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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  00-  310 
 Before  the  Federal  Communications  Commission 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 
 In  the  Matter  of  )  ) 
 SAC  LANDING  CORP.  )  ) 
 Application  for  a  License  to  Land  and  Operate  in  the)  File  No.  SCL-  LIC-  19990823-  00015  United  States  a  Digital  Submarine  Cable  ) 
 System  between  the  U.  S.  Virgin  Islands,  )  Brazil,  Argentina,  Chile,  Peru,  Colombia  ) 
 and  Panama  ) 
 CABLE  LANDING  LICENSE 
 Adopted:  February  16,  2000  Released:  February  17,  2000 
 By  the  Chief,  Telecommunications  Division: 
 I.  Introduction 
 1.  In  this  Order,  we  grant  the  Application  of  SAC  Landing  Corp.  under  the  Cable  Landing  License  Act  1  and  Executive  Order  No.  10530,  2  for  authority  to  land  and  operate  a  private  fiber  optic 
 submarine  cable  system  to  be  called  "South  American  Crossing"  or  "SAC,"  extending  between  St.  Croix,  U.  S.  Virgin  Islands;  Fortaleza,  Brazil;  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil;  Santos,  Brazil;  Las  Toninas,  Argentina; 
 Valparaiso,  Chile;  Lurin,  Peru;  Buenaventura,  Colombia;  and  Fort  Amador,  Panama.  This  system  will  be  operated  on  a  non  common  carrier  basis.  We  find  that  SAC  Landing  Corp.  has  provided  sufficient 
 information  under  our  rules  to  comply  with  the  Cable  Landing  License  Act  and  that  it  would  serve  the  public  interest  to  grant  the  cable  landing  license  subject  to  the  conditions  listed  below. 

 II.  Application 
 2.  According  to  the  Application,  SAC  Landing  Corp.,  a  Delaware  corporation,  is  a  wholly  owned  subsidiary  of  South  American  Crossing  Ltd.,  (SAC  Ltd.)  a  Bermuda  company,  which,  through  a 

 series  of  intermediate  holding  companies,  is  an  indirect  wholly-  owned  subsidiary  of  Global  Crossing  Ltd.  (Global  Crossing),  a  Bermuda  company  majority  owned  by  U.  S.  interests.  3  SAC  Landing  Corp.  will  own 
 the  St.  Croix  cable  station  and  will  own  the  cable  terminal  equipment  and  the  U.  S.  territory  portions  of  SAC  from  the  landing  station  to  the  points  that  are  one-  half  mile  beyond  the  U.  S.  territorial  limit.  4 

 1  An  Act  Relating  to  the  Landing  and  Operation  of  Submarine  Cables  in  the  United  States,  47  U.  S.  C.    34-  39 
 (Cable  Landing  License  Act). 
 2  Exec.  Ord.  No.  10530  reprinted  as  amended  in  3  U.  S.  C.    301. 

 3  See  SAC  Landing  Corp.  Application  to  Land  and  Operate  in  the  United  States  a  Digital  Submarine  Cable 
 System,  filed  Aug.  23,  1999,  at  3,  10  (Application). 
 4  Id.  at  7-  8. 
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 Wholly-  owned  subsidiaries  of  SAC  Ltd.  5  will  own  or  lease  space  in,  and  will  own  the  terminal  equipment  in  the  Panama,  Brazil,  Argentina,  Chile,  Peru  and  Colombia  cable  stations.  These  entities  will  also  own 
 the  portions  of  SAC  from  the  cable  stations  to  the  points  that  are  one-  half  mile  beyond  the  territorial  limits  of  these  countries.  SAC  Ltd.  will  own,  directly  or  indirectly,  the  remaining  portions  of  SAC. 

