FCC Resolves AmeriCan-1 Licence Expiry Case

Publication Staff, Federal Communications Commission
August 31, 2026

The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau has adopted an order and consent decree ending its investigation into Zayo Group, LLC, over the expired cable landing licence for the AmeriCan-1 Cable System. The inquiry concerned possible violations of the Cable Landing License Act of 1921 and FCC rule section 1.767. Under the settlement, Zayo admitted the facts described in the decree, agreed to a compliance programme and will share in a $45,000 voluntary contribution.

AmeriCan-1 is described in the decree as the cable system connecting Seattle, Washington, with Vancouver, British Columbia. The original licence was granted in 1998, and the system entered service on December 19, 1999. After later ownership changes, Zayo, Ledcor, Rogers and Marine Cable became equal joint licensees, each associated with a twenty-five percent interest. FCC rules set cable landing licences for a twenty-five-year period beginning on the system’s in-service date.

The licence expired on December 19, 2024, and the FCC said the licence rights ended automatically at that point because no timely renewal or extension application had been filed. The licensees continued operating until Special Temporary Authority was obtained. Rogers submitted the STA request on behalf of all licensees on May 6, 2025, and the Commission accepted it for filing on May 16, 2025. A joint renewal application followed on December 5, 2025.

The Bureau has terminated the case under the decree, while preserving the possibility of further action if material new evidence emerges. Zayo must name a compliance officer within thirty days of the effective date and create operating procedures, a checklist and a manual within ninety days. Required compliance reports are due one hundred twenty days, twelve months, twenty-four months and thirty-six months after the effective date. The shared voluntary contribution is also due within thirty days. The order resolves the enforcement matter; it does not itself decide the pending renewal application or replace the temporary operating authority described in the decree. That distinction leaves the cable's long-term licensing outcome separate from the compliance settlement now adopted.

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