of December 2022, cable landing licensees reported more than 5.3 million Gbps of available capacity and 6.8 million Gbps in planned capacity for 2024.

In the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted upon the vote, the Commission seeks comment on how best to improve and streamline the submarine cable rules to facilitate efficient deployment of submarine cables while ensuring the security, resilience, and protection of this critical infrastructure. Security review of license applications often involves numerous federal partners through the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector (or Team Telecom) and with a critical role for the State Department.

This proceeding will look to streamline the agency’s review process. It proposes a three-year periodic reporting requirement for cable landing licenses and, in the alternative, seeks comment on shortening the current 25-year license term (or in combination with periodic reporting). The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking looks to update application requirements for national security purposes and ensure the Commission has targeted and granular information regarding the ownership, control, and use of a submarine cable system. The FCC is also looking to improve the quality of the circuit capacity data it collects from licensees, and facilitate the sharing of such information with federal partners. 

The unanimous vote continues the FCC’s recent efforts to support national security. The Commission has proposed new rules that would require, for the first time, companies with international telecommunications authorizations to file renewal applications with the FCC. It has proposed steps applicable to broadband providers to improve the security of BGP routing, the internet’s global routing system. It has enacted rules to create and maintain the “Covered List” prohibiting communications equipment and services deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to national security from being authorized for importation or sale in the United States, prohibit the use of public funds to purchase covered equipment or services, and launch the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program to reimburse providers for costs reasonably incurred to permanently remove, replace, and dispose of covered equipment and services that have already been installed in U.S. networks. The Commission also adopted rules to establish an IoT cybersecurity labeling program. 

FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel and Commissioner Starks issued separate statements upon the vote.

FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel cited accounts of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea that may be responsible for cutting three cables that provide internet service to Europe and Asia. “While the details of these incidents remain in dispute, what is clear is that these facilities, with locations that are openly published to prevent damage, are becoming a target.” She said the partnership of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States has a joint initiative to bolster the security of undersea communications. “It includes sharing information, increasing repair capability, and developing common standards to protect against physical threats and related cyber disturbances.” 

Commissioner Starks said:“This past Sunday, a subsea cable between Lithuania and Sweden was cut, and just this Tuesday a submarine cable connecting Finland and Germany was also severed. As reported, these actions appear to be purposeful as part of a ‘hybrid’ campaign that combines attacks on physical infrastructure along with cyberattacks.”

FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington said the submarine cable item represents “technical modernization, national security, and bipartisan consensus. Just days ago in the Baltic Sea, we saw in real time just how vulnerable subsea communication is to sabotage from adversaries.”