Attachment HICS License Extensi

This document pretains to SCL-MOD-20190305-00007 for Modification on a Submarine Cable Landing filing.

IBFS_SCLMOD2019030500007_1633758

                                      Before the
                       FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                                Washington, D.C. 20554


    In the matter of

    HAWAII INTERISLAND CABLE
    SYSTEM,
                                                     File No. SCL-MOD-2019_______
    Operating Between the Islands of Oahu,
    Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii in the State of
    Hawaii,

    Application to Modify the Term of the
    Cable Landing License



                     REQUEST FOR MODIFICATION OF THE
             HAWAII INTERISLAND CABLE SYSTEM LANDING LICENSE


       Pursuant to An Act Relating to the Landing and Operation of Submarine Cables in the

United States1 and Section 1.767 of the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC”) rules,2

Hawaiian Telcom, Inc. (“HTI”) hereby requests that the Commission modify the term of the

existing undersea cable system license to operate the Hawaii Interisland Cable System (File No.

SCL-LIC-19921015-00008 (redesignated from S-C-L-93-003)) (“HICS” or “HICS Cable”) for

an additional five-year period, to and including July 31, 2024. This modification application for

extension constitutes an “appropriate application” within the meaning of Section 1.767(g)(14) to

extend the current 25-year license term.



1
    47 U.S.C. §§ 34-39 (the “Cable Landing License Act”).
2
    47 C.F.R. § 1.767. On advice of FCC staff, HTI hereby withdraws its Motion for Extension
    of the Term of the License to Operate the Hawaii Interisland Cable System, File No. SCL-
    LIC-19921015-00008, filed on January 28, 2019, requesting the same action as this
    modification application.


I.      DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED MODIFICATION

        HICS was licensed in 1993 to GTE Hawaiian Telephone Co. as a common carrier

submarine cable system for a 25-year period in the HICS Licensing Order.3 The HICS cable

landing license is scheduled to terminate on July 31, 2019.4 At the time of the grant of the

original cable landing license, the applicant and the FCC expected that a submarine cable system

would be technologically at end-of-life before the completion of the 25-year license term.

Twenty five-years later, however, HTI continues to use HICS to provide interisland service,

including telecommunications, video, and broadband services, and believes that the cable system

will continue to operate within acceptable parameters for a period of time in the future.

        Applicant requests that the license be modified to extend the license term for five more

years to permit HTI to continue to operate the Hawaii Interisland Cable System to and including

July 31, 2024. HTI acknowledges that grant of this application to permit the continued operation

of the license will be fully subject to the conditions set forth in the original cable landing license

grant, and any subsequent conditions imposed by Commission order of public notice thereon.




3
     GTE Hawaiian Telephone Co.; Application for a License to Land and Operate a High
     Capacity Digital Submarine Cable System wholly within the State of Hawaii, linking the
     islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii, 8 FCC Rcd 7605 (Com. Car. Bur. 1993) (“HICS
     Licensing Order”).
4
     Letter from Steven P. Golden, Vice President, External Affairs, HTI, to Tom Sullivan,
     International Bureau Chief, FCC (May 22, 2018) (“Replacement In-Service Letter”).
     Because the original HICS application was filed by another party, and transferred three
     times, HTI was unable to locate a copy of the original in-service letter. Upon request made
     to the International Bureau, the Bureau staff were also unable to locate a copy of the original
     in-service letter. Therefore, HTI provided evidence of an approximate in-service date of July
     31, 1994, which has been accepted by the FCC staff as the in-service date. Email from
     Angela Demahy, FCC, to Candace Donohoe, HTI (May 14, 2018), attached as Appendix A.

                                                  2


II.    INFORMATION REQUIRED BY SECTION 1.767 OF THE COMMISSION’S
       RULES

       (1)     Name, Address, and Telephone Number of co-Applicant

       Hawaiian Telcom, Inc.
       1177 Bishop Street, Suite 17
       Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
       Phone: 808-546-3877

       (2)     Government, State, or Territory Under the Laws of Which Applicant Is
               Organized

       HTI is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Hawaii.

