Attachment Petition

This document pretains to ITC-T/C-20041119-00460 for Transfer of Control on a International Telecommunications filing.

IBFS_ITCTC2004111900460_416865

Before the
                              Federal Communications Commission
                                    Washington, DC 20554



    In the Matter of

    Application Pursuant to Section 214 of the      File No. ITC-T/C-20041119-00460
    Communications Act of 1934 and
    Section 63.24 of the Commission’s Rules for
    Consent to the Transfer of Control of Infonet
    Broadband Services Corporation to BT Group
    plc

    and

    Application Pursuant to Section 214 of the    WC Docket No. 04-421
    Communications Act of 1934 and
    Section 63.04 of the Commission’s Rules for
    Consent to the Transfer of Control of Infonet
    Telecommunications Corporation to BT Group
    plc



To: Office of the Secretary
Attention: International Bureau and Wireline Competition Bureau

                           PETITION TO ADOPT CONDITIONS TO
                            AUTHORIZATIONS AND LICENSES

          The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”), including the Federal Bureau of

Investigation (“FBI”), together with the United States Department of Homeland Security

(“DHS”) (collectively, the “Agencies”), respectfully submit this Petition to Adopt Conditions to

Authorizations and Licenses (“Petition”), pursuant to Section 1.41 of the Federal

Communications Commission’s (“FCC” or “Commission”) rules.1 Through this Petition, the

Agencies advise the Commission that they have no objection to the Commission granting the

1
    47 C.F.R. § 1.41.


above-referenced Application, provided that the Commission conditions the grant of the

Application on British Telecommunications plc (“BT”),2 and its subsidiaries operating in the

United States, abiding by the commitments and undertakings contained in BT’s January 12, 2005

letter from Tim Cowen, General Counsel, BT Global Services, to Laura H. Parsky, Tina W.

Gabbrielli, and Patrick W. Kelley (“Letter”), attached hereto as Exhibit 1.

         In the above-captioned docket, Infonet Broadband Services Corporation (“IBSC”),

Infonet Telecommunications Corporation (“ITC”), and BT Group plc (collectively the

“Applicants”) filed an Application requesting approval to transfer control of IBSC and ITC from

their ultimate corporate parent, Infonet Services Corporation (“Infonet”), to BT Group plc.

Pursuant to the terms of an agreement and plan of merger (“Merger Agreement”) entered into by

BT on behalf of its ultimate corporate parent, BT Group plc, and Infonet, Infonet would become

a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of BT United States L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability

company that is indirectly wholly-owned by BT Group plc. IBSC and ITC, in turn, would each

remain a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infonet. On December 14, 2004, the Agencies and the

Applicants jointly requested that the Commission defer grant of the Application until the

Agencies and Applicants notify the Commission that they have addressed any aspects of the

Application that the Agencies believe may raise potential national security, law enforcement, and

public safety matters.

         As the Commission is aware, the Agencies have taken the position that their ability to

satisfy their obligations to protect the national security, enforce the laws, and preserve the safety

of the public could be impaired by transactions in which foreign entities will own or operate a

part of the U.S. telecommunications system, or in which foreign-located facilities will be used to


2
    British Telecommunications plc is an indirect subsidiary of applicant BT Group plc.


provide domestic telecommunications services to U.S. customers. In the Foreign Participation

Order, the Commission stated that, in reviewing license applications from foreign carriers under

Sections 214 and 310(b)(4) of the Communications Act, it would: (1) continue to apply the

public interest test, and (2) “continue to find national security, law enforcement, foreign policy

and trade policy concerns relevant to our decision to grant or deny Section 214 and 310(b)(4)

applications from applicants from WTO Member[s].”3 The Commission further stated that it

would “continue to accord deference to the expertise of Executive Branch agencies in identifying

and interpreting issues of concern” relating to national security, law enforcement, and foreign

policy relevant to a pending application.4 In recent cases the Commission has adopted, as

conditions of the requested licenses and authorizations, commitments agreed upon between the

Agencies and the applicants that address these issues.5

          After discussions with the Applicants’ representatives in connection with the proposed

acquisition and transfer of control, the Agencies have concluded that the commitments set forth

in the Letter are sufficient to ensure that the Agencies and other entities with responsibility for

enforcing the law, protecting the national security, and preserving public safety can proceed in a

legal, secure, and confidential manner to satisfy these responsibilities. Accordingly, the

3
 In the Matter of Rules and Policies of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications
Market, 12 FCC Rcd 23,891, para. 61 (Nov. 1997).
4
    Id., para. 63.
5
  See, e.g., Memorandum Opinion, Order and Authorization, Loral Satellite, Inc. and Intelsat
North America, LLC, 2004 WL 253309, 19 FCC Rcd 2404 (F.C.C.) (2004); Memorandum
Opinion, Order and Authorization, Bell Atlantic New Zealand Holdings, Inc. and Pacific
Telecom Inc., 18 FCC Rcd 23,140, 2003 WL 22517694 (F.C.C.) (2003); Memorandum Opinion,
Order and Authorization, Global Crossing Ltd. and GC Acquisition Limited, 18 FCC Rcd
20,301, 2003 WL 22309107 (F.C.C.) (2003); Error! Main Document Only.Memorandum
Opinion, Order and Authorization, XO Communications, Inc., 17 FCC Rcd 19,212, 2002 WL
31235646 (F.C.C.) (2002) (agreement adopted by the Commission, but the transaction was not
consummated); Memorandum Opinion and Order, VoiceStream Wireless Corporation, Powertel,
Inc., and Deutsche Telekom AG, 16 FCC Rcd 9779, 2001 WL 476559 (2001).


Agencies hereby advise the Commission that they have no objection to the Commission granting

the above-referenced Application for consent to transfers of control, provided that the

Commission conditions its consent on compliance by BT and its subsidiaries operating in the

United States with the commitments set forth in the Letter.

        The Agencies are authorized to state that the Applicants do not object to the grant of this

Petition.

                                      Respectfully submitted,


/s/ LAURA H. PARSKY                                           /s/ PATRICK W. KELLEY
Laura H. Parsky                                               Patrick W. Kelley
Deputy Assistant Attorney General                             Deputy General Counsel
Office of the Assistant Attorney General                      Federal Bureau of Investigation
Criminal Division – Room 2113                                 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
United States Department of Justice                           Washington, D.C. 20532
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.                                 (202) 324-6829
Washington, D.C. 20530
(202) 616-3928


/s/ TINA W. GABBRIELLI
Tina W. Gabbrielli
Director of Intelligence Coordination and
       Special Infrastructure Protection Programs
Office of Infrastructure Protection
United States Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528
(202) 282-8582

January 31, 2005



Document Created: 2005-02-10 13:33:29
Document Modified: 2005-02-10 13:33:29

© 2024 FCC.report
This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FCC