Non-substantive Change Request

OMB Control No. 3060-0944

Cable Landing License Act

47 CFR §§ 1.767, 1.768

Executive Order 10530

August 2025

NON-SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE REQUEST JUSTIFICATION

OMB Control No. 3060-0944

The Commission’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) is requesting Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for de minimis, non-substantive changes to the information collection in OMB Control No. 3060-0944. On August 7, 2025, the Commission adopted a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.¹ In the Report and Order, the Commission designated subpart FF in Part 1 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations as the recodification for the submarine cable licensing rules. The Commission instructed in the ordering clauses and the final rules appendix for the existing rules located at 47 CFR § § 1.767, 1.768 to be removed upon the effective date of rules that require PRA review by OMB. For certain provisions of 47 CFR §§ 1.767, 1.768, the Commission is retaining the existing language or a modification of that language as well as renumbering the sections for those provisions. For certain provisions of 47 CFR §§ 1.767, 1.768, the Commission is striking language and removing burdens on applicants or licensees. Overall, the renumbering of the sections, the retention of existing language, and the modification of certain language are likely modifications to information collections that should be considered as non-substantive changes. The information about each non-substantive change is set forth below.

• 47 CFR § 1.767(h)(1): The words “owns or” were stricken from the text of the rule and the rule was recodified at 47 CFR § 1.70003(a) so it now reads “(a) Any entity that controls a cable landing station in the United States; and[.]”² The textual change means that entities that “merely own a cable landing station are no longer required to become [applicants] or licensees.”³ This would reduce the types of entities subject to application/licensing information collections. Although these may be modifications to an information collection, these changes should be considered as non-substantive.

• 47 CFR § 1.767(j): The rule was recodified at 47 CFR § 1.70014(b).⁴ The change to the text provides applicants with the option to send their application by mail (the existing option) or by email (the new option). The specific email addresses will be posted at the URL added to the recodified rule at 47 CFR § 1.70014(b). Although these may be modifications to an information collection, these changes should be considered as non-substantive.

• 47 CFR § 1.767(l): The rule was recodified at 47 CFR § 1.70015.⁵ Although this may be a modification to an information collection, this should be considered a non-substantive change.

• 47 CFR § 1.767(k): The rule was recodified at 47 CFR § 1.70016(a).⁶ The changes to the text in 47 CFR § 1.70016(a) include a Note being moved into the body of the rule and updated cross-references. The text added to 47 CFR § 1.70016(b)(1)⁷ is purely a clarification that the streamlining process of (a) applies to renewal or extension applications, as it always has under 47 CFR § 1.767(k).⁸ Although these may be modifications to an information collection, these changes should be considered as non-substantive.

• 47 CFR § 1.767(f): This rule is a third party disclosure requirement that is being eliminated. Although this may be a modification to an information collection, this should be considered a non-substantive change.

• The non-substantive changes to this information collection will not impact the burden and cost for this collection.

1 Review of Submarine Cable Landing License Rules and Procedures to Assess Evolving National Security, Law Enforcement, Foreign Policy, and Trade Policy Risks; Amendment of the Schedule of Application Fees Set Forth in Sections 1.1102 through 1.1109 of the Commission’s Rules, OI Docket No. 24-523, MD Docket No. 24-524, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 25-49 (Aug. 13, 2025) (2025 Cable Report and Order).

2 2025 Cable Report and Order, at 157.

3 2025 Cable Report and Order, at 49, para. 82.

4 2025 Cable Report and Order, at 154.

5 2025 Cable Report and Order, at 154-55.

6 2025 Cable Report and Order, at 155.

7 2025 Cable Report and Order, at 155.

8 47 CFR § 1.70016(b)(2) is considered a substantive modification because it is a new information collection. We are not seeking review of (b)(2) as a non-substantive modification.

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