Data / Federal rules / 2026-15123
Review of Submarine Cable Landing License Rules and Procedures To Assess Evolving National Security, Law Enforcement, Foreign Policy, and Trade Policy Risks
The Federal Communications Commission published this final rule in the Federal Register on July 27, 2026. Comments closed on August 26, 2026.
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What the agency says
In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission or FCC) adopted a Second Report and Order that promotes the deployment of submarine cables while strengthening national security interests in connection with their modern capabilities. The Second Report and Order establishes a regulatory regime for licensing owners and/or operators of submarine line terminal equipment (SLTE), including granting a blanket license to certain current and future SLTE owners and/or operators that are not currently a licensee. The Second Report and Order adopts certain routine conditions and outlines reporting requirements for SLTE owners and operators. The Second Report and Order also adopts further national security-related routine conditions and certification requirements. Finally, the Second Report and Order adopts an approach to expedite submarine cable deployment by presumptively exempting applications that meet ten national security standards from Commission referral to the Executive Branch agencies.
Key facts
- Document number
- 2026-15123
- Type
- Final rule
- Action
- Final rule
- Agency
- Federal Communications Commission
- Published
- July 27, 2026
- Comments due
- August 26, 2026
- Dates
- Effective date: These rules are effective September 25, 2026, except for amendatory instructions 4 (Sec. 1.40001), 5 (Sec. 1.40001), 8 (Sec. 1.70003), 9 (Sec. 1.70006), 11 (Sec. 1.70007(u), (w)(2), (y) through (ii)), 12 (Sec. 1.70011), 13 (Sec. 1.70012), 14 (Sec. 1.70014), 15 (Sec. 1.70017), 16 (Sec. 1.70018), 17 (Sec. 1.70020), 18 (Sec. 1.70025), 19 (Sec. 1.70026), 20 (Sec. 1.70027), 21 (Sec. 1.70028), and 22 (Sec. 1.70029), which are delayed indefinitely. The Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of these rule sections.
- Docket
- OI Docket No. 24-523, MD Docket No. 24-524; FCC 26-42, FR ID 357114
- Code of Federal Regulations
- 47 CFR 0; 47 CFR 1
- Topics
- Communications; Communications common carriers; Communications equipment; Internet; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements; Security measures; Telecommunications
- Pages
- 23
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Everything from the Federal Communications Commission · Rules on communications · Rules on communications common carriers · Rules on communications equipment · Published in July 2026
Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-23. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.