Subsea Cable Industry and US Chamber Urge Keeping 25-Year License Terms
Keep the 25-year licensing term for submarine cable systems, and don't extend licensing requirements to non-owners such as cable capacity lessees, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told the FCC Monday in docket 24-523. It said subsea cable licensees need a clearly established process for license revocation, and the agency should make clear that new cable landing license regulations won't retroactively apply to existing licenses.
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In another filing Monday, the subsea cable industry's International Connectivity Coalition likewise urged keeping the 25-year license term. The group said it called for consolidating duplicative and conflicting review requirements and exploring a fast-track review process "for trusted 'frequent filers' that have previously achieved license approval." The filing recapped the coalition's meetings with FCC staff from the Office of International Affairs, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, and Commissioner Anna Gomez's office. The commissioners in November adopted a subsea cable NPRM proposing a rewrite of cable licensing rules (see 2411210006).