FCC Adopts Rules on Reliable Submarine Cable Infrastructure

The Federal Communications Commission adopted rules that require submarine cable licensees to report significant outages to the FCC to help safeguard this critical communications infrastructure and promote reliable communications for businesses and consumers. There are approximately 60 submarine (that is, undersea) cables that provide connectivity – voice, data and Internet service – between the mainland US and Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, as well as the connectivity between the US and the rest of the world. Submarine cables are vital to America’s economic and national security, yet in the past licensees have only reported outages to the FCC on a voluntary and inconsistent basis.

When the FCC has received information on outages, it has been too limited to be of use. The new outage reporting rules will enable the FCC to monitor the operational status of submarine cables and assist the agency in ensuring the reliability of this communications infrastructure. The rules require submarine cable licensees to report major outages to the agency’s Network Outage Reporting System (NORS). Other communications providers – including wireline, wireless, and satellite – already report outages to NORS. This has allowed the FCC to analyze outage trends, spot systemic issues, and work with providers to develop solutions to make communications more resilient and reliable.