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Released: May 6. 1999
List of Foreign Telecommunications Carriers that are Presumed to Possess Market Power in Foreign Telecommunications Markets
In the 1998 Biennial Regulatory Review -- Reform of the International Settlements Policy and Associated Filing Requirements, IB Docket No. 98-148 and CC Docket No. 90-337, Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration FCC 99-73 (released May 6, 1999), the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) modified its rules to remove its requirement that agreements between U.S. telecommunications carriers and foreign carriers that lack market power in the foreign telecommunications market conform to the Commission's international settlements policy (ISP). The Commission's rules include a presumption that a foreign carrier does not possess market power on the foreign end of a U.S. international route if it possesses less than 50 percent market share in each of three relevant foreign product markets: international transport facilities, including cable landing station access and backhaul facilities; intercity facilities and services; and local access facilities and services on the foreign end.
The Commission stated that it would issue a list of carriers that do not qualify for this presumption. U.S. international carriers would be precluded from exchanging traffic outside of the ISP with carriers on the list unless otherwise allowed. U.S.-authorized carriers would also be precluded from agreeing to accept special concessions (as defined in Section 63.14 of the Commission's rules) from carriers on the list unless otherwise allowed under the Commission's rules. The Commission found that this approach best advances the policy of allowing U.S. carriers to enter into arrangements with foreign carriers that lack market power with a minimum of regulatory oversight, while maintaining the ISP for certain arrangements with foreign carriers that possess market power in the foreign market.
The following list specifies particular foreign carriers that do not qualify for this presumption. The list is based on publicly available information, compiled from official sources, including the International Telecommunication Union. Interested parties may challenge the inclusion or exclusion of any carrier on the list by submitting a petition for declaratory ruling and the appropriate supporting documentation to demonstrate that a carrier included on the list lacks market power or that a carrier not included does not lack market power. This list applies only for purposes of determining those foreign carriers that are subject to our ISP, our rules on providing switched services over private lines, and the No Special Concessions rule. It does not apply for purposes of market power determination under Sections 63.10 (Regulatory classification of international carriers) or 63.18 (Contents of applications for international common carriers).
The list below will be posted on the International Bureau's World Wide Web site. (http://www.fcc.gov/ib).