******************************************************** NOTICE ******************************************************** This document was converted from WordPerfect or Word to ASCII Text format. Content from the original version of the document such as headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers will not show up in this text version. All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the original document will not show up in this text version. Features of the original document layout such as columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins will not be preserved in the text version. If you need the complete document, download the WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************************** Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of GST Telecom Hawaii, Inc. and Time Warner Telecom of Hawaii, L.P. Application for Modification of License to Land and Operate the GST Interisland Cable System ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) SCL-MOD-20001025-00036 MODIFICATION OF CABLE LANDING LICENSE Adopted: January 16, 2001 Released: January 17, 2001 By the Chief, Telecommunications Division, International Bureau: I.Introduction 1.In this Order, we modify the cable landing license for the GST Interisland Cable System held by GST Telecom Hawaii, Inc. (GST Hawaii) to add Time Warner Telecom of Hawaii, L.P. (Time Warner Hawaii) (collectively Applicants) as an additional party to the license. The original license authorized GST Pacwest Telecom Hawaii, Inc., pursuant to the Cable Landing License Act, and Executive Order No. 10530, to land and operate the GST Interisland Cable System, a common carrier fiber optic submarine cable system extending between the Hawaiian Islands of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and Hawaii. The Commission subsequently granted the application of GST Pacwest Hawaii, Inc. for a pro forma transfer and assignment of the license to GST Hawaii as part of a corporate reorganization. 2.The Application requests authority to add Time Warner Hawaii as an additional party to the license. Time Warner Telecom, Inc. has designated its subsidiary, Time Warner Hawaii, as the purchaser of GST's assets in Hawaii. Time Warner Hawaii proposes to acquire 12 of the 24 fibers that are part of the GST Interisland Cable System connecting the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii. Applicants assert that there is a difference between the description of the cable in the original license and the way the system was actually constructed, and have requested that the Commission's records be updated to reflect this difference. Specifically, the two branching units of the system that connect the islands of Lanai and Molokai consist of eight fibers (four fiber pairs), not 12 fibers (six fiber pairs) as described in the original license. The rest of the system, identified in the license as the "backbone" of the system, consists of 24 fibers (12 fiber pairs) which is consistent with the original license. The landing points are described in the license and remain unchanged. 3.GST Hawaii and Time Warner Hawaii propose to each own and operate 12 fibers on the GST Interisland Cable System. Specifically, Time Warner Hawaii will own 12 fibers, extending from Kauai (Wailua Golf Course) to Oahu (Makaha) to Oahu (Keawaula) to Oahu (Sandy Beach), to Maui (Mokapu), and from Maui to Hawaii (Spencer Beach), including ownership of the associated cable sheath; and rights to access the GTE manholes and splice boxes at Wailua, Sandy Beach, Mokapu and Spencer Beach. GST Hawaii will maintain ownership in the remaining fiber pairs along the routes mentioned above and will maintain complete ownership of the eight fibers on the branches connecting the islands of Lanai and Molokai to the GST Interisland Cable System. The system, including the 12 fiber pairs operated by Time Warner Hawaii, will continue to be operated on a common carrier basis. 4.GST Hawaii is a Hawaii corporation and is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of GST Telecommunications, Inc., a Canadian corporation, which is a publicly held holding company. According to the Application, GST is a facilities-based integrated communications service provider, currently offering voice, data, and Internet service throughout the Western United States. Applicants assert GST holds authority to provide intrastate interexchange service in 49 states and intrastate local exchange service in 11 states. GST also holds authority to provide interstate and international telecommunications services as a non-dominant common carrier pursuant to the authority of the Commission. 5.Time Warner Hawaii is a Delaware limited partnership. Time Warner Telecom Inc., holds a 99 percent limited partnership interest in Time Warner Hawaii; the remaining one percent general partnership interest in Time Warner Hawaii is held by Time Warner Telecom General Partnership. Applicants assert that Time Warner Hawaii and its affiliates currently provide local exchange and exchange access services as well as interexchange service. Specifically, Time Warner Hawaii and its affiliates are authorized to provide intrastate telecommunications services in 13 states and have requests for authority pending in 10 other states. 6.Under Section 1.767(a)(8) of the Commission's rules, applicants are required to disclose their affiliations with foreign carriers. Time Warner Hawaii has certified that it is neither a foreign carrier nor affiliated with a foreign carrier, as defined in Section 63.09 of the Commission's Rules. VII.Comments 8.We placed the Application on public notice on November 1, 2000. No comments were received. Pursuant to Section 1.767(b) of the Commission's rules, the Cable Landing License Act, and Executive Order No. 10530, we informed the Department of State of the Modification request. The Department of State, after coordinating with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Department of Defense, stated that it has no objection to approving the Applicants' request to add Time Warner Hawaii as an additional licensee to the cable landing license. IX.Discussion 10.We grant the Applicants' request to modify the GST Interisland Cable System cable landing license to add Time Warner Hawaii as a licensee. Applicants have asserted that the application is in the public interest because the proposed transaction will enable customers to continue to receive high- quality, competitively priced telecommunications services without interruption on the GST Interisland Cable System. Applicants further assert that they are both nondominant Competitive Local Exchange Carriers in Hawaii, competing against the dominant local exchange provider, Verizon; that Verizon also owns a competing cable system; and that Time Warner Hawaii's proposed acquisition of GST Hawaii's assets will help to ensure competition in the region. 11.We conclude that adding Time Warner Hawaii to the cable landing license for the GST Interisland Cable System raises no competitive concerns, and does not provide a basis for altering the common carrier status of the cable. Specifically, we conclude that Time Warner Hawaii's ownership of 12 fiber pairs on the GST Interisland Cable System will not cause competitive concerns. Accordingly, we find that grant of the Application is in the public interest. XII.Ordering Clauses 10.Consistent with the foregoing and pursuant to the Cable Landing License Act and Executive Order 10530, IT IS ORDERED that the Application, File No. SCL-MOD-20001025-00036, IS GRANTED and the GST Interisland cable landing license is MODIFIED to: (1) add Time Warner Hawaii as an additional licensee on the cable landing license (File No. SCL-95-003); and (2) correct the description of the cable to reflect the way in which the cable was actually constructed. Specifically, the two branching units of the system that connect the islands of Lanai and Molokai consist of eight fibers (four fiber pairs), not 12 fibers (six fiber pairs) as described in the original license. 11.This Modification of Cable Landing License does not modify any other terms or conditions imposed in the license. 12. This Order is issued under Section 0.261 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.261, and is effective upon adoption. Petitions for reconsideration under Section 1.106 or applications for review under Section 1.115 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  1.106, 1.115, may be filed within 30 days of the date of public notice of this Order (see 47 C.F.R.  1.4(b)(2)). FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Rebecca Arbogast Chief, Telecommunications Division International Bureau