Public Notice SCL00080

Action Taken Public Notice

Submarine Cable Landing

2009-01-16

FCC.report > IB > Public Notices > SCL00080

Filings Included

File Number	Service
SCL-LIC-20080814-00016	Submarine Cable Landing

IBFS_PN_688730

SCL-LIC-20080814-00016 E American Samoa Hawaii Cable, LLC
Submarine Cable Landing License
Grant of Authority Date of Action: 01/15/2009

Acceptability for Filing Public Notice: The Application was placed on Public Notice on September 2, 2008. See American Samoa Hawaii Cable,
LLC, Application for a License to Land and Operate a non-common carrier fiber-optic submarine cable network, the American Samoa-Hawaii
Cable System connecting Keawaula, Hawaii, Iliili, American Samoa, and Apia, the Independent States of Samoa ("Samoa"), File No.
SCL-LIC-20080814-00016, Public Notice, Streamlined Submarine Cable Landing License Applications Accepted for Filing, Report No.
SCL-00074S (Int'l Bur., rel. Sept. 2, 2008). No oppositions to the application were filed in response to the Public Notice.

The U.S. Department of the Interior ("DOI") filed a letter in support of the application on September 18, 2008. DOI states that it has
administrative responsibility for American Samoa and therefore has a strong interest in promoting the deployment of telecommunications
infrastructure to support the American Samoa economy and to lower communications costs. DOI supports the development of a fiber-optic cable
system to serve American Samoa to improve connectivity beyond American Samoa while enhancing Internet usage and penetration. According to
DOI, the cable will also foster the development of offshore service industries and encourage the use of telemedicine and distance learning.

The Application has been coordinated with the Department of State and other relevant Executive Branch agencies pursuant to section 1.767(b) of
the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. §1.767(b), and consistent with procedures established with the Department of State. See Review of
Commission Consideration of Applications under the Cable Landing License Act, IB Docket No. 00-106, Report and Order, 16 FCC Rcd 22167,
22192-93, paras. 51-52 (2001) (Submarine Cable Landing License Report and Order); Streamlined Procedures for Executive Branch Review of
Submarine Cable Landing License Requests, State Department Media Note (Revised) (rel. Dec. 20, 2001) available at
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2001/6951.htm The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice filed a Petition to Adopt
Conditions to Authorizations and Licenses on January 9, 2009.

Actions Taken: (1) Grant of Cable Landing License to American Samoa Hawaii Cable, LLC ("ASHC"), Pac-Rim Redeployment, LLC ("PRR"),
and AST Telecom, LLC d/b/a Blue Sky Communications ("Blue Sky" and, together with ASHC and PRR, "Applicants") for the purpose of
landing and operating a non-common carrier fiber-optic submarine cable system, the American Samoa-Hawaii Cable System (the "ASHC
System"), connecting Keawaula, Hawaii, Iliili, American Samoa, and Apia, Samoa, and (2) waiver of section 1.767(h)(1) of the Commission's
rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.767(h)(1), in connection with the License.

Licensee Information: PRR will construct and initially own the wet link portion of the ASHC System, including the Hawaii, American Samoa,
and the Samoa shore-end portions of the system. Upon commissioning, pursuant to a Purchase Agreement, ASHC will acquire the ASHC System.
ASHC will operate the wet-link portion of the ASHC System, including the Hawaii-American Samoa and American Samoa-Samoa segments, as
well as the Hawaii, American Samoa, and Samoa shore-end portions of the ASHC System. Blue Sky will construct, own and operate the Iliili
cable station in American Samoa. SamoaTel Limited ("SamoaTel") will construct, own and operate the Apia cable station in Samoa. SamoaTel
will not have any equity interest in the ASHC System or the cable stations in Hawaii or American Samoa.

Blue Sky is a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of eLandia International Inc. Stanford International Bank, Ltd ("SIB"), organized under the laws of
Antigua and Barbuda, owns 68.1% of and controls eLandia International. SIB is a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Stanford International
Bank Holdings Ltd. ("SIB Holdings"), also organized under the laws of Antigua and Barbuda. SIB Holdings is wholly owned by Mr. R. Allen
Stanford, a U.S. citizen.

PRR is owned by eLandia Technologies, Inc. (80%) and MC Cable I, LLC (20%). eLandia Technologies is a wholly-owned direct subsidiary of
eLandia International. MC Cable I is owned by two members: (1) Pac Rim Investments, LLC (51%) and (2) MC Partners American Samoa
Holdings, LLC (49%). Pac Rim Investments is wholly owned by James R. Wilson, a U.S. citizen. MC Partners American Samoa Holdings is
owned by six U.S. citizens: (i) Thomas A. Harris (32%), (ii) Michael P. Dunn (24%), (iii) John B. Rucker III (17.6%), (iv) Douglas C. Sellers
(13.5%), (v) Philip W. Fletcher III (7.9%), and (vi) Kenneth C. Funderburk (5%).

ASHC is owned by eLandia Technologies (53.44%), the American Samoa Government (33.33%), and MC Cable II, LLC (13.33%). MC Cable II,
LLC has the same ownership as MC Cable I, LLC.

