News
NASCA Welcomes New Members
August 2017
NASCA welcomes two new members, OPT French Polynesia and Edge Network Services Ltd.
NASCA Annual Meeting
April 2017
NASCA held its annual meeting in conjunction with the International Cable Protection Committee Plenary in Montevideo, Uruguay.
NASCA Member Cable System Routes Now Available Online
March 2015
NASCA, and its seventeen members, are pleased to unveil member submarine telecom cable system routes now available here at the NASCA website for online viewing or downloading in PDF format.
NASCA has taken this major step forward to further ensure the safety and continued operations of submarine telecom cable systems which have been designated critical infrastructure for both economic and security reasons. NASCA cable charts provide the interested stakeholder the ability to assess the proximity of submarine cable systems to any planned coastal projects or infrastructure buildout, and to request further information if required.
Cable routes are overlaid onto NOAA Charts for those residing in United States waters, and on equivalent charts for those outside of the United States. Should a Viewer require more definition regarding the routing of one or more submarine cable systems, they are invited to request further information from CableCharts@N-A-S-C-A.org.
NASCA Support Spatial Separation
August 1, 2013
NASCA, with the goal of ensuring the compatible use of coastal waters among stakeholders invested in marine infrastructure development, endorses the adoption and application of the Subsea Cables United Kingdom Guideline No. 6, “ The Proximity of Offshore Renewable Energy Installations & Submarine Cable Infrastructure in UK Waters” by the US regulatory agencies to all offshore renewable energy projects, including wind, tidal, and wave projects. Guideline No. 6, developed primarily for offshore wind infrastructure, describes basic principles for determining safe proximity distances and negotiating proximity agreements that can be applied equally well to tidal and wave energy projects. Guideline No. 6, and its underlying principles, should be followed for all projects, until such time that guidelines specific to wave and tidal energy infrastructure are developed by the industry.
NASCA Files Comments to BOEM
September 28, 2012
NASCA filed comments to the BOEM regarding its draft right-of-way grant form for renewable energy development on the outer continental shelf. Comments to BOEM are intended to ensure that the BOEM makes due consideration for existing and future submarine telecom cables in its planning and implementation of offshore renewable energy development.
Undersea cables carry more than 95 percent of the international voice, data, and Internet traffic of the UnitedStates, a percentage that is expected to continue to increase. Without undersea cableinfrastructure, the global Internet would not function. It is essential that this critical infrastructure retains a prominent stakeholder position in the planning of offshore infrastructure and development.
NASCA Files Comments to the FCC
September 17, 2012
NASCA filed comments with the FCC urging the Commission to reject the proposed reallocation of regulatory fees to International Bureau licensees, particularly submarine cable operators. This reallocation proposal would increase the regulatory fees paid by International Bureau licensees by 230 percent.
This NASCA position is based on the following:
1) The proposed reallocation of regulatory fees to submarine cable operators and otherInternational Bureau licensees would violate the Communications Act.
2) The proposed reallocation would distort the market for submarine cable capacity.
3) The proposal would undermine much of theCommission’s 2009 reform of the regulatory fees assessed on submarine cable operators, whichsought to eliminate significant economic distortions caused by the Commission’s prior capacitybasedfee methodology.
and
4) The proposal would undermine the three goals guiding the FCC's approach: "fairness", Adminsitrabiltiy", and "sustainability".
NASCA Throws Its Support Behind US Ratification of the Law of the Sea
NASCA is proud to throws its support behind ratification of the of the Law of the Sea and the American Sovereignty Campaign (www.ratifythetreatynow.org) organized to support this very important initiative. NASCA firmly believes that ratification of the Law of the Sea by the United States is in the best interest of United States Submarine Cable Owners, Operators, Suppliers, and Maintenance Authorities, and urges full support of this important issue.
