Submarine Cable Landing License

The Federal Communications Commission (the FCC or the Commission) is authorized to grant, withhold, revoke, or condition submarine cable landing licenses pursuant to the Cable Landing License Act of 1921 and Executive Order 10530.

Section 34 of the Cable Landing License Act states that “no person shall land or operate in the United States any submarine cable directly or indirectly connecting the United States with any foreign country, or connecting one portion of the United States with any other portion thereof, unless a written license to land or operate such cable has been issued by the President of the United States.”

Section 35 of the Cable Landing License Act provides that:

The President may withhold or revoke such license when he shall be satisfied after due notice and hearing that such action will assist in securing rights for the landing or operation of cables in foreign countries, or in maintaining the rights or interests of the United States or of its citizens in foreign countries, or will promote the security of the United States, or may grant such license upon such terms as shall be necessary to assure just and reasonable rates and service in the operation and use of cables so licensed.

To land or operate a submarine cable in the United States, submarine cable operators must obtain a cable landing license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  The FCC’s International Bureau, Telecommunications and Analysis Division (TAD) issues licenses to own and operate submarine cables and associated landing stations in the United States pursuant to the Commission’s authority under the Cable Landing License Act of 1921.

A cable landing license must be obtained prior to landing a submarine cable to connect: 

1. the continental United States with any foreign country;
2. Alaska, Hawaii or the U.S. territories or possessions with a foreign country, the continental United States, or with each other; and
3. points within the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii or a territory or possession in which the cable is laid within international waters.

Streamlined Processing

Applications for cable landing licenses are subject to initial review for completeness of information and, upon acceptance for filing, public notice inviting comment. The FCC's rules provide for streamlined processing with action within 45 days of release of the public notice where the applicant can demonstrate eligibility for streamlining under the FCC's rules. 

The FCC will undertake to act on applications that are ineligible for streamlining within 90 days of issuance of a public notice unless the application raises questions of extraordinary complexity. 

To qualify for streamlining the Applicant must send complete copies of the application:

1. the Department of State;
2. the Department of Commerce; and
3. the Department of Defense. 

The State Department has authorized the Commission to act on applications when the FCC notices the State Department in writing of the filing of an application and the State Department does not object within 30 days of the notification. 

Non-Streamlined Processing

The FCC also coordinates with other Executive Branch agencies applications where a foreign citizen or foreign-organized entity, including foreign government, would hold a 10 percent or greater direct or indirect equity or voting interest in the licensee.

In such senario, the Non-Streamlined Processing may be applied. The Non-Streamlined Processing involves an opaque and sometimes unending review process used by what's commonly known as Team Telecom (i.e., a working group of representatives from the Federal government entities charged with ensuring national security: the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Justice, State, Treasury, and Commerce, as well as USTR and the FBI), according to the-then Commissioner of the FCC, Michael O'Rielly, who appealed for more structure on Team Telecom reviews, to prevent abuse and unnecessary delay.

On April 4, 2020, the President Trump signed Executive Order 13913, "Establishing the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector," formalizing Team Telecom. In addition to others, the Executive Order formalized the long-standing review process—known informally as Team Telecom review—and established firm timeframes for Executive Branch review of applications. Under the Executive Order, once an application is deemed complete, Team Telecom must complete an initial review of an application within 120 days, and if the review reveals potential risks, must complete a secondary assessment within 90 days.  There is additional time built in for particularly complex cases, where Team Telecom Members or Advisors may disagree.

Special Temporary Authority (STA)

During the Non-Streamlined Processing, the FCC may grant the applicants an Special Temporary Authority (STA) to carry out certain engineering works and/or partial operation in the territory of the United States. STAs are granted with a fixed expiration date, usually six months, or for the term necessary to cover a special event, etc. STAs do not have grace periods and are valid only through their expiration date. The FCC may grant extensions of an STA for a period of 180 days, but the applicant must show that extraordinary circumstances warrant such an extension.

FCC Licensed Submarine Cable Systems

As of December 2022, there are 84 submarine cable systems licensed by the FCC that are currently either operating or planning to enter service at a future date. 63 of the 84 cables are U.S.-international submarine cables and the remaining 21 cables are domestic submarine cables (cables that do not connect the United States with foreign points). Based on the Commission’s circuit capacity data, licensees of the U.S.-international cables operating as of December 2022 reported 5300 Tbps of available capacity for 2022 and 6800Tbps of planned capacity for 2024.

As of May 2023, there are 88 submarine cable systems licensed by the FCC, either operating or planning to enter service.

As of December 2024, there are a total of 95 licensed submarine cables in the FCC’s International Communications Filing System (ICFS). Eleven (11) of those submarine cable landing licenses were licensed by the FCC in the 1980s and 1990s, and there is no record in ICFS that the licensees commenced and/or ceased operations on the respective cable.

Review of Submarine Cable Licensing Rules

On 21 November 2024, the FCC voted unanimously (5:0)  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.