Public Notice SCL00166S

Accepted for Filing Streamlined Public Notice

Submarine Cable Landing

2015-07-29

FCC.report > IB > Public Notices > SCL00166S

Filings Included

File NumberService
SCL-LIC-20150626-00015Submarine Cable Landing
IBFS_PN_1097271

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 Report No. SCL-00166S Wednesday July 29, 2015 Streamlined Submarine Cable Landing License Applications Accepted For Filing Unless otherwise specified, the following procedures apply to the applications listed below: The applications listed below have been found, upon initial review, to be acceptable for filing and subject to the streamlined processing procedures set forth in section 1.767 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.767. Pursuant to the Submarine Cable Landing License Act, 47 U.S.C. §§ 34-39, and Executive Order No. 10530, reprinted as amended in 3 U.S.C. § 301, each applicant seeks: (a) the grant of a cable landing licensee; (b) the modification of a cable landing license; and/or (c) the assignment or transfer of control of an interest in a submarine cable landing license. Pursuant to its decision in Review of Commission Consideration of Applications under the Cable Landing License Act, IB Docket No. 00-106, FCC 01-332, 16 FCC Rcd 22167 (2001) and section 1.767 of the rules, the Commission will take action upon these applications within forty-five (45) days after release of this public notice, unless the Commission has informed the applicant in writing that the application, upon further examination, has been deemed ineligible for streamlined processing. Ex parte communications between outside parties and Commission staff concerning these applications are permitted subject to the Commission's rules for "permit-but-disclose proceedings." See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1206. Filings relating to this application must be received within 14 days of this notice. Such filings will not necessarily result in an application being deemed ineligible for streamlined processing. Copies of all applications listed here are available for public inspection in the FCC Reference and Information Center, located in room CY-A257 at the Portals 2 building, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington DC 20554. The center can be contacted at (202) 418-0270. People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 1-888-835-5322 (tty). All applications listed are subject to further consideration and review, and may be returned and/or dismissed if not found to be in accordance with the Commission's rules, regulations, and other requirements. Page 1 of 3

