NTIA Asks FCC To Change International Application Processes
Applying to the FCC International Bureau for such international licenses and permissions as Communications Act Section 214 authorizations and transfers, submarine cable landing licenses, satellite earth station licenses and Section 310 rulings could get more complicated if the agency agrees to an NTIA request. Whether that NTIA-sought approach -- having the FCC require more information upfront with the aim being a streamlining of the approval process -- bears fruit, "we won't know until this is rolled out and plays out," David Klein, lawyer at Klein Moynihan, whose practice includes Section 214 applications for telco clients, told us Thursday.
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NTIA said it wants the FCC to ask applicants to provide ownership, network operations, business model and related information as part of their applications. It also said in a Tuesday letter posted Thursday that the FCC should have applicants certify they will comply with "several of the most routine national security and law enforcement mitigation measures in their initial applications." Those include compliance with applicable provisions of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, ensuring they will make records and communications available in a form and location that lets them be subject to a lawful request or valid legal process, and maintain a point of contact in the U.S. for those requests or legal processes. Failure to meet the legal requirements could be a basis for the FCC to revoke or terminate a license, NTIA said.
The letter accompanied a public notice opening up a 10-day comment period, with comments due May 23 in docket 16-155. The FCC said those comments will help draft an NPRM on changing and streamlining the review process.
The FCC said it's been working with executive branch agencies and industry on improving the review process, as part of its process reform. It said applicants have indicated the national security and law enforcement review adds "problematic" amounts of time to the application review process, potentially delaying the timing of transactions or of introducing new services.
"Having led the effort to bring some necessary clarity and certainty to the opaque and troublesome 'Team Telecom' review process, NTIA’s letter is not exactly what I expected," FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said in a statement. "At first glance, the requirements suggested by the Administration seemingly raise a host of issues unrelated to foreign ownership review. I am hopeful that commenters will offer helpful feedback to keep this initiative moving forward. Ultimately, I trust the Commission will do the right thing by expediting the foreign ownership review process while making it simpler and more straightforward."
The aim is to help executive branch agencies better "review and respond to the applications, in particular with regard to identifying and assessing applications that raise national security or law enforcement concerns," NTIA said. It said certification could obviate the need for national security- or law enforcement-centric conditions on licenses or authorizations.
Under the request, the FCC would require applicants to submit more information about their corporate structure and shareholders, relationships with foreign entities, financial conditions, compliance with applicable regulations and laws, and their businesses and operations -- including the services to be provided and network infrastructure. NTIA said that information would help gauge the law enforcement or national security concerns for given applicants.
NTIA said that information -- "commonly requested by the Executive Branch in reviewing applications for national security and law enforcement concerns" -- is beyond the scope and type of what the FCC typically asks for. NTIA said that requiring it at an application's outset "will enable more efficient and expeditious review of whether a particular application raises any ... concerns and, if so, how best to respond to or seek to mitigate those concerns."