Public Notice TEL01470

International Telecommunications

Action Taken Public Notice

2010-12-07

FCC.report > IB > Public Notices > TEL01470

Filings Included

File NumberService
ITC-214-20081008-00453International Telecommunications
IBFS_PN_855198

PUBLIC NOTICE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 445 12th STREET S.W. WASHINGTON D.C. 20554 News media information 202-418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov (or ftp.fcc.gov) TTY (202) 418-2555 DA No. 10-2311 Report No. TEL-01470 Tuesday December 7, 2010 INTERNATIONAL AUTHORIZATIONS GRANTED Section 214 Applications (47 C.F.R. § 63.18); Section 310(b)(4) Requests The following applications have been granted pursuant to the Commission’s streamlined processing procedures set forth in Section 63.12 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. § 63.12, other provisions of the Commission’s rules, or procedures set forth in an earlier public notice listing applications accepted for filing. Unless otherwise noted, these grants authorize the applicants (1) to become a facilities-based international common carrier subject to 47 C.F.R. § 63.22; and/or (2) to become a resale-based international common carrier subject to 47 C.F.R. § 63.23; or (3) to exceed the 25 percent foreign ownership benchmark applicable to common carrier radio licensees under 47 U.S.C. § 310(b)(4). THIS PUBLIC NOTICE SERVES AS EACH NEWLY AUTHORIZED CARRIER'S SECTION 214 CERTIFICATE. It contains general and specific conditions, which are set forth below. Newly authorized carriers should carefully review the terms and conditions of their authorizations. Failure to comply with general or specific conditions of an authorization, or with other relevant Commission rules and policies, could result in fines and forfeitures. Petitions for reconsideration under Section 1.106 or applications for review under Section 1.115 of the Commission's rules in regard to the grant of any of these applications may be filed within thirty days of this public notice (see Section 1.4(b)(2)). An updated version of Sections 63.09–.25 of the rules, and other related sections, is available at http://www.fcc.gov/ib/pd/pf/telecomrules.html. For additional information, please contact the FCC Reference and Information Center, Room CY-A257, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20554, (202) 418-0270. Page 1 of 5