 3.  The  proposed  SAC  system  will  connect:  (1)  St.  Croix,  U.  S.  Virgin  Islands;  (2)  Fortaleza,  Brazil;  (3)  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil;  (4)  Santos,  Brazil;  (5)  Las  Toninas,  Argentina;  (6)  Valparaiso,  Chile; 
 (7)  Lurin,  Peru;  (8)  Buenaventura,  Colombia;  and  (9)  Fort  Amador,  Panama.  6  According  to  the  Application,  SAC  will  be  a  four-  fiber  pair  self-  healing  ring  network  that  uses  advanced  dense  wavelength 
 division  multiplexing  technology  to  provide  an  initial  system  capacity  of  40  Gbps  for  service  and  protection,  upgradeable  to  80  Gbps  (two  fiber  pairs  will  initially  be  dark).  7  Service  and  protection 
 capacity  will  be  routed  on  different  fiber  pairs  providing  ring  and  span  switching  protection.  The  System  Interface  is  defined  as  a  Synchronous  Transport  Module  One  (STM-  1),  155  Mbps  digital  input/  output 

 5  SAC  Ltd.  will  own  greater  than  99  percent  of  these  entities  with  the  remaining  interest  held  by  South 
 American  Crossing  Holdings  Ltd.,  the  parent  company  of  SAC  Ltd. 
 6  As  shown  in  Exhibit  A  attached  to  this  Order,  SAC  will  consist  of  nine  segments: 

 Segment  1  will  include  the  whole  of  the  submarine  cable  system  between  and  including  the  System  Interface  at  the  cable  station  in  St.  Croix,  U.  S.  Virgin  Islands  and  the  System  Interface  at  the  cable  station  in  Fortaleza,  Brazil. 

 Segment  2  will  include  the  whole  of  the  submarine  cable  system  between  and  including  the  System  Interface  at  the  cable  station  in  Fortaleza,  Brazil  and  the  System  Interface  at  the  cable  station  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil. 
 Segment  3  will  include  the  whole  of  the  submarine  cable  system  between  and  including  the  System  Interface  at  the  cable  station  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil  and  the  System  Interface  at  the  cable  station  in  Santos,  Brazil. 
 Segment  4  will  include  the  whole  of  the  submarine  cable  system  between  and  including  the  System  Interface  at  the  cable  station  in  Santos,  Brazil  and  the  System  Interface  at  the  cable  station  in  Los  Toninas,  Argentina.  Segment  4 
 also  includes  a  Branching  Unit  for  a  potential  additional  landing  site  or  interconnection. 
 Segment  5  will  include  a  terrestrial  link,  known  as  Trans  Andean  Crossing  or  TAC,  that  will  connect  the  System  Interface  at  the  cable  station  in  Los  Toninas,  Argentina  and  the  System  Interface  at  the  cable  station  in 
 Valparaiso,  Chile. 
 Segment  6  will  include  the  whole  of  the  submarine  cable  system  between  and  including  the  System  Interface  at  the  cable  station  in  Valparaiso,  Chile  and  the  System  Interface  at  the  cable  station  in  Lurin,  Peru. 

 Segment  7  will  include  the  whole  of  the  submarine  cable  system  between  and  including  the  System  Interface  at  the  cable  station  in  Lurin,  Peru  and  Branching  Unit  1. 
 Segment  8  will  include  the  whole  of  the  submarine  cable  system  between  and  including  Branching  Unit  1  and  the  System  Interface  at  the  cable  station  in  Buenaventura,  Colombia. 
 Segment  9  will  include  the  whole  of  the  submarine  cable  system  between  and  including  Branching  Unit  1  and  the  System  Interface  at  the  cable  station  in  Fort  Amador,  Panama. 
 7  See  Application  at  5. 
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 port  on  the  digital  distribution  frame  (excluding  the  digital  distribution  frame  itself).  The  Minimum  Capacity  Unit  (MCU)  will  be  an  STM-  1  (155  Mbps).  Additionally,  capacity  may  be  made  available  for 
 sale  at  the  DS-  3  level.  The  system  will  initially  be  capable  of  supporting  128  STM-  1  MCUs  of  protected  service.  Operation  of  the  SAC  system  is  anticipated  to  begin  in  the  third  quarter  2000,  with  a  scheduled 
 system  completion  date  in  the  first  quarter  of  2000. 
 4.  According  to  the  Application,  SAC  is  one  of  a  series  of  undersea  cables  being  developed  by  Global  Crossing,  including  the  Pan  American  Crossing  (PAC)  undersea  cable  system,  which  will 