       (3)     Contact Information

       Copies of all pleadings, correspondence, notices, and other communications should also

be sent to co-Applicant’s counsel as follows:

       STEVEN P. GOLDEN
       Hawaiian Telcom, Inc.
       1177 Bishop Street
       Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
       Phone: 808-546-3877
       Fax: 808-546-8992
       Email: steven.golden@hawaiiantel.com

       With copies to:

       GREGORY J. VOGT, Esq.
       Law Offices of Gregory J. Vogt, PLLC
       103 Black Mountain Ave., Suite 11
       Black Mountain, NC 28711
       Phone: 828-669-2099
       Email: gvogt@vogtlawfirm.com

       (4)     Description of the Cable

       HICS is a high capacity, fiber optic system that is approximately 282 miles in length,

consists of 12 fiber strands, and has a current cumulative design capacity of 300 gigabits per

second. The HICS Cable connects four of the Hawaiian Islands: Oahu, Kauai, Maui, and

Hawaii.

                                                3


         (5)    Landing Points

         The cable landing stations for the HICS Cable are described in Appendix B.

         (6)    Method of Regulation

         The submarine cable will continue to be operated on a common carrier basis.

         (7)    List of HICS’ Owner

         HICS Cable and associated landing stations are 100 percent owned, including both

ownership and voting interests, by HTI. Cincinnati Bell Inc. (“CBI”) is the ultimate parent

company that indirectly wholly owns HTI.5 CBI common stock is publicly traded and is

widely held. BlackRock Inc. holds a 14.5% interest in CBI. Its contact information is listed

below:
BlackRock, Inc.
55 East 52nd Street
New York, NY 10055
Place of incorporation: Delaware
Percent ownership: Directly owns 14.5 percent of Cincinnati Bell Inc., and therefore, indirectly
owns 14.5 percent of HTI
Principal business: Investment management
Contact: Daniel Waltcher

         The FCC recently reviewed and approved the current ownership structure of HTI, and its

direct and indirect parent companies, including their ownership.6

         (8)    Certification and Ownership Information Required by Sections 63.18(h)-(k)
         and (o) and 1.767(8) of the Commission’s Rules

         Information requested by Section 63.18(h) & 1.767(i): Information concerning the

ownership of HTI is provided in response to question (7) above.


5
    The ownership structure of HTI is depicted in an organization chart contained in Appendix
    C.
6
    Public Notice, Applications Granted for the Transfer of Control of Hawaiian Telcom Holdco,
    Inc. to Cincinnati Bell Inc., WC Docket No. 17-207, DA 18-636 (WCB, IB, WTB, rel. Jun.
    19, 2018).

                                                  4


        Information requested by Section 63.18(i) & 1.767(ii): HTI certifies that it is not a

foreign carrier within the meaning of Section 63.09(d) of the Commission’s rules nor is it

affiliated with any foreign carriers within the meaning of Section 63.09(e) of the Commission’s

rules, or any entity that owns or controls a cable landing station, in a foreign country.

        Information requested by Section 63.18(j) & 1.767(iii): HTI certifies that it does not seek

to provide international telecommunications services, or land and operate a submarine cable

connecting the United States, to any country where: (i) it is a foreign carrier in that country; or

(ii) it controls a foreign carrier in that country, (iii) there exists any entity that owns more than 25

percent of the applicant, or controls the applicant, or controls a foreign carrier in that country, or

(iv) there exist two or more foreign carriers (or parties that control foreign carriers) that own, in

the aggregate, more than 25 percent of the applicant and are parties to, or the beneficiaries of, a

contractual relation affecting the provision or marketing of international basic

telecommunications services or arrangements for the terms of acquisition, sale, lease, transfer

and use of capacity on the cable, in the United States.