ITC-214-20081008-00453 E Office des postes et Telecommunications de Polynesie francaise International Telecommunications Certificate Service(s): Overseas Cable Construction Grant of Authority Date of Action: 12/06/2010 Acceptability for Filing Public Notice: The Application was placed on Public Notice on July 2, 2009. See Office des Postes et Telecommunications de Polynesie francaise ("OPT") Application for authority to construct, acquire, and operate capacity in a common carrier fiber-optic submarine cable system directly linking the United States and French Polynesia, the Honotua Cable System, File No. ITC-214-20081008-00453, Non Streamlined International Applications/Petitions Accepted for Filing, Report No. TEL-01371NS (Int'l Bur., July 2, 2009). See also Application for Authority to Land and Operate a Common Carrier Submarine Cable System directly linking the United States and French Polynesia, File No. SCL-LIC-20081008-00017, Non-Streamlined Submarine Cable Landing License Applications Accepted for Filing, Report No. SCL-00089NS (Int'l Bur., July 2, 2009) (associated cable landing license application). No comments or oppositions were filed in response to the Public Notices. The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security filed a Petition to Adopt Conditions to Authorizations and Licenses on December 3, 2010. On December 14, 2009, the International Bureau granted Special Temporary Authority ("STA") to OPT to begin construction and testing on the segment of the Honotua Cable System between French Polynesia and Hawaii. ITC-STA-20091201-00528. On June 9, 2010, the International Bureau granted an STA to OPT to continue testing the Honotua Cable System, and to commence commercial operations at its own risk, prior to the Commission's grant of the underlying pending application. ITC-STA-20100607-00224. Those actions were without prejudice to Commission action on the underlying application and were revocable by the Commission upon its own motion without a hearing. On April 12, 2010, the Commission granted OPT a waiver of the separate subsidiary requirement in section 63.10(c)(1) of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 63.10(c)(1). Office des Postes et Télécommunications de Polynésie française: Application for a Section 214 Authorization for Overseas Cable Construction for a Submarine Cable Linking the United States and French Polynesia; Application for a Cable Landing License to Land and Operate a Common Carrier Submarine Cable Linking the United States and French Polynesia, ITC-214-20081008-00453, SCL-LIC-20081008-00017, Waiver Order, DA 10-625, 25 FCC Rcd 3651, 3654-57 (Int'l Bur. 2010) (OPT Waiver Order). Action Taken: Grant of international section 214 authority to the Office des Postes et Telecommunications de Polynesie francaise to construct and operate a fiber-optic submarine cable system on a common carrier basis directly linking French Polynesia and the United States at a cable landing station located at Kawaihae, Hawaii, the Honotua Cable System. Licensee Information: OPT is the incumbent telecommunications carrier in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France. OPT is wholly owned by the Government of French Polynesia, but financially autonomous from the national government. As such, OPT is subject to regulation and oversight by the Chambre territoriale des comptes de la Polynésie française and ultimate government control. OPT is administered by a Board of Directors. Cable Design and Capacity: The Honotua Cable System will be a common carrier fiber-optic submarine cable system directly linking the United States and French Polynesia. The system will have cable landing stations in Papenoo, French Polynesia and Kawaihae, Hawaii. The Honotua Cable System will span 4,650 kilometers (2,890 miles) and will provide transmission capacity of up to 1.28 terabits per second, with a maximum design capacity of 32 x 10 Gbps, between French Polynesia and Hawaii. From Hawaii, the cable system will interconnect with other cable systems for onward connectivity from French Polynesia to the U.S. mainland and other nations. The domestic French Polynesian segment will link islands in the French Polynesian archipelago to the Papenoo cable station. Ownership of the Cable System and Landing Points: OPT will own the wet link for both the international and domestic French Polynesia segments, and the cable landing station in Papenoo, French Polynesia. Wavecom Solutions, a U.S. company, owns the cable landing station in Kawaihae, Hawaii. OPT and Wavecom Solutions have entered into a landing party agreement pursuant to which OPT will have exclusive control over and access to Honotua Cable terminal equipment, which OPT will collocate at the Kawaihae cable station building. OPT will retain operational authority over Honotua Cable facilities and provide direction to Wavecom Solutions in all matters relating to the Honotua Cable, including certain limited remote monitoring, testing, and maintenance services performed by Wavecom Solutions on OPT's equipment. Conditions and Requirements: OPT shall comply with the conditions set forth in the OPT Waiver Order, 25 FCC Rcd 3651. Those conditions include: (1) establishment of a separate operating division within OPT with respect to the ownership and operation of the Honotua Cable within the United States; (2) maintenance of separate books of account for this separate division and for the portion of the Honotua Cable within the United States, which shall be made available to the Commission upon request; (3) filing quarterly reports summarizing the provision and maintenance of all basic network facilities procured from OPT's local exchange and other French Polynesian domestic operations and operating divisions and affiliates; and (4) providing the Commission with all new and revised cahiers des charges (conditions for operations that include tariffs) filed publicly with the French Polynesian Ministry of Economy and Finance for telecommunications service between French Polynesia and the United States. OPT is also subject to the other dominant carrier safeguards, including the filing of quarterly traffic and revenue reports and quarterly circuit status reports, and other applicable requirements set forth in the Commission's rules, including the "no special concessions" requirements. 47 C.F.R. § 63.14. See OPT Waiver Order, 25 FCC Rcd at 3655-57. In addition, OPT shall make available half-interests in the OPT system capacity to such present and future U.S. carriers as may be authorized by the Commission to acquire such capacity. The Commission retains jurisdiction to reallocate U.S. carriers' interests in capacity herein authorized, as the public interest may require and with any requisite concurrence of the foreign administration or carriers concerned, in order to accommodate additional carriers or for other reasons. The Commission retains jurisdiction over all matters relating to the Honotua Cable System's ownership, management, maintenance, and operation of the cable system as authorized herein to ensure the most efficient use not only of this cable system but of all means of communications between the United States and French Polynesia. We grant the Petition to Adopt Conditions to Authorizations and Licenses (Petition) filed in this proceeding on December 3 2010 by the Page 2 of 5

We grant the Petition to Adopt Conditions to Authorizations and Licenses (Petition) filed in this proceeding on December 3, 2010 by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Accordingly, we condition grant of this application on Office des Postes et Telecommunications de Polynesie francaise abiding by the commitments and undertakings contained in its December 3, 2010 National Security Agreement with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice. A copy of the Petition and the December 3, 2010 Agreement are publicly available and may be viewed on the FCC website through the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS) by searching for ITC-214-20081008-00453 and accessing "Other filings related to this application" from the Document Viewing area. Page 3 of 5