 extend  from  Grover  Beach,  California  to  Mexico,  Panama,  Venezuela  and  the  U.  S.  Virgin  Islands.  8  The  PAC  system  will  interconnect  with  the  SAC  system  in  Panama  and  the  U.  S.  Virgin  Islands.  The  SAC 
 system  will  also  connect,  directly  or  indirectly,  with  three  other  undersea  cable  systems  being  developed  by  Global  Crossing:  the  Atlantic  Crossing  system  (AC-  1),  the  Mid-  Atlantic  Crossing  system  (MAC),  and 
 the  Pacific  Crossing  system  (PC-  1).  9  These  five  systems,  together  with  terrestrial  systems  being  developed  by  Global  Crossing  companies  in  Japan,  Europe  and  the  United  States,  will  form  a  high 
 capacity,  fiber  optical  global  cable  network.  A  route  sketch  depicting  the  five  U.  S.-  based  Global  Crossing  systems  is  attached  to  this  Order. 

 III.  Comments 
 5.  We  placed  the  Application  on  public  notice  on  September  17,  1999.  10  We  received  no  comments.  Pursuant  to  Section  1.767(  b)  of  the  Commission's  rules,  11  the  Cable  Landing  License  Act,  and 

 Executive  Order  No.  10530,  we  informed  the  Department  of  State  of  the  Application.  12  The  Department  of  State,  after  coordinating  with  the  National  Telecommunications  and  Information  Administration  and 
 the  Department  of  Defense,  stated  that  it  has  no  objection  to  issuance  of  the  cable  landing  license.  13 

 8  Id.  at  1-  2. 
 9  We  granted  U.  S.  landing  licenses  for  AC-  1  on  Sept.  23,  1997,  for  MAC  and  PAC  on  Mar.  18,  1999,  and  for 
 PC-  1  on  Nov.  23,  1998.  The  subsequent  transfer  of  control  of  the  AC-  1  landing  license  from  SSI  Atlantic  Crossing  to  GT  Landing  Corp.,  a  wholly-  owned  subsidiary  of  Global  Crossing,  was  granted  on  June  30,  1999.  PC-  1  is  a  joint 

 venture  between  Global  Crossing  and  Marubeni  Corporation. 
 10  See  Non  Streamlined  International  Applications  Accepted  for  Filing,  Public  Notice,  Report  No.  TEL-00135NS 
 (rel.  Sept.  17,  1999). 
 11  47  C.  F.  R.    1.767(  b). 

 12  Letter  from  Rebecca  Arbogast,  Chief,  Telecommunications  Division,  International  Bureau,  Federal 
 Communications  Commission,  to  Steven  W.  Lett,  Deputy  U.  S.  Coordinator,  Office  of  International  Communications  and  Information  Policy,  U.  S.  Department  of  State  (Sept.  22,  1999). 

 13  Letter  from  Richard  C.  Beaird,  Acting  U.  S.  Coordinator,  International  Communications  and  Information 
 Policy,  U.  S.  Department  of  State,  to  Donald  Abelson,  Chief,  International  Bureau,  FCC  (Jan.  10,  2000). 
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 IV.  Discussion 
 A.  Private  Submarine  Cable  Policy 
 6.  SAC  Landing  Corp.  proposes  to  operate  SAC  as  a  non  common  carrier  submarine  cable  system  in  which  capacity  will  not  be  offered  indifferently  to  the  user  public.  SAC  Landing  Corp.  requests 

 a  license  under  the  Commission's  private  submarine  cable  policy,  which  is  intended  to  promote  competition  in  the  provision  of  international  transmission  facilities.  14  Pursuant  to  this  policy,  the 
 Commission  has  authorized  non  common  carrier  cables  where:  (1)  there  is  no  legal  compulsion  to  serve  the  public  indifferently;  and  (2)  there  are  no  reasons  implicit  in  the  nature  of  the  operations  to  expect  that 
 the  applicant  would  make  capacity  available  to  the  public  indifferently  and  indiscriminately.  15 
 7.  In  applying  the  first  prong  of  the  test  to  submarine  cable  authorizations,  the  Commission  has  stated  that  there  will  be  no  legal  compulsion  to  serve  the  public  indifferently  where  there  is  no  public 

 interest  reason  to  require  facilities  to  be  offered  on  a  common  carrier  basis.  16  This  public  interest  analysis  has  generally  focused  on  whether  an  applicant  will  be  able  to  exercise  market  power  because  of  the  lack 
 of  alternative  facilities.  17  Where  there  are  sufficient  alternatives,  the  Commission  has  found  that  the  licensee  will  lack  market  power  and  will  not  be  able  to  charge  monopoly  rates  for  cable  capacity.  18  The 
 Commission  has  found  that,  in  those  circumstances,  the  public  interest  would  be  served  by  allowing  a  submarine  cable  to  be  offered  on  a  non-  common  carrier  basis.  19 