        Information requested by Section 63.18(n): HTI certifies that it has not agreed to accept

special concessions directly or indirectly from any foreign carrier with respect to any U.S.

international route where the foreign carrier possesses market power on the foreign end of the

route and will not enter into such agreements in the future.

        Information requested by Section 63.18(o): HTI certifies, pursuant to Sections 1.2001

through 1.2003 of the Commission’s rules, that neither it, nor any of its affiliates, or any officer

or director of it or its affiliates is subject to a denial of Federal benefits pursuant to Section 5301

of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1998, 21 U.S.C. § 853a.




                                                   5


          (9)     Certification of Compliance with Conditions

          HTI certifies that it accepts and will abide by the routine conditions imposed in the HICS

Licensing Order or that have been imposed by Commission order or public notice thereafter.7

HTI specifically certifies that it will continue to abide by the Letter of Assurance, dated

December 7, 2012, among HTI, U.S. Department of Justice, and U.S. Department of Homeland

Security, including the agreement of Cincinnati Bell Inc. to abide by the 2012 Letter of

Assurance (Letter from Christopher J. Wilson, Cincinnati Bell Inc. to Michael Dougherty, U.S.

Department of Homeland Security (dated June 1, 2018)).8

III.      ELIGIBILITY FOR STREAMLINED PROCESSING

          Pursuant to Sections 1.767(i) & (j) of the Commission’s rules, HTI requests streamlined

processing of the instant application. As indicated in the answer to Question 8, HTI is not

affiliated with a foreign carrier in any of the submarine cable’s destination markets because the

cable landing points are entirely within the State of Hawaii.

IV.       PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

          Grant of this modification application is in the public interest because it will permit the

continued provision of telecommunications, video, and broadband services to customers of HTI

and its affiliates to meet the increasing demand for such services. Through HTI’s responsibilities

as an ILEC, HICS is used to support the provision of services to the entire state of Hawaii. In

addition to HTI’s own services, traffic on the cable includes broadband internet connectivity and

backhaul traffic for wireless carriers from their neighbor island customers to their Points-Of-


7
       The “routine conditions” identified in Section 1.767(g) do not apply to the instant license
       because it was granted before March 15, 2002.
8
       See Wavecom Solutions Corp., Transferor, and Hawaiian Telcom, Inc., Transferee,
       Application for Consent to Transfer Control, WC Docket No. 12-206, 27 FCC Rcd 16081,
       ¶ 35 (Chiefs WCB, IB & WTB 2012).

                                                    6


Presence (“POPs”) on Oahu. HICS is essential to providing both capacity for broadband growth

and diversity to interisland links connecting the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, and Kauai, and is

used to support telecommunication services for economic growth, education, and health and

safety services to remote areas of the state, including emergency services.

        The federal government also depends on this facility to transport interisland

communications in support of military and other national security operations. The U.S. Indo-

Pacific Command Headquarters, located in Hawaii, is responsible for monitoring: (i) over 50

percent of earth's surface, from the west coast of the U.S. mainland to the east coast of Africa,

and from the Arctic to Antarctic; (ii) nearly 60 percent of the world’s population; (iii) 43

countries, 20 territories and possessions, and 10 U.S. territories; (iv) the world’s largest armed

forces (other than the U.S.) in the People’s Republic of China, Russia, India, North Korea and

South Korea; and (iv) compliance with five of the seven worldwide U.S. mutual defense treaties:

U.S.- Republic of the Philippines (Mutual Defense Treaty, 1952); ANZUS (Australia – New

Zealand - U.S., 1952); U.S.-Republic of Korea (Mutual Defense Treaty, 1954); South East Asia

Collective Defense (U.S. - France - Australia - New Zealand - Thailand - Philippines, 1955);

U.S.-Japan (Mutual Defense Treaty, 1960).

        As indicated previously, wholesale customers rely on the undersea cable facility to

provide telecommunications and other services to their end-user customers. HTI submits that

terminating service to these wholesale customers would risk violating HTI’s contractual and

tariff obligations.