CONDITIONS APPLICABLE TO INTERNATIONAL SECTION 214 AUTHORIZATIONS (1) These authorizations are subject to the Exclusion List for International Section 214 Authorizations, which identifies restrictions on providing service to particular countries or using particular facilities. The most recent Exclusion List is attached to this Public Notice. The list applies to all U.S. international carriers, including those that have previously received global or limited global Section 214 authority, whether by Public Notice or specific written order. Carriers are advised that the attached Exclusion List is subject to amendment at any time pursuant to the procedures set forth in Streamlining the International Section 214 Authorization Process and Tariff Requirements, IB Docket No. 95-118, 11 FCC Rcd 12884 (1996), para. 18. A copy of the current Exclusion List will be maintained in the FCC Reference and Information Center and will be available at http://www.fcc.gov/ib/pd/pf/telecomrules.html#exclusionlist. It also will be attached to each Public Notice that grants international Section 214 authority. (2) The export of telecommunications services and related payments to countries that are subject to economic sanctions may be restricted. For information concerning current restrictions, call the Office of Foreign Assets Control, U.S. Department of the Treasury, (202) 622-2520. (3) Carriers shall comply with the requirements of Section 63.11 of the Commission's rules, which requires notification by, and in certain circumstances prior notification by, U.S. carriers acquiring an affiliation with foreign carriers. A carrier that acquires an affiliation with a foreign carrier will be subject to possible reclassification as a dominant carrier on an affiliated route pursuant to the provisions of Section 63.10 of the rules. (4) Carriers shall comply with the Commission's International Settlements Policy and associated filing requirements contained in Sections 43.51, 64.1001 and 64.1002 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 43.51, 64.1001, 64.1002. The Commission modified these requirements most recently in International Settlements Policy Reform: International Settlement Rates, First Report and Order, FCC 04-53, 19 FCC Rcd 5709 (2004). In addition, any carrier interconnecting private lines to the U.S. public switched network at its switch, including any switch in which the carrier obtains capacity either through lease or otherwise, shall file annually with the Chief, International Bureau, a certified statement containing, on a country-specific basis, the number and type (e.g., 64 kbps circuits) of private lines interconnected in such manner. The Commission will treat the country of origin information as confidential. Carriers need not file their contracts for interconnection unless the Commission specifically requests. Carriers shall file their annual report on February 1 (covering international private lines interconnected during the preceding January 1 to December 31 period) of each year. International private lines to countries which the Commission has exempted from the International Settlements Policy at any time during a particular reporting period are exempt from this requirement. See 47 C.F.R. § 43.51(d). The Commission's list of U.S. international routes that are exempt from the International Settlements Policy may be viewed at http://www.fcc.gov/ib/pd/pf/isp_exempt.html. (5) Carriers authorized to provide private line service either on a facilities or resale basis are limited to the provision of such private line service only between the United States and those foreign points covered by their referenced applications for Section 214 authority. A carrier may provide switched services over its authorized resold private lines in the circumstances specified in Section 63.23(d) of the rules, 47 C.F. R. § 63.23(d). (6) A carrier may engage in "switched hubbing" to countries that do not appear on the Commission's list of U.S. international routes that are exempt from the International Settlements Policy, set forth in Section 64.1002, 47 C.F.R. § 64.1002, provided the carrier complies with the requirements of Section 63.17(b) of the rules, 47 C.F.R. § 63.17(b). The Commission's list of U.S. international routes that are exempt from the International Settlements Policy may be viewed at http://www.fcc.gov/ib/pd/pf/isp_exempt.html. (7) Carriers shall comply with the "No Special Concessions" rule, Section 63.14, 47 C.F.R. § 63.14. (8) Carriers regulated as dominant for the provision of a particular communications service on a particular route for any reason other than a foreign carrier affiliation under Section 63.10 of the rules shall file tariffs pursuant to Section 203 of the Communications Act, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 203, and Part 61 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. Part 61. Carriers shall not otherwise file tariffs except as permitted by Section 61.19 of the rules, 47 C.F.R. § 61.19. Except as specified in Section 20.15 with respect to commercial mobile radio service providers, carriers regulated as non-dominant, as defined in Section 61.3, and providing detariffed international services pursuant to Section 61.19, must comply with all applicable public disclosure and maintenance of information requirements in Sections 42.10 and 42.11. (9) Carriers shall file the annual reports of overseas telecommunications traffic required by Section 43.61(a). Carriers shall also file the quarterly reports required by Section 43.61 in the circumstances specified in paragraphs (b) and (c) of h S i Page 4 of 5