SCL-LIC-20150626-00015 E GTI Corporation Submarine Cable Landing License Application filed by GU Holdings Inc. (GU Holdings), China Mobile International Limited (CMI), China Telecom Global Limited (CTG), Global Transit 2 Limited (GT2L), KDDI Corporation (KDDI), and Singapore Telecom USA Inc. (Singtel USA) (together, the "Applicants") for a license to land and operate a non-common carrier fiber-optic submarine cable extending between the continental United States, Japan, and Taiwan (the FASTER Cable System ("FASTER")). The FASTER Cable System will be owned, operated and maintained pursuant to a Joint Build Agreement (JBA), executed in July 2014, between CMI, CTG, GT2L, KDDI, Singtel, and Google Cable Bermuda Ltd. (GCB). GU Holdings is not a Party to the JBA but will own and operate the U.S. cable landing station. A Management Committee, composed of one representative named by each of the Parties to the JBA, will manage the common infrastructure including directing the engineering, construction, operation, and Maintenance of FASTER system. Decisions of the Management Committee will be by consensus or a simple majority, except for certain major actions that require a super-majority or unanimity. The Parties have entered into a Supply Contract with NEC Corporation and NEC Corporation of America (together, "NEC") for the construction of FASTER, including the subsea plant and certain terrestrial transmission facilities associated with the system. The FASTER system will consist of the following: (1) Segment 1 will connect the existing cable landing station at Bandon, Oregon to the first branching unit (BU1), located off the coast of Chikura, Japan, (2) Segment 2 will connect the existing cable landing station located at Chikura, Japan to BU1, (3) Segment 3 will connect BU1 to Branching Unit 2 (BU2), located off the coast of Shima, Japan, (4) Segment 4 will connect the existing cable landing station located at Shima, Japan to BU2, and(5) Segments 5 and 6 will connect the existing cable landing station located at Tanshui, Taiwan to BU2. The Applicants state that FASTER will consist of six fiber pairs with a total initial design capacity of 60 terabits per second (Tb/s) on the principal portion, or segments 1-4, of the cable system (the "Basic Infrastructure"). Segments 5 and 6 will consist of two fiber pairs with a total initial design capacity of 20 Tb/s (the "Extension Infrastructure"). The FASTER cable system will have a total length of 11,629 kilometers. Construction of the cable will begin in August, 2015, and the Applicants expect the cable system to enter into service the second calendar quarter of 2016. Japan and Taiwan are both World Trade Organization (WTO) Member countries. The Basic Infrastructure of FASTER (Segments 1-4) will be owned in proportionate and indivisible shares, with CMI, CTG, GT2L, GCB, KDDI, and Singtel each holding a 16.667% participation interest and a 16.667% voting interest. The Extension Infrastructure (Segments 5 and 6) will be wholly-owned by GCB, with GCB holding a 100% participation and a 100% voting interest. GCB will hold capacity on FASTER, including the Extension Infrastructure, for GCB's affiliates' own use and services. The owners and operators of each cable landing station are as follows: (1) KDDI will own and operate the cable landing stations located at Chikura, Japan and Shima, Japan. (2) GU Holdings will own and operate the cable landing station located at Bandon, Oregon. A United States Landing Party Agreement and a Japan Landing Party Agreement will govern the relationship between the landing party and the other Parties at these two landings, and individual Parties may connect their capacity to the domestic network or other international cable systems. (3) New Century InfoComm Tech Co., LTD (NCIC), a non-dominant telecommunications operator in Taiwan, will own and operate the cable landing station located at Tanshui, Taiwan. According to the Taiwan Landing Party Agreement between GCB and NCIC, upon completion, GCB shall convey to NCIC ownership of the portion of FASTER that extends 12 nautical miles from the shores of Taiwan, and, in turn, NCIC shall then grant GCB an indefeasible right of use (IRU) for the same portion of FASTER. The primary Network Operations Center (NOC) will be located in the United States. Applicants intend to enter into contractual arrangements with third parties to to operate and manage the U.S. common infrastructure, as well as the U.S. NOC. The Applicants propose to operate the cable system on a non-common carrier basis. They state that the FASTER cable system will help connect U.S. Internet users and businesses to Asia, the world's biggest Internet market, and increase competition on the trans-Pacific route that may result in lower bandwidth prices, which in turn would spur greater service innovation and lower prices for consumers of international communications services. The Applicants also state that the cable will improve service quality for voice and high bandwidth applications such as video, will reduce congestion on other networks in the region, and will improve redundancy and resiliency of the communications network in that region, allowing U.S. consumers and carriers to use capacity on FASTER as an alternative and diverse transmission route between the U.S. and Asia. The Applicants further state that they will not offer capacity to the public indifferently, but rather use the available capacity for their own internal needs, and provide available capacity to third parties based on individually tailored agreements. GU Holdings, a Delaware corporation, is wholly-owned by Google International LLC, a Delaware corporation, which, in turn, is wholly-owned by Google Inc. (Google), a Delaware corporation. The 10 percent or greater voting or equity interest in Google is held by (1) Mr. Larry Page, a U.S. citizen (42.4% of Class B common stock (representing 27.4% voting power), and (2) Mr. Sergey Brin, a U.S. citizen (41.7% of Class B common stock (representing 26.9% voting power). Google Cable Bermuda Ltd. (GCB), organized under the laws of Bermuda, is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Google. GCB owns all of Google's capacity outside of the U.S. CMI, a foreign carrier in Hong Kong, is a limited liability company organized under Hong Kong law. The 10 percent or greater direct or indirect interest holders of CMI are: (1) China Mobile International Holdings Limited (CMIHL), a Hong Kong investment holding company, owns 100% of CMI, (2) China Mobile Limited (CML), a Hong Kong company, own 100% of CMIHL, (3) China Mobile Hong Kong (BVI) Limited (CMHK-BVI), a British Virgin Islands investment holding company, owns 74.2% of CML, (4) China Mobile (Hong Kong) Group Limited (CMHKG), a Hong Kong investment holding company, owns 100% of CMHK-BVI, and (5) China Mobile Communications Corporation (CMCC), a 100% state-owned (People's Republic of China) investment holding company, owns 100% of CMHKG. CTG is the wholly-owned international business subsidiary of China Telecom Corporation Limited, a large provider of telecommunications services in China. CTG is incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong S.A.R. The 10 percent or greater direct or indirect interest holders of CTG are: (1) China Telecom Corporation Limited (China Telecom), a Chinese corporation whose shares are publicly-traded on the Hong Kong and New York (US) stock exchanges, owns, on a direct basis, 100% of CTG, and (2) China Telecommunications Corporation (China Telecom Corp.), an enterprise wholly-owned by the People's Republic of China (PRC), holds a 70.89% ownership interest in China Telecom. GT2L, a foreign carrier in Malaysia, is a Limited By Shares Company organized under the laws of Malaysia. The 10 percent or greater direct or indirect interest holders of GT2L are: (1) TIME dotCom Berhad (TIME), a Malaysian investment holding company, owns 100% of GT2L, (2) Pulau Kapas Ventures Sdn Bhd (PKV), a Malaysian investment holding company, holds a 31.5% ownership interest in TIME, (3) Khazanah Page 2 of 3