        It would be extremely disruptive to all of HTI’s end-user and wholesale customers if HTI

were unable to use this facility subsequent to the end date of the current 25-year cable landing




                                                  7


license. Therefore, HICS will continue to be a critical part of HTI’s network past the current 25-

year term of the cable system license.

        Notwithstanding, HTI believes that HICS will be at the end of its technological life

within the next five years. Before that time, the cable system will have to be either substantially

upgraded or replaced with other cable facilities in order to meet the increasing capacity required

by broadband and video customers of HTI, its affiliates, and wholesale customers. Because of

uncertainties in future technological changes and marketplace developments, however, a final

decision cannot be made at this time regarding the date of the expected termination or upgrade of

the HICS Cable.9 Extension of the HICS license will cause no harm to any existing

telecommunications facility or provider, since the Cable has been operating for 25 years in

harmony with other telecommunications facilities and providers. A reasonable extension of

time, five years, would provide a workable time frame in which to evaluate operational and

technical considerations and implement any permanent transition without prematurely

withdrawing the HICS Cable capacity. Therefore, it would serve the public interest to grant this

modification to the existing HICS cable landing license.

        Neither the Cable Landing License Act nor Executive Order 10530 specify the length of a

submarine cable license. Instead, the term was dictated by the terms of the original license

grant.10 The rules permit a submarine cable landing license to be extended “upon proper

application.” 47 C.F.R. § 1.767(g)(14). This modification application constitutes such proper

application. The FCC has the authority to extend this period if it would be in the public interest

to do so. As specified herein, providing continued service to customers as well as providing HTI
9
     If HTI decides to upgrade HICS, then it will submit a new application for authorization of the
     undersea cable system license pursuant to 47 C.F.R. § 1.767.
10
     HICS Licensing Order, Condition 6. The 25-year length of a submarine cable landing license
     is now codified in the rules at 47 C.F.R. § 1.767(g)(14).

                                                 8


with the flexibility to make prudent operational and technical decisions with respect to its

network, would produce significant consumer benefits.

V. REQUEST FOR RELIEF

       For the foregoing reasons, the Commission should grant HTI a five year extension of the

license term to allow it to continue to operate the Hawaii Interisland Cable System to and

including July 31, 2024.

                                                     Respectfully submitted


    Of Counsel                                       By: __/s/ Steven P. Golden_____
                                                         Steven P. Golden
    Gregory J. Vogt                                      Vice President External Affairs
    Law Offices of Gregory J. Vogt, PLLC                 Hawaiian Telcom, Inc.
    103 Black Mountain Ave., Suite 11                    1177 Bishop Street Suite 17
    Black Mountain, NC 28611                             Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
    (828) 669-2099
    gvogt@vogtlawfirm.com


March 5, 2019




                                                 9


                                  Certificate of Service _

I, Gregory J. Vogt, do hereby certify that I have on this 5th day of March, 2019, caused a
copy of the foregoing "Request forModification of the Hawaii Interisland Cable System
Landing License" to be served by first class mail or electronic mail (*designates
electronic mail service only) upon the following:

U.S. Coordinator, EB/CIP
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW.
Washington DC 20520—5818

Office of Chief Counsel
National Telecommunications & Informatlon Admlmstratlon
U.S. Department of Commerce
14th St. & Constitution Ave., NW.
Washington, DC 20230

Defense Information Systems Agency
ATTN: GC/DO1
6910 Cooper Avenue
Fort Meade, MD 20755—7088

* David Krech
david.krech@fcec.gov
International Bureau
Federal Communications Commussion
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20554


RE: Follow-up in-service letter
                                                                      Appendix A

         Subject: RE: Follow-up in-service letter
         From: Angela Demahy <Angela.Demahy@fcc.gov>
         Date: 5/14/18, 4:49 PM
         To: Candace Donohoe <Candace.Donohoe@hawaiiantel.com>
         CC: Jacqueline Tello <Jacqueline.Tello@fcc.gov>, "Gregory Vogt
         (gvogt@vogtlawfirm.com)" <gvogt@vogtlawfirm.com>, Steven Golden
         <Steven.Golden@hawaiiantel.com>

