Industry Opposed to New Licensing for Subsea Cable Terminals
The FCC proposed a licensing regime, citing national security concerns.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 29, 2025 – Industry groups are still largely opposed to a Federal Communications Commission proposal to license companies that operate submarine cable terminals, they said in reply comments posted Monday.
In an August notice of proposed rulemaking, the agency proposed requiring a blanket license from companies operating those terminals, where submarine cables connect with terrestrial broadband networks. A licensing regime for those companies has been opposed by industry groups, but the FCC said in its August notice that federal law enforcement agencies had “identified substantial national security risks associated with” submarine line terminal equipment, or SLTE.
“A blanket license regime on SLTE owners and operators exceeds the Commission’s statutory authority because owning an SLTE is not the equivalent of owning and operating a submarine cable system,” wrote INCOMPAS, which represents software companies and ISPs. “SLTE owned by third parties – particularly passive capacity purchasers, co-location customers, or equipment owners who do not land or operate the submarine cable – fall outside the [Cable Landing Licensing Act]'s plain language.”
NCTA, which represents the cable industry, said it was fine with the agency instituting a licensing regime, so long as American-owned companies were exempt from its requirements.
“If the Commission declines to adopt a ‘trusted entity’ exemption from all SLTE licensing requirements, we urge it to either exclude those trusted domestic entities from cybersecurity or physical security reporting requirements or, limit such requirements to certification of maintaining a cybersecurity and physical security risk management plan,” the group wrote.
INCOMPAS said it supported a similar system in which “SLTE owners and operators would file a notice identifying their relevant arrangements and providing basic ownership and operational information, enabling the Commission to monitor developments and respond if specific concerns arise.”
NCTA said some of its members used domestic SLTE to connect to Alaska and Hawaii. It said additional licensing requirements for components of a subsea cable network, which are sometimes owned by the already licensed cable operator, would discourage new deployments.
FCC collecting information about submarine line terminal equipment (SLTE)
As part of the rulemaking, the FCC is collecting information about the SLTE facilities that subsea cable operators currently connect to. The agency said in its notice that it currently has “incomplete information” on the number of SLTE operators and who they are, despite the connection points being “among the most important equipment associated with the submarine cable system for national security and law enforcement purposes.”
The International Connectivity Coalition, a group representing companies “with substantial investments in the submarine fiber optic cable industry” like Amazon, Microsoft, and Verizon, also opposed licensing SLTE operators, as did Crosslake Fiber, which operates a submarine cable system connecting Canada and New York.
ICC argued in reply comments posted Monday that FCC’s August order updating subsea cable licensing addressed national security risks by largely preventing foreign adversary countries from participating in the ecosystem.
“Thus, the proposed licensing framework would address risks that the Order already addresses,” the group wrote.
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