- New proposals seek to ensure submarine cables against foreign adversaries
- This includes a default denial of contracts to Chinese companies.
- Submarine cables transport 99% of Internet traffic
A recent proposal of the FCC contour plans “unleash investment in underwater cable” to “accelerate the construction of AI infrastructure” in the United States, while making efforts to “ensure cables against foreign adversaries, such as China.”
If adopted, this could mean a variety of measures to protect the submarine cables, apply a “presumption of denial” for applicants of the adversary state for controlled licenses and establish the requirements of physical and cyber security, as well as restrict the lease agreements of these organizations.
Along with this, the report proposes a prohibition of the use of “covered equipment” in underwater cable infrastructure, although the report does not give a definition of the term.
Unrecognized heroes
Sabotage to submarine cables would be undoubtedly catastrophic, not only for the United States, but almost all parts of the world.
Cables have 99% of all Internet traffic, driving approximately $ 10 billion of daily financial transactions.
Satellite technology, although active, is not yet able to handle the same traffic volume. As described by the president of the FCC Brendan Carr, the submarine cables are the “unrecognized heroes of global communications.”
There is a precedent for this type of order, with Huawei and ZTE facing ‘RIP and replace’ campaigns in 2020 in an attempt to eliminate Chinese technology from the infrastructure of rural operators, as part of a greater effort to exclude Chinese sellers from the US market.
“As the United States builds data centers and another infrastructure necessary to lead the world in AI and Next Gen technologies, these cables are more important than ever. At the same time, as President Trump has long recognized:” Economic security is national security, “says President Carr.
“We have seen an threatened underwater cable infrastructure by foreign adversaries, such as China. Therefore, we are taking action here to protect our submarine cables against foreign adversary property and access, as well as cyber and physical threats.”