FRIDAY 23 APRIL 2010
NASCA SUBMITS COMMENTS ON NOAA PROPOSED RULE TO REVISE THE CRITICAL HABITAT DESIGNATION FOR THE ENDANGERED LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE
NASCA has submitted comments on the proposed NOAA Rule to revise the Critical Habitat Designation for the Endangered Leatherback Sea Turtle, requesting NOAA to clarify the effect of its regulations on undersea cable operations. Without such clarification, NASCA is concerned that the proposed critical habitat designation would impose substantial additional permitting costs and delays on undersea cable operators without any corresponding increast in the protection of leatherback sea turtles. Not only would these costs and delays be unintended - indeed, NOAA's econimic analysis demonstrates that NOAA does not anticipate that its proposal would impose such costs or delays - but they would provide no benefit whatsoever because undersea cable operations have no effect on the leaterback sea turtle or the proposed critical habitat.
NASCA awaits the NOAA response to all interested party submittals.
NASCA Press Release
FRIDAY 26 OCTOBER 2007
GROUP ASKS FCC TO SCRAP NEW CABLE LANDING LICENSE REGULATIONS
The North American Submarine Cable Assocation (NASCA) has asked the FCC to reconsider its new cable landing license rules, calling them "unnecessary," legally "flawed," and "unworkable at a practical level." In a consolidated petition for reconsideration and petition to defer the effective date of a new certification requirement filed yesterday in International docket 04-47, the group also said the new rules "effectively gut the Commission's submarine cable streamlining rules without any identificable regulatory benefit."
NASCA asked the Commission to rescind the new rules "as ill-conceived and sought by no one - not even by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration," which oversees the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), which the new rules are intended to implement.
The FCC ammended its cable landing license rules and application procedures so they are consistent with the CZMA in an order issued in June that modified some of its parts 1 and 63 rules applying to the provision of international telecommunications services. The order was adopted as part of the agency's 2002 biennial review.
"NASCA's petition for reconsideration consists of five parts," the group said. "First, NASCA explains that the CZMA does not require the FCC to promulgate any rules for the processing of cable landing licenses. Second, NASCA explains that because the Commission failed to account appropriately for states' authority to review 'unlisted activities,' cable landing license applicants cannot comply with the Commission's CZMA rules as adopted. Third, NASCA argues that the Commission erred in assessing the burdens and benefits of its new CZMA rules, mischaracterizing significant delays as 'minimal,' effectively gutting and trivializing its much admired streamlined processing rules for submarine cables, and failing to reconcile its new rules with Commission policies encouraging investment and infrastructure development. Fourth, NASCA argues that the Commission's new CZMA rules are, as a practical matter, unworkable. Fifth, NASCA argues that the Commission's new CZMA rules violate U.S. WTO [World Trade Organization] commitments regarding licensing criteria."- Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com
NASCA Press Release
FRIDAY MAY 9, 2003
NORTH AMERICAN SUBMARINE CABLE ASSOCIATION SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH AT&T
MORRISTOWN, NJ - The North American Submarine Cable Association (NASCA) has signed a comprehensive nautical charting services agreement with AT&T Corp. in an effort to reduce damage to submerged telecommunications cable.
Under the agreement, AT&T will manage data and produce Cable Warning Charts that display all active commercial submarine cables in North American waters. These charts will then be provided to fishermen and other seabed operators in an effort to increase the reliability and security of the telecom cables that carry critical data and voice communications.
The centerpiece of this innovative program will be electronic Cable Warning Charts developed by AT&T, based upon Maptech electronic charts. These charts will be packaged on CDs that contain regional coverage for ease of distribution and use. Maptech electronic charts are the only National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) authorized charts on the market and are compatible with most PC-based navigational systems.
In addition to these electronic charts, AT&T will also produce and distribute paper charts for NASCA members, as required. For more information about AT&T charting services, contact Jim Murray at jamesmur@att.com.
NASCA (www.n-a-s-c-a.org.) is a non-profit trade association made up of companies that own, maintain or install submarine cables landing in North America.