         Ms. Donohoe,
         Thank you providing the in-service le:er, along with suppor<ng documenta<on for the in-service date, for both
         the HICS and HIFN cable systems. The documenta<on you provided sufficiently supports the in-service dates for
         both systems.
         I do not see the in-service le:er and suppor<ng documenta<on in IBFS for either system. Please upload the le:ers
         with suppor<ng documenta<on you sent me into IBFS under file No. SCL-LIC-19921015-00008 for HICS, and
         SCL-LIC-19950627-00024 for HIFN.
         Do not hesitate to contact me with any ques<ons.
         Best,
         Angela DeMahy



         From: Candace Donohoe [mailto:Candace.Donohoe@hawaiiantel.com]
         Sent: Friday, May 11, 2018 6:05 PM
         To: Angela Demahy <Angela.Demahy@fcc.gov>
         Cc: Jacqueline Tello <Jacqueline.Tello@fcc.gov>; Gregory Vogt (gvogt@vogtlawfirm.com)
         <gvogt@vogtlawfirm.com>; Steven Golden <Steven.Golden@hawaiiantel.com>
         Subject: RE: Follow-up in-service le:er

         Ms. DeMahy,
         Per your instructions below, in-service replacement letters and supporting documentation for the
         Hawaii Interisland Cable System (HICS) submarine cable system, SCL-LIC-19921015-00008, and
         the Hawaii Island Fiber Network (HIFN), SCL-LIC-19950627-00024 were filed via IBFS today.
         Copies of the documents are attached for your reference.
         If there are any questions, please let me know.
         Thank you.
         Candy Donohoe
         Sr. Manager, Regulatory Affairs
         Hawaiian Telcom
         O: 808.546.7730 | C: 808.783.0864 | F: 808.523.7492
         candace.donohoe@hawaiiantel.com




         This message is for the designated recipient only and may contain privileged, proprietary, or otherwise private informa<on. If you have
         received it in error, please no<fy the sender immediately and delete the original. Any other use of this email by you is prohibited.




1 of 2                                                                                                                                12/10/18, 9:21 AM


RE: Follow-up in-service letter
                                                             Appendix A
         -------- Forwarded Message --------
         Subject:Follow-up in-service le:er
           Date:Fri, 4 May 2018 19:23:12 +0000
           From:Angela Demahy <Angela.Demahy@fcc.gov>
              To:Gregory Vogt <gvogt@vogtlawfirm.com>
              CC:Jacqueline Tello <Jacqueline.Tello@fcc.gov>
         Good afernoon,

         We understand that you are a:emp<ng to locate a copy of the original le:er no<fying the Commission that the
         Hawaii Interisland Cable System (HICS) submarine cable system, SCL-LIC-19921015-00008 and the Hawaii Island
         Fiber Network (HIFN), SCL-LIC-19950627-00024, have been placed into service (in-service le:er). If you cannot
         locate the original in-service le:er, we are willing to accept a new le:er no<fying us of the in-service date for the
         submarine cable system.

         Please file the le:er and any suppor<ng documenta<on into SCL-LIC-19921015-00008 for HICS and SCL-LIC-
         19950627-00024 for HIFN via IBFS, and send a copy of the submission to those on this email. The le:er should
         explain the efforts you took and the reasons you were unable to locate the original in-service le:er. We also
         request that you describe in the le:er the basis for the in-service date. If you have documenta<on or public
         informa<on iden<fying the date the cable went into service, such as a press release, please a:ach them to the
         le:er.

         Finally, if counsel or contact informa<on for the submarine cable system has changed, please provide that
         informa<on in the le:er and update IBFS.

         Please do not hesitate to contact me with any ques<ons.