 14  See  Tel-  Optik,  Ltd.,  Memorandum  Opinion  and  Order,  100  F.  C.  C.  2d  1033,  1040-  42,  1046-  48  (1985);  see 
 also  Cable  &  Wireless,  plc,  Cable  Landing  License,  12  FCC  Rcd  8516  (1997). 
 15  See  Cable  &  Wireless,  12  FCC  Rcd  at  8522;  see  also  Optel  Communications,  Inc.,  Conditional  Cable  Landing 
 License,  8  FCC  Rcd  2267  (1993);  National  Association  of  Regulatory  Utility  Commissioners  v.  FCC,  525  F.  2d  630,  642  (D.  C.  Cir.)  (NARUC  I),  cert.  denied,  425  U.  S.  992  (1976). 

 16  See,  e.  g.,  Cable  &  Wireless,  12  FCC  Rcd  at  8522-  23. 
 17  Id. 
 18  Id. 
 19  Id. 
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 8.  In  the  Application,  SAC  Landing  Corp.  states  that  it  is  not  affiliated  with  any  foreign  carrier  with  market  power  in  such  affiliated  carriers  home  market,  including  the  markets  where  SAC 
 lands.  20  In  addition,  SAC  Landing  Corp.  asserts  that  there  are  sufficient  existing  and  planned  facilities  on  the  routes  to  prevent  it  from  exercising  market  power  in  offering  services  to  the  public.  21  SAC  Landing 
 Corp.  asserts  that  there  are  a  number  of  planned  common  carrier  and  private  cable  systems  in  this  region,  22  including  the  following  cables  extending  to  one  or  more  of  the  countries  in  which  SAC  will 
 land:  (1)  Project  Oxygen;  23  (2)  Americas  II;  24  (3)  Pan  American;  25  and  (4)  Americas  I.  26 
 9.  No  one  has  advocated  that  the  public  interest  requires  SAC  to  be  operated  on  a  common  carrier  basis.  Given  the  unopposed  evidence  of  the  availability  of  alternative  cables  and  SAC  Landing 

 Corps  representation  that  none  of  its  affiliates  has  market  power  in  any  of  the  cables  landing  countries,  we  find  that  it  would  not  serve  the  public  interest  to  impose  common  carrier  regulation  on  the  operations 
 of  SAC  at  this  time.  We  note,  however,  that  we  maintain  the  ability  to  impose  common  carrier  or  common-  carrier-  like  obligations  on  the  operations  of  this  or  any  other  submarine  cable  system  if  the 
 public  interest  so  requires.  27  Furthermore,  we  have  always  maintained  the  authority  to  classify  facilities  as  common  carrier  facilities  subject  to  Title  II  of  the  Communications  Act  if  the  public  interest  requires 
 that  the  facilities  be  offered  to  the  public  indifferently.  28 

 20  See  Application  at  8-  9. 
 21  Id.  at  n.  15. 
 22  Id.  at  6. 
 23  According  to  SAC  Landing  Corp.,  the  route  for  Phase  1C  of  the  Project  Oxygen  cable  includes  Panama-Venezuela, 
 Ecuador-  Peru,  Uruguay-  Brazil,  Panama-  Colombia.  See  Application  at  n.  15.  The  Project  Oxygen  cable  was  recently  authorized  by  the  Commission  on  a  private  carrier  basis,  and  we  are  not  aware  that  it  is  currently  in 

 service. 
 24  According  to  SAC  Landing  Corp.,  the  route  for  the  Americas  II  cable  is  Florida-  Puerto  Rico-  Martinique-  U.  S. 
 Virgin  Islands-  Curacao-  Netherlands  Antilles-  Venezuela-  Trinidad-  Brazil.  See  Application  at  n.  15.  The  Americas  II  cable,  which  was  authorized  by  the  Commission  on  a  common  carrier  basis,  is  on  schedule  to  be  in  service  in  February 

 2000. 
 25  According  to  SAC  Landing  Corp.,  the  route  for  the  Pan  American  cable  is  St.  Thomas-  St.  Croix-  Aruba-Venezuela- 
 Colombia-  Panama-  Ecuador-  Peru-  Chile.  See  Application  at  n.  15.  The  Pan  American  cable,  which  was  authorized  by  the  Commission  on  a  common  carrier  basis,  is  currently  in  service. 

