Cable Landing License Act 47 CFR 1.767; 1.768; Executive Order 10530

FCC 220 SCL-RWL

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Instructions for Renewal of a Cable Landing License Office of International Affairs SCL-RWL

OMB Approval 3060-0944

Purpose of Form

This form is used by a cable landing licensee(s) (Licensee) to renew or extend the term of an existing cable landing license to allow the continued operation of the cable system. A cable landing license is granted for a 25-year term, starting on the date that the cable system is placed into service. Upon expiration of the original license, all rights granted under the original license shall be terminated. 47 CFR § 1.767 (g)(15). A Licensee(s) may renew a cable landing license for another 25-year term or extend the term of a cable landing license for a duration less than 25-years. If the Commission grants the application, there are other forms that are relevant to a submarine cable license discussed below.

• License Assignments/Transfers. Once granted, the cable landing license shall not be transferred, assigned, or disposed of, or disposed of indirectly by transfer of control of the licensee, unless the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) gives prior consent in writing. 47 CFR § 1.767(g)(6). An application to assign or transfer control of a cable landing license is filed using the SCL-ASG or SCL-T/C form.

• License Modification. A Licensee is permitted to modify a submarine cable landing license grant. Modifications to add a new licensee are required to be signed by each Licensee. Joint applicants may appoint one party to act as proxy for purposes of complying with this requirement. 47 CFR § 1.767(m). An application to modify a cable landing license is filed using the SCL-MOD form.

• Foreign Carrier Notification. A Licensee must notify the Commission becomes or seeks to become affiliated with a foreign carrier that is authorized to operate in a foreign destination market of the submarine cable including an entity that owns or controls a cable landing station in that market. 47 CFR § 1.768. A foreign carrier affiliation notice is filed using the SCL-FCN form.

Who Must File This Form and When

The Licensee(s) of a cable landing license must file the application to renew or extend the license prior to the expiration of its current license.

Description of Form

This form consists of a main form and the ability to file an attachment(s) to support the request. Each Applicant is required under our rules to provide legal, technical, and financial information, and provide certain signed certifications and signatures. 47 CFR §§ 1.767, 1.768, 63.18(h), (o), (p), (q) and 63.10(a). The Applicant is encouraged to upload a single document in machine readable format, including all required information. The Applicant must fill in all required fields, upload required documents, make all required certifications, and sign the form before submitting the application.

Information Current and Complete

Information filed in the application with the Commission must be kept current and complete under section 1.65 of the Commission’s rules. 47 CFR § 1.65.

An amendment to a pending Cable Landing License application is filed using the SCL-AMD form.

Applicable Rules and Regulations

Section 1.767(g)(15) of the Commission’s rules sets out the 25-year term of a cable landing license and states that the license can be renewed or extended.

The Licensee must notify the Commission within thirty (30) days of the date the cable is placed into service. The cable landing license shall expire twenty-five (25) years from the in-service date, unless renewed or extended upon proper application. Upon expiration, all rights granted under the license shall be terminated. 47 CFR § 1.767(g)(15).

The FCC derives its authority to grant, regulate and impose conditions on submarine cables from:

• Cable Landing License Act of 1921 (Cable Landing License Act) and the 1954 Executive Order No. 10530. Pub. Law No. 8, 67^th Congress, 42 Stat. 8 (1921); 47 U.S.C. §§ 34-39; Exec. Order No. 10530 § 5(a) (May 10, 1954); reprinted as amended in 3 U.S.C. §301.

• Communications Act of 1934, as amended (Act) 47 U.S.C. §151 et. seq.

• Commission rules, 47 CFR §§ 1.767, 1.768, §§ 63.18 (h), (o) (p), (q); § 63.10 (a).

• Review of Commission Consideration of Applications under the Cable Landing License Act, IB Docket No. 00-106, Report and Order, 16 FCC Rcd 2167 (2001).

Applicants should refer to the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996. The Debt Collection Act requires all federal agencies to ensure that no debtors to the Federal government obtain any licenses or other benefits from the FCC. To ensure this, the Commission must collect FRN information to correlate its Applicants with any outstanding Federal debt that they might have incurred in other dealings with the Federal government. For additional information, see the FCC’s Debt Collection webpage.

Other Submarine Cable (SCL) Forms

• SCL-AMD Form

  • This form is used to amend a pending application related to a cable landing license.

• SCL-LPN Form

  • This form is used to file the precise location of a cable landing station if such information was not included in the cable landing license application or request modify a cable landing license to add a new landing location. The notification must be filed no later than ninety (90) days prior to construction of landing station.