that Section. (10) Carriers shall file annual reports of circuit status and/or circuit additions in accordance with the requirements set forth in Rules for Filing of International Circuit Status Reports, CC Docket No. 93-157, Report and Order, 10 FCC Rcd 8605 (1995). See 47 C.F.R. § 43.82. See also §§ 63.22(e), 63.23(e). These requirements apply to facilities-based carriers and private line resellers, respectively. See also http:www.fcc.gov/ib/pd/pf/csmanual.html. (11) Carriers should consult Section 63.19 of the rules when contemplating a discontinuance, reduction or impairment of service. Further, the grant of these applications shall not be construed to include authorization for the transmission of money in connection with the services the applicants have been given authority to provide. The transmission of money is not considered to be a common carrier service. (12) If any carrier is reselling service obtained pursuant to a contract with another carrier, the services obtained by contract shall be made generally available by the underlying carrier to similarly situated customers at the same terms, conditions and rates. 47 U.S.C. § 203. (13) To the extent the applicant is, or is affiliated with, an incumbent independent local exchange carrier, as those terms are defined in Section 64.1902 of the rules, it shall provide the authorized services in compliance with the requirements of Section 64.1903. (14) Except as otherwise ordered by the Commission, a carrier authorized here to provide facilities-based service that (i) is classified as dominant under Section 63.10 of the rules for the provision of such service on a particular route and (ii) is affiliated with a carrier that collects settlement payments for terminating U.S. international switched traffic at the foreign end of that route may not provide facilities-based switched service on that route unless the current rates the affiliate charges U.S. international carriers to terminate traffic are at or below the Commission's relevant benchmark adopted in International Settlement Rates, IB Docket No. 96-261, Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 19806 (1997). See also Report and Order on Reconsideration and Order Lifting Stay in IB Docket No. 96-261, FCC 99-124 (rel. June 11, 1999). For the purposes of this rule, "affiliated" and "foreign carrier" are defined in Section 63.09. Exclusion List for International Section 214 Authorizations The following is a list of countries and facilities not covered by grant of global Section 214 authority under Section 63.18(e)(1) of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 63.18(e)(1). In addition, the facilities listed shall not be used by U.S. carriers authorized under Section 63.18 of the Commission's Rules unless the carrier's Section 214 authorization specifically lists the facility. Carriers desiring to serve countries or use facilities listed as excluded hereon shall file a separate Section 214 application pursuant to Section 63.18(e)(3) of the Commission's Rules. See 47 C.F.R. § 63.22(c). Countries: Cuba (Applications for service to Cuba shall comply with the separate filing requirements of the Commission's Public Notice, DA 10-112, dated January 21, 2010, "Modification of Process to Accept Applications for Service to Cuba and Related Matters.") Facilities: All non-U.S.-licensed satellite systems that are not on the Permitted Space Station List, maintained at http://www.fcc.gov/ib/sd/se/permitted.html. See International Bureau Public Notice, DA 99-2844 (rel. Dec. 17, 1999). This list is subject to change by the Commission when the public interest requires. Before amending the list, the Commission will first issue a public notice giving affected parties the opportunity for comment and hearing on the proposed changes. The Commission may then release an order amending the exclusion list. This list also is subject to change upon issuance of an Executive Order. See Streamlining the Section 214 Authorization Process and Tariff Requirements, IB Docket No. 95-118, FCC 96-79, 11 FCC Rcd 12,884, released March 13, 1996 (61 Fed. Reg. 15,724, April 9, 1996). A current version of this list is maintained at http://www.fcc.gov/ib/pd/pf/telecomrules.html#exclusionlist. For additional information, contact the International Bureau's Policy Division, (202) 418-1460. Page 5 of 5


Document Created: 2010-12-06 16:16:37
Document Modified: 2010-12-06 16:16:37
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