NOTICE ************************************************************************* NOTICE ************************************************************************* This document was originally prepared in Word Perfect. If the original document contained-- * Footnotes * Boldface & Italics --this information is missing in this version The document format (spacing, margins, tabs, etc.) is changed too. If you need the complete document, download the Word Perfect version. For information about downloading documents (FTP) see file pnmc5021. File pnmc5021 (.txt & .wp) is in directory \pub\Public_Notices\Miscellaneous. ************************************************************************* Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICAT IONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 2 0554 In the Matter of ) DA 96-1234 ) AT&T CORP. ) ) MCI INTERNATIONAL, INC ) ) THE ST. THOMAS AND SAN JUAN ) TELEPHONE COMPANY, INC. ) ) TELEF NICA LARGA DISTANCIA ) File No. I-T-C-96-234 DE PUERTO RICO, INC. ) ) Joint Application for Authorization Pursuant ) to Section 214 of the Communications Act of ) 1934, as Amended, to Construct, Acquire and ) Operate Capacity in a Digital Submarine ) Cable System Between the U.S. Mainland ) and the Bahamas, the BAHAMAS II ) Cable System ) MEMORANDUM OPINION, ORDER AND AUTHORIZATION Adopted: August 2, 1996 Released: August 6, 1996 By the Chief, Telecommunications Division: 1. In this Order, we grant the joint application of AT&T Corp. (AT&T), MCI International, Inc. (MCII), The St. Thomas and San Juan Telephone Company, Inc. (STSJ) and Telef˘nica Larga Distancia de Puerto Rico, Inc. (TLD) requesting authority pursuant to Section 214 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.  214, to (1) construct, acquire and operate capacity in a digital submarine cable system known as the BAHAMAS II cable system between the United States Mainland and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas; (2) acquire by lease or other comparable means such extension facilities as may be required to extend the capacity to be acquired in BAHAMAS II; and (3) activate capacity in BAHAMAS II and in the aforementioned extension facilities for the provision of their authorized services. We find that the Joint Applicants have provided sufficient information to comply with Section 214 of the Communications Act, and therefore grant the authority to construct, acquire capacity in and operate BAHAMAS II, subject to the conditions below. 2. On March 29, 1996, the Joint Applicants filed their application. It was placed on public notice on April 19, 1996. No comments were received. 3. Each of the Joint Applicants is a corporation. AT&T is organized under the laws of the State of New York; MCII is organized under the laws of the State of Delaware; STSJ is organized under the laws of the U.S. Virgin Islands; and TLD is organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Each of the Joint Applicants is a common carrier subject to the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. All of the principal officers of the Joint Applicants are citizens of the United States. The Joint Applicants certify that they are affiliated with a number of foreign carriers within the meaning of Section 63.01(r)(1)(i) & (ii) of the Commission's Rules. They certify, however, that they do not have affiliation with any carrier in the destination country, the Bahamas, for which they seek facilities-based authority. 4. The proposed BAHAMAS II Cable System will extend from a landing point at Vero Beach, Florida to a landing point at Nassau, the Bahamas, with an intermediate point at Eight Mile Rock, the Bahamas, for the purpose of lightwave amplification. It will connect with the domestic networks in the continental United States and the Bahamas. The proposed cable system will consist of four segments: A, B, C and D. Segment A will be located in U.S. territory and will be provided and owned by AT&T. 5. Segment A will consist of a cable station at Vero Beach, Florida. Segment B will consist of a structure to house amplification equipment at Eight Mile Rock, the Bahamas. Segment C will consist of the cable station at Nassau, the Bahamas. Segment D will comprise the whole of the submarine cable linking Segments A, B and C, and will consist of Subsegments D1, D2 and D3. Subsegment D1 will consist of five fiber pairs linking the cable station at Vero Beach with the passive branch joint, a submerged device composed of a housing and any associated equipment to serve as a junction point for the undersea cable. Subsegment D2 will consist of five fiber pairs linking the passive branch joint to the structure at Eight Mile Rock, and five fiber pairs linking back to the passive branch joint. Subsegment D3 will consist of five fiber pairs linking the passive branch joint to the cable station at Nassau. 6. The Joint Applicants state that BAHAMAS II will be comprised of five optical fiber pairs. Initially, only one fiber pair will be equipped and will operate at 2.5 gigabits per second (Gbps). The capacity of each fiber pair will be comprised of sixteen 155 megabits per second (Mbps) Basic System Modules (BSMs) with each BSM containing sixty-three Minimum Investment Units (MIUs), for a total capacity, on each fiber pair, of 1008 MIUs. For voice telephone requirements, digital circuit multiplication equipment can be applied to derive nominally five times the original number of voice paths. The BAHAMAS II cable system will be connected to suitable facilities which will provide access to the domestic networks in each country or territory. In addition, BAHAMAS II will be extended by suitable facilities to the terminals of other international communications systems, including other cable terminals and satellite earth stations. This will enable BAHAMAS II to be used for services between and among the U.S. Mainland, the Bahamas and points beyond. 