 26  According  to  SAC  Landing  Corp.,  the  route  for  the  Americas  I  cable  is  Florida-  St.  Thomas-  Brazil-  Trinidad-Venezuela. 
 See  Application  at  n.  15.  The  Americas  I  cable,  which  was  authorized  by  the  Commission  on  a  common  carrier  basis,  is  currently  in  service.  It  is  our  understanding  that  the  capacity  has  been  nearly,  or  completely,  allocated 

 for  some  time. 
 27  See  47  U.  S.  C.    35  (providing  that  a  license  may  be  granted  "upon  such  terms  as  shall  be  necessary  to  assure 
 just  and  reasonable  rates  and  service  in  the  operation  and  use  of  cables  so  licensed"). 
 28  See  Rules  and  Policies  on  Foreign  Participation  in  the  U.  S.  Telecommunications  Market,  Market  Entry,  IB 
 97-  142,  Market  Entry  and  Regulation  of  Foreign  Affiliated  Entities,  IB  95-  22,  Report  and  Order  and  Order  on  Reconsideration,  12  FCC  Rcd  23891,  23934    95  (1997),  recon.  pending;  Cable  &  Wireless,  12  FCC  Rcd  at  8530    39; 
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 10.  Regarding  the  second  prong  of  the  test,  we  conclude  that  there  is  no  reason  to  expect  that  capacity  in  the  proposed  cable  system  would  be  held  out  to  the  public  indifferently.  SAC  Landing  Corp. 
 states  that  capacity  will  not  be  sold  indifferently  to  the  user  public.  Rather,  capacity  will  be  assigned  pursuant  to  individualized  decisions,  and  bulk  capacity  will  be  offered  to  a  significantly  restricted  class  of 
 users,  such  as  common  carrier  cable  consortia,  common  carriers,  and  large  businesses. 
 11.  We  conclude  that  SAC  Landing  Corp.  will  not  offer  capacity  in  SAC  to  the  public  on  a  common  carrier  basis  and  that  the  public  interest  does  not  require  that  they  do  so.  Accordingly,  we 

 conclude  that  it  is  appropriate  to  license  SAC  on  a  non-  common  carrier  basis.  We  also  find  that  the  Applicant  will  not  provide  a  telecommunications  service  for  a  fee  to  such  class  of  users  as  to  be 
 "effectively  available  directly  to  the  public"  and  thus  will  not  be  "telecommunications  carriers"  under  the  1996  Act.  29 

 B.  Ownership  and  Landing  Points 
 12.  SAC  Landing  Corp.  has  provided  the  ownership  information  required  by  Sections  1.767(  a)(  6)  and  63.18  of  the  Commission's  rules.  30  SAC  Landing  Corp.  is  ultimately  controlled  by  Global 

 Crossing  Ltd.  SAC  Landing  Corp.  will  own  or  lease  space  in  the  St.  Croix  cable  station  and  will  own  the  cable  terminal  equipment  and  the  U.  S.  territory  portions  of  SAC  from  the  landing  stations  to  the  points 
 that  are  one-  half  mile  beyond  the  U.  S.  territorial  limit.  Wholly-  owned  subsidiaries  of  SAC  Ltd.  31  will  own  or  lease  space  in,  and  will  own  the  terminal  equipment  in,  the  Brazil,  Argentina,  Chile,  Peru, 
 Colombia  and  Panama  cable  stations.  These  entities  will  also  own  the  portions  of  SAC  from  the  cable  stations  to  the  points  that  are  one-  half  mile  beyond  the  territorial  limits  of  these  countries.  SAC  Ltd.  will 
 own,  directly  or  indirectly,  the  remaining  portions  of  SAC.  The  Applicant  states  that  it  is  affiliated  within  the  meaning  of  Section  63.18(  h)(  1)(  A)  of  the  Commission's  rules  with  a  Japanese  foreign  carrier,  Global 
 Access  Ltd.,  through  Global  Crossing  Ltd.  's  minority  investment  in  Global  Access  Ltd.  Global  Access  Ltd.  is  a  start-  up  venture.  The  Applicant  is  also  affiliated,  as  a  wholly-  owned  indirect  subsidiary  of 
 Global  Crossing,  with  entities  that  have  become  or  are  about  to  become  foreign  carriers  in  the  following  countries:  Germany,  France,  the  United  Kingdom,  the  Netherlands,  Belgium,  Denmark,  Switzerland,  and 
 Italy.  Because  the  proposed  cable  does  not  land  in  any  of  the  countries  where  the  Applicant  has  affiliates,  we  find  that  these  affiliations  do  not  affect  the  granting  of  the  Cable  Landing  License. 

