The FCC should overhaul its collection method for fees charged su...

carved from the existing international bearer circuit category. Friday, the nine operators submitted a revised plan addressing “concerns raised on the record that smaller-capacity systems using older technologies could be disadvantaged by a per- system fee that does not account for the particular circumstances of such systems,” they said. Under the revised plan, small-capacity systems would pay half what new, higher- capacity systems pay, they said. The revisions clarify that a consortium-owned cable system should be treated as a single system when paying the new SCS fee, even if the FCC has issued multiple cable landing licenses for it. Payment responsibility would be divided among consortium members according to commercial agreements, they said. FCC commissioners are to vote on an item about regulatory fee assessment at the Aug. 1 meeting (CD June 14 p2). The submarine cable group believes the FCC has enough information to adopt the group’s proposal Aug. 1, said an industry official close to the proceeding. The submarine cable group recently met with legal aides to Commissioners Kevin Martin, Robert McDowell and Deborah Tate, and has meetings scheduled this week with Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps, the official said. More carriers have said they soon will embrace the proposal, which may undergo further revision to broaden its scope, the official said. AT&T, Verizon and Qwest oppose the proposal, which they say would give submarine cable operators an unfair regulatory advantage (CD June 10 p11).