• SCL-ASG/TC Form

  • This form is used for an assignment of a cable landing license or the transfer of control of a Licensee. The form is used for both substantive and pro forma transactions.

• SCL-MOD Form

  • This form is used to modify an existing cable landing license, for example to add or remove a Licensee or to add a new landing point.

• SCL-FCN Form

  • The form is used by a Licensee to notify the Commission of new foreign carrier affiliations.

• SCL-LIC Form

  • This form is used to apply for a cable landing license.

• SCL-RPT Form

  • This form is used to file the reports of any Licensee affiliated with a foreign carrier with market power in destination country of the cable system in accordance with section 1.767(l) of the Commission’s rules.

• SCL-STA Form

  • This form is used to request Special Temporary Authority related to a cable landing license, such as to start construction of the cable prior to grant of the cable landing license or related to an unauthorized transaction related to the license.

• SCL-WAV Form

  • This form is used to request a waiver of the Commission rules related to a cable landing Licensee.

FCC Notice Required by The Paperwork Reduction Act

The number of hours it will take to respond to the collection will vary depending on the circumstances of the Applicant. First, the burden will vary depending on how many Applicants there are (a submarine cable can have multiple applicants/licensees). If the Applicant is the sole applicant or the lead applicant amongst multiple applicants it will be responsible for providing the information about the submarine cable system (e.g. landing sites, capacity) as well as information specific to the Applicant (e.g., ownership, foreign carrier affiliations). Second, if there is reportable foreign ownership, the Applicant(s) is/are required to file responses to the Standard Questions for an Applicant with the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector (Committee). We have estimated that on average each response to this collection of information for submarine cable for a single Applicant with no reportable foreign ownership will be 19 hours. In addition, we estimate that if an Applicant has reportable foreign ownership each Applicant on average 120 hours to respond to the Standard Questions and additional 1 hour to send the Application and response to the Standard Questions to the Committee. Our estimate includes the time to read the instructions, rules, gather data, and complete and file the form. If you have any comments on this burden estimate, or on how we can improve the collection and reduce the burden, please email them to pra@fcc.gov or send them to the Federal Communications Commission, AMDPERM, Paperwork Reduction Project (3060-0944), Washington, DC 20554.

The Applicant is not required to respond to a collection of information sponsored by the Federal government, and the government may not conduct or sponsor this collection, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number of 3060-0944. This notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, P.L. 104-13, October 1, 1995, 44 U.S.C. Section 3507.

For Assistance

For technical assistance with completing the forms, contact the ICFS Helpline at (202) 418-2222 or ICFSINFO@fcc.gov. For general questions about the form requirements, contact the Office of International Affairs, Telecommunications and Analysis Division at FCC-OIA-TAD@fcc.gov or at (202) 418-1480.

FILING INSTRUCTIONS

Remember to save your draft application periodically by clicking the save button. ICFS will time-out after 15 minutes of no activity, and failure to save will result in loss of any information entered into the application form after the last save.

Renewal Cable Landing License Information

Item R1. Provide the name and AuthID/File numbers (SCL-LIC, SCL-MOD) for the cable system for which you want to renew the license. Entering the AuthID first should automatically populate all the file numbers associated with it.

Item R2. Provide the date the cable system went into service. If the date entered is prior to 25 years before current date, the Applicant(s) must submit in an attachment an explanation as to why the renewal application was not filed with the Commission prior to the expiration of the current license.

Item R3. The Applicant(s) must check the box here to acknowledge that it will upload a narrative statement explaining any proposed changes to the cable license (e.g., addition or deletion of cable system owners or landing points, and/or whether the request is for full 25-year term or something less).

The current information for the license (the information provided in the original application for the cable landing license plus any changes submitted in modifications) should be pre-populated in the form. In the event that the original application and/or any modification applications were filed prior to the 2024 launch of modernized ICFS, little or no electronic information may be available to pre-populate the renewal form. In that case, Applicant will need to fill out the entire renewal form (as if it were filing a new license application).

Certain information will not pre-populate, regardless. The Applicant will need to enter a new “Brief Description of Application.” For example, a brief description could be “Renewal of ABC cable system, SCL-LIC-XXXXXXX-XXXXX.” The Applicant will need to complete the Application Fees section of the form as there is a separate filing fee for the SCL-RWL form. If any waivers are included with the modification, answer “Yes” to the waiver question. The Applicant will also need to re-certify the application and provide the required information for signing the application.

The Applicant should change any information that it needs to, and/or upload any new or revised attachments. To see the instructions for the original/underlying application, navigate to the forms below:

• SCL-LIC Form.

• SCL-MOD Form.

August 2024

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