         Thank you,




         Angela DeMahy
         A:orney Advisor
         Interna<onal Bureau
         Federal Communica<ons Commission
         202-418-7953




2 of 2                                                                                                             12/10/18, 9:21 AM


                                     Appendix B

        HAWAII INTERISLAND CABLE SYSTEM (HICS)
        CABLE LANDING STATION INFORMATION
Station      Owner                    Cable Landing Point         Equipment Location
Lihue        Hawaiian Telcom, Inc.    Wailua Beach                HTI Lihue Central Office
                                      22° 01.47'N, 159° 20.37'W   4444 Rice St.
                                                                  Lihue, HI 96766
Ko Olina     Hawaiian Telcom, Inc.    Kahe Beach                  HTI Koolina Central Office
                                      21° 21.14'N, 158° 07.81'W   92-1389 Aliinui Dr.
                                                                  Ko Olina, HI 96707
Koko Head    Hawaiian Telcom, Inc.    Sandy Beach                 HTI Koko Head Central Office
                                      21° 17.32'N, 157° 40.07'W   7664 Hawaii Kai Dr.
                                                                  Honolulu, HI 96825
Kihei        Hawaiian Telcom, Inc.    Mokapu Beach                HTI Kihei Central Office
                                      20° 41.61'N, 156° 26.61'W   210 Halona St.
                                                                  Kihei, HI 96753
Kawaihae     Hawaiian Telcom, Inc.    Spencer Beach               HTI Kawaihae Central Office
                                      20° 01.45'N, 155° 49.33'W   62-3440 Queen Kaahumanu Hwy.
                                                                  Kawaihae, HI 96743


                          HICS Kauai Landing

                       Beach Manhole
                  22° 01.47'N, 159° 20.37'W




  HTI Lihue CO
  4444 Rice St.
Lihue, HI 96766


HICS West Oahu Landing



                   Beach Manhole
              21° 21.14'N, 158° 07.81'W




                                           HTI Ko Olina CO
                                          92-1389 Aliinui Dr.
                                          Ko Olina, HI 96707


                      HICS East Oahu Landing


 HTI Koko Head CO
7664 Hawaii Kai Dr.
Honolulu, HI 96825




                                    Beach Manhole
                               21° 17.32'N, 157° 40.07'W


                  HICS Maui Landing


  HTI Kihei CO
 210 Halona St.
Kihei, HI 96753




                                       Beach Manhole
                                  20° 41.61'N, 156° 26.61'W


HICS Hawaii Landing




               Beach Manhole
          20° 01.45'N, 155° 49.33'W




       HTI Kawaihae CO
62-3440 Queen Kaahumanu Hwy.
      Kawaihae, HI 96743


HAWAIIAN TELCOM INC.                                                Appendix C
Corporate Organizational Structure
Regulated Entities
Company in bold is the participant in this Auction 903 short-form
application
Companies in blue are FCC regulated entities.
                                                                    Cincinnati Bell
                                                                         Inc.
                                                                        (Ohio)



                                                                      Cincinnati Bell
                                             CBTS LLC                  Telephone                           Hawaiian Telcom
                                             (Delaware)                 Company                              Holdco, Inc.
                                                                       LLC (Ohio)                            (Delaware)




                                                                        Cincinnati                        Hawaiian Telcom
                                                CBTS
                                                                      Bell Extended                      Communications, Inc.
                                             Technology
                                                                      Territories LLC                       (Delaware)
                                            Solutions LLC
                                             (Delaware)                   (Ohio)




                                           CBTS Virginia
                                                                                           Hawaiian                       Hawaiian Telcom
                                               LLC
                                                                                                                         Services Company,
                                             (Virginia)                                   Telcom, Inc.
                                                                                                                                Inc.
                                                                                            (Hawaii)                         (Delaware)



                                                                                        Wavecom Solutions
                                                                                           Corporation
                                                                                            (Hawaii)



Document Created: 2019-03-06 08:45:52
Document Modified: 2019-03-06 08:45:52

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