The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plans to vote Nov. 21 on a notice of proposed rulemaking that would review the agency’s existing licensing rules for undersea cables with the goal of better protecting that class of critical communications infrastructure by, among other steps, prohibiting the use of equipment and services sold by companies based in adversarial nations including China and Russia.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, more than 95 percent of the world’s international data and voice traffic is carried through undersea fiber optic cables, with satellite communications carrying the remainder.
In an Oct. 31 fact sheet, the FCC said the notice of proposed rulemaking – if approved by a vote of the agency’s five commissioners – would mark its first “comprehensive review” of submarine cable rules since 2001.
“Over the last two decades, technology, consumer expectations, international submarine cable traffic patterns, and investment in and construction of submarine cable infrastructure have greatly changed,” the agency said.
“Notably, national security and law enforcement threat environments have evolved significantly,” the FCC emphasized.
The agency said the proposed rulemaking would seek comment on how best to improve and streamline the agency’s submarine cable rules “to facilitate efficient deployment of submarine cables while at the same time ensuring the security, resilience, and protection of this critical infrastructure.”
On the policy and administrative front, the proposed rulemaking would seek comment on a proposal to codify the FCC’s legal jurisdiction in its rules “to provide regulatory certainty to submarine cable owners and operators,” propose a three-year periodic review process for cable landing licenses, and possibly shorten the current 25-year term for licenses.
In the security area, the proposed rulemaking would seek comment on “updating application requirements for national security purposes and to ensure the Commission has targeted and granular information regarding the ownership, control, and use of a submarine cable system.”
It would also propose “new regulatory compliance certifications to protect against national security, law enforcement, and other risks,” seek comment on how the FCC could work with other Federal agencies on protecting submarine cable infrastructure, and look for input on improving the quality of circuit capacity data and sharing of that information with other Federal agencies.
Within the proposed changes, the FCC said it wants to adopt a presumption that entities whose applications to run undersea cables were previously denied or revoked because of national security and law enforcement concerns shall not be qualified for a new submarine cable landing license.
The FCC also said the proposed rulemaking will look to create a process for submarine cable applicants to certify that they have created and implemented cybersecurity risk management plans, and to certify “as a condition of the potential grant of their application” that their submarine cable systems will not use equipment or services on the agency’s “covered list” that it maintains under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act.
Companies on the covered list include numerous China-based suppliers including Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp., and Russia-based AO Kaspersky Lab.
Current holders of submarine cable landing licenses would have to certify within 60 days of the FCC’s release of a report and order from the proceeding whether they use equipment that is on the covered list.
Finally, the FCC said it proposes to amend its current rules “by adding a new routine condition and a certification requirement in the proposed periodic reports prohibiting licensees from using, for the relevant submarine cable system, equipment or services identified” on the covered list.
“We also seek comment on whether to require a certification by all applicants/licensees that they have the ability to promptly and effectively interrupt, in whole or in part, traffic to and from the United States on the submarine cable system,” the FCC said.