7. The Joint Applicants state that the facilities covered by this application will be used to supplement their existing cable and satellite facilities in providing the services which they are presently furnishing between the United States and the Bahamas or which they may subsequently furnish. These existing facilities include satellite circuits between the U.S. earth stations and the INTELSAT Atlantic Ocean Region satellites acquired from the COMSAT Corporation pursuant to COMSAT's applicable tariffs. The Joint Applicants state that they are requesting a modification of authority to adjust their authorized capacity in order to satisfy increasing demand for service, improve the quality and increase the efficiency of their services by providing digital connectivity, and reduce the cost of providing service to the Bahamas. AT&T submits that it is critical to replace the current analog BAHAMAS I cable system at this time because it has exceeded its life expectancy, is deteriorating rapidly and is essentially non-restorable. 8. Section 214 of the Communications Act requires that the Commission make a finding that the public convenience and necessity will be served by authorization of the facilities requested in the Joint Application by determining "whether the specific facility chosen and the use to be made of that facility are required by the public convenience and necessity." The proposed Section 214 authorization will serve the public interest by improving the infrastructure and adding capacity along the telecommunications services route between the United States and the Bahamas. The Commission has stated that the availability of advanced telecommunications is critical to the economic development of the Caribbean region. Moreover, as AT&T asserts, it is important that the current BAHAMAS I cable system be replaced because it has exceeded its life expectancy and is deteriorating rapidly. 9. Upon consideration of the applications and in view of the foregoing, we conclude that grant of the application of the Joint Applicants will serve the public interest. Therefore, IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that the present and future public convenience and necessity requires grant of the application. 10. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that application File No. I-T-C-96-234 IS GRANTED, and the Joint Applicants, AT&T, MCII, STSJ and TLD, are authorized to (1) construct, acquire and operate capacity in a digital submarine cable system known as the BAHAMAS II cable system between landing points at Vero Beach, Florida, and Nassau, the Bahamas, on an ownership basis, in accordance with the interests specified in the Appendix; (2) acquire by lease or other comparable means such extension facilities as may be needed to extend the capacity to be acquired in BAHAMAS II; and (3) activate capacity in BAHAMAS II and in the aforementioned extension facilities for the provision of their authorized services. 11. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the tariffs of the Joint Applicants must state that their customers may not resell international private lines or connect them to the public switched network for the provision of international basic telecommunications services, unless authorized to do so by the Commission upon a country-specific finding of resale opportunities equivalent to those available under U.S. law, in accordance with Market Entry and Regulation of Foreign-Affiliated Entities Order, 11 FCC Rcd 3873 (1995). The limitations in this paragraph are subject to the exceptions contained in Section 63.18(e)(4)(ii) of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  63.18(e)(4)(ii). 12. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Joint Applicants shall make available half-interests in BAHAMAS II capacity to such present and future U.S. carriers as may be authorized by the Commission to acquire such capacity. 13. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Commission retains jurisdiction to reallocate U.S. carriers' interest in capacity herein authorized, as the public interest may require and with any requisite concurrence of the foreign administration or carriers concerned, in order to accommodate additional carriers or for other reasons. 14. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Commission retains jurisdiction over all matters relating to the Joint Applicants' ownership, management, maintenance and operation of the cable system as authorized herein to ensure the most efficient use not only of this cable system but of all means of communications between the United States and the Atlantic Ocean Region. 15. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Joint Applicants shall include BAHAMAS II facility use in the annual circuit reports in accordance with the requirements set forth in Rules for Filing of International Circuit Status Reports, CC Docket No. 93-157, Report and Order, 10 FCC Rcd 8605 (1995). 16. This order is issued under Section 0.261 of the Commission's Rules and is effective upon release. Petitions for reconsideration under Section 1.106 or applications for review under Section 1.115 of the Commission's Rules may be filed within 30 days of the date of the public notice of this order (see Section 1.4(b)(2)). FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Diane J. Cornell Chief, Telecommunications Division International Bureau