 13.  In  addition,  the  Application  states  that  an  application  for  a  non-  carrier  concession  for  SACs  Argentina  landing  entity  would  be  filed  shortly.  The  Applicant  also  anticipates  that  the  SAC  Ltd. 
 landing  entity  in  Colombia  will  require  a  carrier  service  provider  concession,  and  that  the  SAC  Ltd.  landing  entity  in  Peru  will  require  an  international  carrier  concession.  An  intermediate 
 telecommunications  service  concession  will  be  required  for  the  landing  entity  in  Chile.  No  telecommunications  license  is  required  for  the  SAC  Ltd.  landing  entity  in  Brazil.  To  the  extent  any  of 
 these  entities  may  be  deemed  foreign  carriers  under  the  Commissions  rules,  the  Applicant  states  all  are 
 AT&  T  Corp.  et  al.,  Cable  Landing  License,  13  FCC  Rcd  16232,  16237    15  (Intl.  Bur.  1998). 
 29  See  47  U.  S.  C.    153(  44)  (defining  "telecommunications  carrier");  Cable  &  Wireless,  12  FCC  Rcd  at  8523. 

 30  See  Application  at  7-  9  and  Attachment  C. 
 31  SAC  Ltd.  will  own  greater  than  99  percent  of  these  entities  with  the  remaining  interest  held  by  South 
 American  Crossing  Holdings  Ltd.,  the  parent  company  of  SAC  Ltd. 
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 start-  up  companies  and  none  have  market  power  in  their  home  markets,  including  the  markets  where  SAC  lands.  Accordingly,  we  find  that  the  Applicants  affiliations  with  these  entities  also  do  not  affect  the 
 granting  of  the  Cable  Landing  License. 
 14.  The  Applicant  has  stated  that  it  will  comply  with  Section  1.767(  a)(  5)  of  the  Commission's  rules  by  providing  specific  information  on  the  cable  landing  locations  90  days  prior  to  commencing 

 construction.  We  find  the  Applicant's  description  of  the  likely  landing  points  to  be  sufficient  to  determine  that  the  proposed  cable  system  will  comply  with  the  provisions  of  the  Commission  rules.  Section 
 1.767(  a)  of  the  Commission's  rules  permits  applicants  in  an  initial  application  to  provide  a  general  description  of  the  landing  points.  The  Applicant  must  file  a  specific  description  of  any  landing  point, 
 including  a  map,  no  later  than  90  days  prior  to  construction  at  that  landing  point.  The  Commission  will  give  public  notice  of  the  filing  of  the  specific  description,  and  grant  of  the  license  will  be  considered  final 
 with  respect  to  that  landing  point  unless  the  Commission  notifies  the  Applicant  to  the  contrary  no  later  than  60  days  after  receipt  of  the  specific  description  of  the  landing  point. 

