Comments to the FCC Regarding Identifying and Eliminating Unnecessary Rules and Regulations

By Joe Kane and Ellis Scherer, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
April 11, 2025

Introduction

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) submits these comments in response to the Commission’s Public Notice on identifying and eliminating unnecessary FCC rules and regulations.1This retrospective review is a welcome opportunity to modernize the FCC’s regulatory framework in light of today’s rapidly evolving communications marketplace and the buildup of ill-advised or outdated rules. Rules gradually accrue over time, like barnacles on a ship. In fields such as broadband and spectrum policy that have enjoyed transformative innovation, it is worth starting from scratch with a thorough review every couple of decades or so.

 As the Commission considers how best to close the digital divide, foster technological innovation, and enable competitive service offerings, a streamlined, innovation-friendly regulatory environment will better position the United States to lead in next-generation communications technologies and deliver improved outcomes for consumers.

The Commission Should Delete Barriers to Secondary Market Transactions for Spectrum Licenses

Markets are the most powerful tool to drive spectrum to productive uses. However, the signals and incentives transmitted by market prices are hampered by transaction costs. While some transaction costs are unavoidable, others are creations of the Commission. Since productive spectrum use is the core of the Commission’s public interest functions, it should declare that all leases, transfers, partitions and disaggregations of spectrum licenses are presumptively allowed and require a strong showing of public interest harm before stepping in to review such a transaction.

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The Commission Should Streamline Review of Submarine Cable Landing License Applications

The current submarine cable landing license application process is lengthy and complex, creating significant costs to applicants and discouraging investment in a critical part of global communications infrastructure. The overcrowded interagency review process and lack of standardized requirements, combined with the business and technical realities of cable projects, result in a regulatory environment that is exceedingly difficult to navigate. Given the importance of resilient submarine cable networks to U.S. national security and data capacity goals, the Commission should work with Team Telecom to streamline the application review process.6

Reforming the submarine cable landing license review process is essential for maintaining U.S. leadership in global telecommunications infrastructure while ensuring appropriate national security protections. The most effective security measure is a resilient network with redundant routes, which can only be achieved through a regulatory environment that encourages, rather than impedes, submarine cable development.

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