Attachment GU Holdings STA Gran

GU Holdings STA Gran

DECISION submitted by Federal Communications Commission

STA Grant

2019-06-13

This document pretains to SCL-STA-20190530-00017 for Special Temporal Authority on a Submarine Cable Landing filing.

IBFS_SCLSTA2019053000017_1731541

Streamlined          SCL-STA-201 90530-00017

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              In the Matter of                                      )
                                                                    )
              GU HOLDINGS        INC.                               )      File Nos.   SCL-LIC-20 181008-00034
                                                                    )                  SCL-STA-201 8 1207-00039
            Application for a License to Construct, Land,           )                  SLC-STA-2019__________
            and Operate Submarine Cable                             )
            Connecting the United States and Chile                  )

                                 REQUEST FOR SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY

                     Pursuant to 47 U.S.C.   §~ 34-39, Executive Order 10530, and 47 C.F.R. §        1.767, GU

            Holdings Inc. (the Applicant), hereby requests an extension of the Special Temporary Authority

            (STA) granted on December 21, 2018, to construct, connect, and test the portion of the Curie

            submarine cable in U.S. territory during the Commission’s consideration of the Applicant’s

            pending cable landing license application.’ Specifically, the Applicant seeks a 180-day STA

            extension commencing on June 19, 2019. Without an STA extension, further construction and

            testing of Curie would likely be delayed at significant cost to the Applicant and thereby delay the

            benefits of new U.S.-South America capacity that Curie will provide. The Applicant has notified

           the Team Telecom agencies of this request.

                     The Applicant acknowledges that grant of such STA extension will not prejudice action

            by the Commission on the underlying application and that such STA extension is subject to




            See GU Holdings Inc., Application for a License to Construct~ Land~ and Operate a Submarine
           Cable Connecting the United States and Chile, FCC File No. SCL-LIC-20181008-00034 (filed
           Oct. 8, 2018) (Curie Application); see also Public Notice, Streamlined Submarine Cable Landing
           License Applications Acceptedfor Filing, Report No. SCL-00227S (rel. Oct. 30, 2018) (Public
           Notice).


cancellation or modification upon notice. The Commission has authority to grant an STA

extension and has previously granted STA extensions requests seeking similar relief.

I.     BACKGROUND

       On October 8, 2018, the Applicant applied for authority to construct, land, and operate

Curie, a high-capacity fiber-optic submarine cable system connecting the U.S. and Chile.2 The

Commission placed the application on streamlined Public Notice on October 30, 201 8,~ but later

removed the application from streamlined processing at the request of the Team Telecom

agencies pending completion of a national security review. On December 7, 2018, the Applicant

requested STA to construct, connect, and test the portion of Curie in U.S. territory during the

Commission’s consideration of the pending cable landing license application.4 On December 21,

2018, the Commission granted the Applicant’s STA request for 180 days.5

       Since receipt of the STA, extensive investment has been made on the construction of

Curie, including the portion in U.S. territory. The Applicant is also pursuing discussions with the

Team Telecom agencies to complete a national security review. However, the Applicant does not

expect that those discussions will be concluded in time for the Commission to fully consider and

grant the underlying application by June 19, 2019, the date on which the STA expires. The

Applicant seeks an STA extension in order to ensure that construction, connection, and testing in

U.S. territory continue to proceed on schedule. The Applicant does not seek authority for any

commercial operation of Curie.




2 See Curie Application.
~ See Public Notice.
4     GU Holdings Inc., Requestfor Special Temporary Authority, FCC File No. SCL-STA
20181207-00039 (filed Dec. 7,2018).
 See Special Temporary Authority Grant, FCC File No. SCL-STA-20181207-00039 (granted
Dec. 21, 2018).

                                                 2


II.       GRANT OF THE STA EXTENSION WILL SERVE THE PUBLIC INTEREST

          The Applicant respectfully submits that grant of the STA extension will serve the public

interest, convenience, and necessity and otherwise complies with U.S. law and Commission

regulations.

          Suspending construction and testing of Curie would delay the availability of the

substantial transmission capacity of Curie and impose significant economic costs on the

Applicant. Depending on the length of the delay, the financial viability of the project could be at

risk. Conversely, grant of this STA extension would help ensure realization of the project’s

public benefits. Specifically, Curie will provide significant new and replacement capacity on the

U.S.-South America route, where demand has increased substantially in recent years. It will also

provide geographically diverse capacity as the first cable to directly connect South America to

the West Coast of the United States.6




6   Curie Application at 1-2.


III.   CONCLUSION

       For the foregoing reasons, the Commission should grant an STA extension of 180 days as

expeditiously as possible, and in any event no later than June 16, 2019.


                                                     Respectfully submitted,


                                                     Is/UU4e4’R. Ptvv
                                                     Ulises R. Pin
                                                     Brett P. Ferenchak
                                                     Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
                                                     1111 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
                                                     Washington, DC 20004
                                                     (202) 373-6000
                                                     uIises.pin~morganlewis.com
                                                     brett.ferenchak~morgan1ewis.com

                                                     Counselfor GUHoldings Inc.

Dated: May 30, 2019


                                         CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing document was served this date upon the
following:

Marlene Dortch                                   U.S. Coordinator
Secretary                                        EB/CIP
Federal Communications Commission                U.S. Department of State
445 12th Street, SW                              2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20554                             Washington, DC 20520-58 18
(via first class U.S. mail, postage prepaid)     (via first class U.S. mail, postage prepaid)

David Krech                                      Defense Information Systems Agency
International Bureau                             Attn: GC/DO1
Federal Communications Commission                6910 Cooper Avenue
445 12th Street, SW                              Fort Meade, MD 20755-7088
Washington, DC 20554                             (via first class U.S. mail, postage prepaid)
(via electronic mail to david.drech~fcc.gov)

Denise Coca                                      Office of Chief Counsel/NTIA
International Bureau                             U.S. Department of Commerce
Federal Communications Commission                14th Street and Constitution Ave., NW
445 12th Street, SW                              Washington, DC 20230
Washington, DC 20554                             (via first class U.S. mail, postage prepaid)
(via electronic mail to denise.coca@fcc.gov)

Tom Sullivan                                     Troy Tanner
International Bureau                             International Bureau
Federal Communications Commission                Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW                              445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554                             Washington, DC 20554
(via electronic mail to                          (via electronic mail to troy.tanner@fcc.gov)
thomas.sullivan~fcc.gov)




/s/13 rett P. Fe~e~vi.ch&c’
Brett P. Ferenchak
May 30, 2019



Document Created: 2019-06-13 13:33:41
Document Modified: 2019-06-13 13:33:41

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