Nasional Berhad (Khazanah), the investment holding fund of the Malaysian Government that is wholly-owned by the Malaysian government, holds a 11.38% ownership interest in TIME, (4) Global Transit International Sdn Bhd (GTISB), a Malaysian investment holding company, holds a 70% ownership interest in PKV, (5) Megawisra Sdn Bhd (MSB), a Malaysian investment holding company, owns 100% of GTISB, (6) ) Megawisra Investment Limited (MIL), a British Virgin Island investment holding company, owns 100% of MSB, (7) Mr. Afzal Abdul Rahim, a Malaysian citizen, holds a 75% ownership interest in MIL, and (8) Mr. Gan Te-Shen, a Malaysian citizen, holds the remaining 25% ownership interest in MIL. KDDI, a foreign carrier in Japan, is organized under the laws of Japan. The 10 percent or greater direct or indirect interest holders of KDDI are: (1) Kyocera Corporation, a Japanese corporation whose shares are publicly traded on the Tokyo stock exchange and the New York stock exchange, holds a 12.76% ownership interest KDDI, and (2) Toyota Motor Corporation, a Japanese company whose shares are publicly traded on the Tokyo stock exchange and the New York (US) stock exchange, holds a 11.09% ownership interest in KDDI. Singtel USA is a U.S. subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications Limited, the incumbent telecommunications provider in Singapore. Singtel USA incorporated in the State of California. The 10 percent or greater direct or indirect interest holders of Singtel USA are: (1) Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel), a Singapore company, owns 100% of Singtel USA, (2) Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited (Temasek Holdings), a Singapore investment company wholly-owned and controlled by the Government of Singapore, holds a 51.18% ownership interest in Singtel, (3) Citibank Nominees Singapore Pte Ltd, a Singapore company and subsidiary of Citibank, National Association, a U.S.-based financial institution, holds a 10.94% ownership interest in Singtel, and (4) DBS Nominees Pte Ltd, a Singapore company, holds a 10.65% ownership interest in Singtel. KDDI is presumed to have market power in Japan, and agrees to comply with the reporting requirements in section 1.767(l) of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.767(l) for the U.S.-Japan route. All Applicants agree to abide by the routine conditions specified in section 1.767(g) of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.767(g). REMINDERS: Applicants must certify that neither the applicant nor any party to the application is subject to a denial of federal benefits by federal and/or state courts under authority granted in 21 U.S.C. § 862. See C.F.R. §§ 1.2001-1.2003. By this notice, we inform the public that submarine cable landing license applications and international section 214 applications that are part of larger transactions involving multiple Commission licenses or authorizations may involve "extraordinary circumstances" as referenced in Review of Commission Consideration of Applications under the Cable Landing License Act, Report and Order, 16 FCC Rcd 22167 (2001) and Rules and Policies on Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Market, Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration, 12 FCC Rcd 23891 (1997), paras. 327-28, Order on Reconsideration, 15 FCC Rcd 18158 (2000). Additionally, these extraordinary circumstances may result where Executive Branch agencies petition the Commission to defer decision on certain transactions pending the resolution of potential national security, law enforcement, foreign policy and trade policy issues. Accordingly, these applications may not be acted on within the 90-day review period that the Commission has established as the period of time normally required to reach a decision on non-streamlined cable landing licenses and international section 214 applications. This notice shall serve as public notice to applicants that, in these circumstances, additional time may be required for Commission review and final action. No additional formal public notice will be provided routinely with respect to specific applications in the event that the applicable review period extends beyond 90 days. Page 3 of 3


Document Created: 2015-07-28 16:24:09
Document Modified: 2015-07-28 16:24:09
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