To improve the licensing and security of submarine and cross-border terrestrial telecommunications cables, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill requires transfers submarine cable licensing authority from the President to the FCC, prohibits cables connecting to foreign adversary territories or using blacklisted equipment, and establishes security requirements, establishes conditions for submarine cable licenses including 24-hour cybersecurity incident reporting to FCC and CISA, mandatory compliance with physical security and cybersecurity standards, FCC regulation of minimum, and establishes a 540-day deadline for FCC to issue submarine cable licenses, with automatic approval if deadline is missed. It relies on compliance mandates, reporting requirements, definition changes, and product standards. The main policy areas are Telecommunications, Technology, Defense, and Criminal Justice.
Who Benefits and How
Submarine cable operators could face lower compliance burdens, Submarine cable operators seeking new licenses could face lower compliance burdens, and Congressional Intelligence Committees would be affected.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal Communications Commission would take on compliance duties, Individuals who damage submarine cables willfully could face increased risk, and Chinese telecommunications companies (Huawei, ZTE) could face higher barriers.
Key Provisions
- Requires transfers submarine cable licensing authority from the President to the FCC, prohibits cables connecting to foreign adversary territories or using blacklisted equipment, and establishes security requirements...
- Establishes conditions for submarine cable licenses including 24-hour cybersecurity incident reporting to FCC and CISA, mandatory compliance with physical security and cybersecurity standards, FCC regulation of minimum...
- Establishes a 540-day deadline for FCC to issue submarine cable licenses, with automatic approval if deadline is missed.
- Requires FCC licensing for cross-border terrestrial telecommunications cables connecting the U.S. with foreign countries, applying similar requirements as submarine cables, and supersedes Executive Order 13867.
- Exempts streamlines permitting for submarine cables by requiring Army Corps general permit, exempting cables from most federal authorizations except submarine cable license and section 214 certificate, maintaining...
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
The bill requires transfers submarine cable licensing authority from the President to the FCC, prohibits cables connecting to foreign adversary territories or using blacklisted equipment, and establishes security requirements, establishes conditions for submarine cable licenses including 24-hour cybersecurity incident reporting to FCC and CISA, mandatory compliance with physical security and cybersecurity standards, FCC regulation of minimum, and establishes a 540-day deadline for FCC to issue submarine cable licenses, with automatic approval if deadline is missed.
Key Policy Areas
Telecommunications, Technology, Defense, Criminal Justice
Primary Purpose
The bill requires transfers submarine cable licensing authority from the President to the FCC, prohibits cables connecting to foreign adversary territories or using blacklisted equipment, and establishes security requirements, establishes conditions for submarine cable licenses including 24-hour cybersecurity incident reporting to FCC and CISA, mandatory compliance with physical security and cybersecurity standards, FCC regulation of minimum, and establishes a 540-day deadline for FCC to issue submarine cable licenses, with automatic approval if deadline is missed.
Policy Domains
SECURE American Telecommunications Act
Identified Gains
- Submarine cable operators
- Submarine cable operators seeking new licenses
- Congressional Intelligence Committees
- U.S. Navy
- Five Eyes allied nations
Identified Costs
- Federal Communications Commission
- Individuals who damage submarine cables willfully
- Chinese telecommunications companies (Huawei, ZTE)
- Submarine cable operators
- Submarine cable license holders
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Yakym introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Congressional Intelligence Committees, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Department of State
Positive-direction: Congressional Intelligence Committees, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Five Eyes allied nations, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Navy
Negative-direction: Department of State, Federal Communications Commission, Foreign adversaries conducting cyber attacks, Foreign state actors conducting sabotage, State and local environmental regulators, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Chinese telecommunications companies (Huawei, ZTE), International submarine cable operators, Regulated entities under this Act
Submarine cable operators faces effects in multiple directions
Positive-direction: Submarine cable operators seeking new licenses, U.S. telecommunications equipment manufacturers
Negative-direction: Chinese telecommunications companies (Huawei, ZTE), Submarine cable license holders, Submarine cable repair companies, Terrestrial telecommunications cable operators
Data centers relying on submarine cables
Individuals who damage submarine cables willfully
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_commission"
- → Federal Communications Commission
- "the_administrator"
- → Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- "the_secretary_of_army"
- → Secretary of the Army (acting through Chief of Engineers)
- "the_secretary_of_state"
- → Secretary of State
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A threat to or vulnerability of information or an information system, including unauthorized access, use, disclosure, degradation, disruption, modification, destruction, or acts of terrorism; excludes violations of consumer terms of service
Any authorization required under Federal law for submarine or terrestrial telecommunications cables, including licenses, permits, special use authorizations, certifications, opinions, or other approvals
A maritime geographic zone in which marine activity may be restricted to protect a submarine cable from accidental or intentional damage
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom (Five Eyes allies)
A foreign government or foreign non-government person specified in section 791.4(a) of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations
A license to land or operate a submarine cable required by the Act of May 27, 1921
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology