FCC's Subsea Cable Draft Order Now Before OIRA
The FCC seemingly has moved away from shortened license terms in its pending submarine cable rules rewrite, we're told. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is reviewing the FCC's proposed rewrite, according to the OIRA website. All agency regulations now go through OIRA review as of this spring (see 2505090004). The commissioners unanimously adopted a subset cable NPRM in November (see 2411210006).
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The five- or 10-year licensing proposal, which the FCC floated to replace the current 25 years, had seen industry pushback (see 2505120030, 2505220045 and 2505200039). Lobbyist Ansley Erdel of Salt Point Strategies, which is representing the submarine cable industry group International Connectivity Coalition, told us industry talks with the agency since the NPRM are believed to have resulted in changes that will address a lot of submarine cable operator concerns. She said the industry anticipates a draft order this fall.