Cable Design and Capacity: The ASHC System will initially consist of two (2) segments of digital fiber-optic cable. The first segment will
connect Keawaula, on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, with Iliili, American Samoa. The second segment will connect Iliili with Apia, Samoa. On
the Hawaii-American Samoa segment, the ASHC System will consist of two (2) optical fiber pairs, with a design capacity and initial configuration
capacity of 1.12 Gbps. On the American Samoa-Samoa segment, the ASHC System will consist of two (2) optical fiber pairs, with a design
capacity of 160 Gbps but an initial capacity of 2.5 Gbps. To construct the ASHC System, the Applicants will remove a section of the former PAC
Rim East cable system between New Zealand and Hawaii and reinstall that section to terminate at the cable stations at Iliili, American Samoa, and
Apia, Samoa. The new ASHC System will use the same cable landing facilities in Hawaii as the former Pac Rim East system, including the
existing bore pipes, beach manhole, conduit, and Keawaula cable station.

Cable Landing Point Arrangements: The ASHC System will use the existing cable station at Keawaula, Hawaii, which is owned by AT&T, Inc.
ASHC has entered into an agreement with AT&T giving ASHC a long-term lease in AT&T's conduits connecting the ASHC System's Hawaii
beach landing with the Keawaula cable station and a long-term lease in the collocation space in the Keawaula cable station building. ASHC will
have exclusive control over and access to the ASHC System's terminal equipment which it will collocate in the Keawaula cable station building.
Equipment for the system will be separately caged and controlled exclusively by the Applicants from their network operations center in the Iliili
cable station. Application at 19.

Section 1.767(h) requires that "any entity that owns or controls a cable landing station in the United States" shall be "applicants for, and licensees
on, a cable landing license." The purpose of this requirement is to ensure that entities having a significant ability to affect the operation of the
cable system become licensees so that they are subject to the conditions and responsibilities associated with the license. See Submarine Cable
Landing License Report and Order, 16 FCC Rcd at 22194-95, paras. 53-54.

Although AT&T, Inc. owns the existing cable station at station at Keawaula, Hawaii, it will not be able to affect significantly the operation of the
ASHC System The Applicants will retain operational authority over their ASHC System facilities and provide direction to AT&T in all matters
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ASHC System. The Applicants will retain operational authority over their ASHC System facilities and provide direction to AT&T in all matters
relating to the ASHC System. Pursuant to an agreement between ASHC and AT&T, AT&T will perform certain limited "remote hands"
monitoring, testing, and maintenance services on the Applicants' equipment, which will be performed in accordance with ASHC's directions.
Application at 19. See 47 C.F.R. § 1.767(h)(1). Accordingly, we grant Applicants a waiver of section 1.767(h)(1) and do not require AT&T, Inc.
to be on this Cable Landing License.

Regulatory Status of Cable: The Applicants propose to operate the ASHC System on a non-common carrier basis. Applicants state that capacity
on the ASHC System will not be sold indifferently to the user public, but will be used by the Applicants and offered to other carriers on terms
tailored to their particular needs. Applicants state that the ASHC System will not have sufficient market power to warrant common carrier
regulation.

Applicants have provided information that the proposed operation of the cable on a non-common carrier basis satisfies the requirements set forth
in National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners v. FCC, 525 F.2d 630, 642 (D.C. Cir 1976) (NARUC I), cert. denied, 425 U.S. 992
(1976). See also Submarine Cable Landing License Report and Order, 16 FCC Rcd at 22202-22203, paras. 69-70; Review of Commission
Consideration of Applications under the Cable Landing License Act, IB Docket No. 00-106, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 15 FCC Rcd 20789,
20815-20818, paras. 62-67; 47 C.F.R. §1.767(g)(10) (the Commission reserves the right to impose common carrier regulation or other regulation
on the operations of the cable system if it finds that the public interest so requires).

Conditions and Requirements: Applicants shall comply with the routine conditions set out in section 1.767(g)(1)-(14) of the Commission's rules,
47 C.F.R. § 1.767(g)(1)-(14), and with the requirements of section 1.768 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.768 (notifications and prior
approval for submarine cable landing licensees that are or propose to become affiliated with a foreign carrier).

Applicants "shall at all times comply with any requirements of United States government authorities regarding the location and concealment of the
cable facilities, buildings, and apparatus for the purpose of protecting and safeguarding the cables from injury or destruction by enemies of the
United States of America." 47 C.F.R. § 1.767(g)(3). The International Bureau will inform the licensees of specific requirements in connection
with this condition.

We grant the Petition to Adopt Conditions to Authorizations and Licenses (Petition) filed in this proceeding on January 9, 2009 by the
Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice. Accordingly, we condition grant of this application on American Samoa
Hawaii Cable, LLC and AST Telecom, LLC abiding by the commitments and undertakings contained in their January 9, 2009, Agreement with
the Department of Homeland Security. A copy of the Petition and the January 9, 2009, Agreement are publicly available and may be viewed on
the FCC website through the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS) by searching for SCL-LIC-20080814-00016 and accessing "Other filings
related to this application" from the Document Viewing area.

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Document Created: 2009-01-15 16:13:23
Document Modified: 2009-01-15 16:13:23

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