The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is updating its regulations for subsea cables to enhance security and streamline the licensing process. The updates, adopted at an FCC open meeting on August 7th, aim to address national security concerns related to foreign adversaries (like Russia and China) and accelerate the deployment of these critical communication networks. This initiative, developed by the Office of International Affairs in collaboration with the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau and the Enforcement Bureau, is intended to bolster national security. The new rules address potential vulnerabilities of subsea cables to foreign adversaries, recognizing their critical role in global internet traffic and financial transactions.

FCC  Chairman Brendan Carr said that while the FCC often focuses on airwaves as vital but unseen infrastructure, submarine cables are just as essential. “They are the real unseen heroes of global communications. [The Commission] must facilitate, not frustrate the buildout of submarine cable industries.”  Indeed,  the vast global network of subsea cables carry ~ 99% of the world’s internet traffic and support more than $10 trillion in daily financial transactions.

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The risk of Russia- and China-backed attacks on undersea cables carrying international internet traffic is likely to rise amid a spate of incidents in the Baltic Sea and around Taiwan, according to a report by Recorded Future, a U.S. cybersecurity company.  It singled out nine incidents in the Baltic Sea and off the coast of Taiwan in 2024 and 2025 as a harbinger for further disruptive activity. The report said that while genuine accidents remained likely to cause most undersea cable disruption, the Baltic and Taiwanese incidents pointed to increased malicious activity from Russia and China. “(Sabotage) Campaigns attributed to Russia in the North Atlantic-Baltic region and China in the western Pacific are likely to increase in frequency as tensions rise,” the company said.

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The FCC also repealed 98 “outdated” broadcast rules and regulations as part of a deregulation effort aimed at streamlining and modernizing the agency’s rules. These rules, deemed obsolete or unnecessary, included outdated requirements for testing equipment and authorization procedures, as well as provisions related to technologies like analog broadcasting that are no longer in use. The move is part of the FCC’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” docket, which seeks to identify and remove rules that no longer serve the public interest.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr (middle) and Commissioners Olivia Trusty (right) and Anna Gomez (left) at the Open Meeting on August 7, 2025 in Washington, D.C.                                                                          Photo credit: Broadband Breakfast/Patricia Blume.

Many of the repealed rules relate to analog-era technologies and practices that are no longer relevant in today’s digital broadcasting landscape. These rules cover various areas, such as obsolete subscription television rules, outdated equipment requirements from the 1970s, unnecessary authorization rules for standard practices, obsolete international broadcast provisions, and sections that were for reference only or were duplicative or reserved.  In particular:

• The repealed rules covered equipment requirements for AM, FM, and TV stations that are now obsolete, as well as rules related to subscription television systems that operated on now-defunct analog technology.
• The FCC eliminated rules regarding international broadcasting that used outdated terms and procedures.
• Several sections that merely listed citations to outdated FCC orders, court decisions, and policies were also removed.
• The FCC eliminated a rule requiring FM stations to obtain authorization for stereophonic sound programs, which is now standard practice.

References:

https://www.fcc.gov/August2025

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-deletes-outdated-broadcast-rules-and-requirements/carr-statement

https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-413057A1.pdf

https://broadbandbreakfast.com/fcc-unanimously-approves-buildout-of-secure-submarine-cables/

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/17/risk-undersea-cable-attacks-backed-russia-china-likely-rise-report-warns

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