FCC to Take Up Undersea Cable Review in November

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30, 2024 –  The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote on a review of its subsea cable rules at its November 21 meeting.

“Dozens of systems of submarine cable serve as the backbone of our domestic and global communications networks,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote in a statement Wednesday. “Over the past two decades, the technology, economics, and security challenges involving these systems have greatly changed, but FCC oversight has not. The Commission will vote to undertake the first major comprehensive review of our submarine cable rules since 2001.”

The agency had not released a draft of the item on Wednesday. The FCC is responsible for granting licenses to companies looking to lay subsea cables that hook up to the United States. 

A bipartisan group of senators urged the Biden administration last week to look into vulnerabilities in subsea cable infrastructure. The cables carry nearly all of international internet traffic, and lawmakers said they were concerned about adversarial nations like Russia or China engaging in sabotage.

“Because this infrastructure is privately owned by commercial enterprises, repairs are the responsibility of these private companies, which are likely not prepared to maintain them under wartime conditions and are likely to seek the most cost-effective repair and maintenance options – even if that option is owned or operated by a foreign adversary or strategic competitor,” they wrote.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a national security think tank, said it had similar concerns in an August report.

The FCC will also take up third-party caller authentication rules, “geo-targeted” content for FM radio broadcasters, and an enforcement action.

Rosenworcel also had thoughts on the best Halloween candy: “Obviously, it’s Peanut M&Ms,” she wrote.