 C.  Environmental  Impact 
 15.  Based  on  the  information  provided  by  the  Applicant  and  pursuant  to  the  Commission's  procedures  implementing  the  National  Environmental  Policy  Act  of  1969,  32  we  find  that  acting  on  this 

 Application  would  not  significantly  affect  the  environment  according  to  Section  1.1307(  a)  or  (b)  of  the  Commission's  rules.  Therefore,  pursuant  to  Section  1.1306  of  the  Commission's  rules,  we  conclude  that 
 grant  of  the  requested  license  would  not  significantly  affect  the  environment.  Consequently,  SAC  Landing  Corp.  is  not  required  to  submit  an  environmental  assessment,  and  this  Application  is 
 categorically  excluded  from  environmental  processing. 
 V.  Conclusion 
 16.  We  grant  SAC  Landing  Corp.  's  Application  for  authority  to  land  and  operate  a  non-common  carrier  fiber  optic  submarine  cable  extending  between  St.  Croix,  U.  S.  Virgin  Islands  and 

 Fortaleza,  Brazil;  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil;  Santos,  Brazil;  Las  Toninas,  Argentina;  Valparaiso,  Chile;  Lurin,  Peru;  Buenaventura,  Colombia;  and  Fort  Amador,  Panama,  subject  to  the  conditions  listed  below. 

 VI.  Ordering  Clauses 
 17.  Consistent  with  the  foregoing  and  pursuant  to  the  Cable  Landing  License  Act  and  Executive  Order  10530,  we  hereby  GRANT  AND  ISSUE  SAC  Landing  Corp.  a  license  to  land  and 

 operate  a  non  common  carrier  fiber  optic  cable  four-  fiber  pair  self-  healing  ring  network  that  uses  advance  dense  wavelength  division  multiplexing  technology  to  provide  an  initial  system  capacity  of  40  Gbps  for 
 service  and  protection,  upgradeable  to  a  minimum  capacity  of  80  Gbps,  extending  between  the  U.  S.  Virgin  Islands,  Brazil,  Argentina,  Chile,  Peru,  Colombia,  and  Panama.  This  grant  is  subject  to  all  rules 
 and  regulations  of  the  Commission;  any  treaties  or  conventions  relating  to  communications  to  which  the  United  States  is  or  may  hereafter  become  a  party;  any  action  by  the  Commission  or  the  Congress  of  the 
 United  States  rescinding,  changing,  modifying,  or  amending  any  rights  accruing  to  any  person  hereunder;  and  the  following  conditions: 

 (1)  The  location  of  the  cable  system  within  the  territorial  waters  of  the  United  States,  its 
 32  47  C.  F.  R.    1.1301.  1319  (1997). 
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 territories  and  possessions,  and  upon  its  shore  shall  be  in  conformity  with  plans  approved  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Army,  and  the  cable  shall  be  moved  or  shifted  by  the  Licensee  at  its  expense 
 upon  the  request  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Army  whenever  he  or  she  considers  such  course  necessary  in  the  public  interest,  for  reasons  of  national  defense,  or  for  the  maintenance  or 
 improvement  of  harbors  for  navigational  purposes; 
 (2)  The  Licensee  shall  at  all  times  comply  with  any  requirements  of  U.  S.  government  authorities  regarding  the  location  and  concealment  of  the  cable  facilities,  buildings,  and  apparatus  for  the 

 purpose  of  protecting  and  safeguarding  the  cable  from  injury  or  destruction  by  enemies  of  the  United  States; 

 (3)  The  Licensee  or  any  persons  or  companies  controlling  it,  controlled  by  it,  or  under  direct  or  indirect  common  control  with  it  do  not  enjoy  and  shall  not  acquire  any  right  to  handle  traffic  on  a 
 common  carrier  basis  to  or  from  the  United  States,  its  territories,  or  its  possessions  unless  such  service  be  authorized  by  the  Commission  pursuant  to  Section  214  of  the  Communications  Act,  as 
 amended; 
 (4)  The  Licensee  or  any  persons  or  companies  controlling  it,  controlled  by  it,  or  under  direct  or  indirect  common  control  with  it  shall  not  acquire  or  enjoy  any  right  for  the  purpose  of  handling  or 

 interchanging  traffic  to  or  from  the  United  States,  its  territories,  or  its  possessions  to  land,  connect,  or  operate  cables  or  land  lines,  to  construct  or  operate  radio  stations,  or  to  interchange 
 traffic,  that  is  denied  to  any  other  United  States  company  by  reason  of  any  concession,  contract,  understanding,  or  working  arrangement  to  which  the  Licensee  or  any  persons  controlling  it, 
 controlled  by  it,  or  under  direct  or  indirect  common  control  with  it  are  parties; 
 (5)  Neither  this  license  nor  the  rights  granted  herein  shall  be  transferred,  assigned,  or  in  any  manner  either  voluntarily  or  involuntarily  disposed  of  or  disposed  of  indirectly  by  transfer  of 

 control  of  the  Licensee  to  any  persons,  unless  the  Commission  shall  give  prior  consent  in  writing; 
 (6)  The  Licensee  shall  notify  the  Commission  in  writing  of  the  precise  locations  at  which  the  cable  will  land  in  St.  Croix,  U.  S.  Virgin  Islands  and  Fortaleza,  Brazil;  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil; 

