FCC expands submarine cable licensing to SLTE; shields U.S. tech giants, blocks Chinese access

The Federal Communications Commission adopted a Second Report and Order on June 25, 2026, extending submarine cable licensing oversight to Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE)—the onshore hardware that converts deep-sea optical signals to terrestrial electrical signals. The order creates a blanket licensing regime for SLTE owners and operators and adopts national security-focused routine conditions and certification requirements. This marks the FCC's first major comprehensive update to submarine cable rules since 2001. Submarine cables carry the vast majority of transcontinental data, including AI workloads.

The 2026 order systematically excludes Chinese entities from direct U.S.-landing transpacific cables. It extends presumptive disqualifications to SLTE operators and prohibits Chinese carriers and equipment makers from indirect access through capacity leases or third-party services. At the same time, the FCC carved out expedited "glide path" processes for U.S. tech giants (Google, Meta, Microsoft, AWS) to bypass traditional bottlenecks and rapidly deploy private subsea pipelines. This reflects FCC framing that submarine cable infrastructure is critical for U.S. AI competitiveness. Existing submarine cable licensees and SLTE operators face new annual reporting requirements, foreign-adversary certifications, and cybersecurity/physical-security risk management plan submissions.

For architects and operators managing international data flows, the orders create a bifurcated landscape: U.S. and allied carriers enjoy accelerated deployment; Chinese and other state-controlled carriers face de facto exclusion from new U.S. infrastructure. The FCC coordination with State Department, DHS, and Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. means national security assessments are now embedded in cable-landing approvals. Capacity data is now shareable with federal agencies on a confidential basis. Costs for licensing and compliance reporting total roughly $14,000 to $4.3 million annually depending on operator size.