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FCC Publishes Standard Questions for Executive Review of Foreign Ownership Applications Public Notice in Fed. Reg.

On March 3, 2021, the FCC published in the Federal Register the Public Notice on Standard Questions for Applicants Whose Applications Will Be Referred to the Executive Branch for Review Due to Foreign Ownership, thus setting the comment deadlines.

 

In the Public Notice, the International Bureau (“Bureau”) seeks comment on sets of Standard Questions formulated from the questionnaires used by the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector.  The questions request five categories of information from applicants: (1) corporate structure and shareholder information; (2) relationships with foreign entities; (3) financial condition and circumstances; (4) compliance with applicable laws and regulations; and (5) business and operational information, including services to be provided and network infrastructure.  The Bureau has proposed and seeks comment on Standard Questions for each of the following:

 

  • International Section 214 Authorization Applications;
  • Applications for an Assignment or Transfer of Control of an International Section 214 Authorization;
  • Submarine Cable Landing License Applications;
  • Applications for Assignment or Transfer of Control of a Submarine Cable Landing License;
  • Section 310(b) Petitions for Declaratory Ruling Involving a Broadcast Licensee; and
  • Section 310(b) Petitions for Declaratory Ruling Involving a Common Carrier Wireless or Common Carrier Earth Station Licensee; and
  • The Personally Identifiable Information Supplement, referenced by all the standard questions.

 

In particular, the Bureau seeks comment on: specific changes to the language of the questions to help clarify the questions; whether some questions are necessary; whether other questions should be included to expedite the review process; definitions of key terms used in the applications; how often, and under what circumstances, the Bureau should reevaluate the Standard Questions; and how long it would take applicants to fill out each questionnaire.

 

Comments are due on or before April 2, 2021.

Reply comments are due on or before April 19, 2021.

 

Please Contact Us if you have any questions.

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