 Santos,  Brazil;  Las  Toninas,  Argentina;  Valparaiso,  Chile;  Lurin,  Peru;  Buenaventura,  Colombia;  and  Fort  Amador,  Panama.  Such  notification  with  respect  to  any  given  landing  location  shall 
 occur  no  later  than  90  days  prior  to  commencing  construction  at  that  landing  location.  The  Commission  will  give  public  notice  of  the  filing  of  each  description,  and  grant  of  this  license  will 
 be  considered  final  with  respect  to  that  landing  location  unless  the  Commission  issues  a  notice  to  the  contrary  no  later  than  60  days  after  receipt  of  the  specific  description; 

 (7)  The  Commission  reserves  the  right  to  require  the  Licensee  to  file  an  environmental 
 assessment  or  environmental  impact  statement  should  it  determine  that  the  landing  of  the  cable  at  those  locations  and  construction  of  necessary  cable  landing  stations  would  significantly  affect  the 

 environment  within  the  meaning  of  Section  1.1307  of  the  Commission's  procedures  implementing  the  National  Environmental  Policy  Act  of  1969;  this  license  is  subject  to  modification  by  the 
 Commission  upon  its  review  of  any  environmental  assessment  or  environmental  impact  statement  that  it  may  require  pursuant  to  its  rules; 

 (8)  Pursuant  to  Section  2  of  the  Cable  Landing  License  Act,  47  U.  S.  C.    35;  Executive  Order  No.  10530,  as  amended;  and  Section  214  of  the  Communications  Act  of  1934,  as  amended,  47  U.  S.  C. 
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   214,  the  Commission  reserves  the  right  to  impose  common  carrier  or  common-  carrier-  like  regulation  on  the  operations  of  the  cable  system  if  it  finds  that  the  public  interest  so  requires; 
 (9)  The  Licensee  shall  maintain  de  jure  and  de  facto  control  of  the  U.  S.  portion  of  the  cable  system,  including  the  cable  landing  stations  in  the  United  States,  sufficient  to  comply  with  the 
 requirements  of  this  license; 
 (10)  This  license  is  revocable  by  the  Commission  after  due  notice  and  opportunity  for  hearing  pursuant  to  Section  2  of  the  Cable  Landing  License  Act,  47  U.  S.  C.    35,  or  for  failure  to  comply 

 with  the  terms  of  the  authorizations; 
 (11)  The  Licensee  shall  notify  the  Commission  in  writing  of  the  date  on  which  the  cable  is  placed  in  service,  and  this  license  shall  expire  25  years  from  such  date,  unless  renewed  or  extended  upon 

 proper  application,  and,  upon  expiration  of  this  license,  all  rights  granted  under  it  shall  be  terminated;  and 

 (12)  The  terms  and  conditions  upon  which  this  license  is  given  shall  be  accepted  by  the  Licensee  by  filing  a  letter  with  the  Secretary,  Federal  Communications  Commission,  Washington,  D.  C. 
 20554,  within  30  days  of  the  release  of  the  cable  landing  license. 
 18.  This  Order  is  issued  under  Section  0.261  of  the  Commission's  rules,  47  C.  F.  R.    0.261,  and  is  effective  upon  adoption.  Petitions  for  reconsideration  under  Section  1.106  or  applications  for 

 review  under  Section  1.115  of  the  Commission's  rules,  47  C.  F.  R.    1.106,  1.115,  may  be  filed  within  30  days  of  the  date  of  public  notice  of  this  order  (see  47  C.  F.  R.    1.4(  b)(  2)). 

 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 

 Rebecca  Arbogast  Chief,  Telecommunications  Division 
 International  Bureau 
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