PUBLIC NOTICE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 445 12th STREET S.W. WASHINGTON D.C. 20554 News media information 202-418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov (or ftp.fcc.gov) TTY (202) 418-2555 Friday September 24, 2010SCL-00109S Report No. ACCEPTED FOR FILING STREAMLINED SUBMARINE CABLE LANDING LICENSE APPLICATIONS Unless otherwise specified, the following procedures apply to the applications listed below: The applications listed below have been found, upon initial review, to be acceptable for filing and subject to the streamlined processing procedures set forth in section 1.767 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.767. Pursuant to the Submarine Cable Landing License Act, 47 U.S.C. §§ 34-39, and Executive Order No. 10530, reprinted as amended in 3 U.S.C. § 301, each applicant seeks: (a) the grant of a cable landing licensee; (b) the modification of a cable landing license; and/or (c) the assignment or transfer of control of an interest in a submarine cable landing license. Pursuant to its decision in Review of Commission Consideration of Applications under the Cable Landing License Act, IB Docket No. 00-106, FCC 01-332, 16 FCC Rcd 22167 (2001) and section 1.767 of the rules, the Commission will take action upon these applications within forty-five (45) days after release of this public notice, unless the Commission has informed the applicant in writing that the application, upon further examination, has been deemed ineligible for streamlined processing. Ex parte communications between outside parties and Commission staff concerning these applications are permitted subject to the Commission's rules for "permit-but-disclose proceedings." See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1206. Filings relating to this application must be received within 14 days of this notice. Such filings will not necessarily result in an application being deemed ineligible for streamlined processing. Copies of all applications listed here are available for public inspection in the FCC Reference and Information Center, located in room CY-A257 at the Portals 2 building, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington DC 20554. The center can be contacted at (202) 418-0270. People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (tty). All applications listed are subject to further consideration and review, and may be returned and/or dismissed if not found to be in accordance with the Commission's rules, regulations, and other requirements. Page 1 of 2 REMINDERS: Applicants must certify that neither the applicant nor any party to the application is subject to a denial of federal benefits by federal and/or state courts under authority granted in 21 U.S.C. § 862. See C.F.R. §§ 1.2001-1.2003. The Commission's rules applicable to submarine cable landing licenses (47 C.F.R. §§ 1.767, 1.768) are available at http://www.fcc.gov/ib/td/pf/telecomrules.html. See also http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edoc_public/attachmatch/DA-02-5981A1.pdf for a March 13, 2002 Public Notice; http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-01-332A1.pdf for the December 14, 2001 Report and Order. By this notice, we inform the public that submarine cable landing license applications and international section 214 applications that are part of larger transactions involving multiple Commission licenses or authorizations may involve "extraordinary circumstances" as referenced in Review of Commission Consideration of Applications under the Cable Landing License Act, Report and Order, 16 FCC Rcd 22167 (2001) and Rules and Policies on Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Market, Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration, 12 FCC Rcd 23891 (1997), paras. 327-28, Order on Reconsideration, 15 FCC Rcd 18158 (2000). Additionally, these extraordinary circumstances may result where Executive Branch agencies petition the Commission to defer decision on certain transactions pending the resolution of potential national security, law enforcement, foreign policy and trade policy issues. Accordingly, these applications may not be acted on within the 90-day review period that the Commission has established as the period of time normally required to reach a decision on non-streamlined cable landing licenses and international section 214 applications. This notice shall serve as public notice to applicants that, in these circumstances, additional time may be required for Commission review and final action. No additional formal public notice will be provided routinely with respect to specific applications in the event that the applicable review period extends beyond 90 days. SCL-LIC-20100914-00021 E Application filed by United Utilities, Inc. (UUI) and GCI Communication Corp. (GCIC, together with UUI, the "Applicants") for a license to land and operate in the United States a non-common carrier fiber-optic submarine cable system traversing Cook Inlet to connect the Alaska communities of Williamsport and Homer, Alaska. The cable system will be known as the Cook Inlet Segment of TERRA-SW (Cook Inlet Segment). TERRA-SW is a hybrid fiber/microwave network connecting 65 villages throughout Southwest Alaska to each other, to existing Alaskan fiber networks, and to the global Internet. The Cook Inlet Segment will be a digital fiber-optic system connecting UUI's TERRA-SW network to GCIC's existing undersea cable network. The Applicants state that the Cook Inlet Segment will consist of 24 fibers (12 fiber pairs), with an initial capacity of OC-48, upgradeable to OC-192. Cook Inlet Segment's landing points and other associated facilities, which are beach manholes, will be located at Williamsport, Alaska and Homer, Alaska. At Williamsport, Alaska, the Cook Inlet Segment will terminate at a splice point with terrestrial facilities and there will be no cable station . At Homer, Alaska, the Cook Inlet Segment will terminate at a cable station to be housed in existing GCIC facilities. UUI will own and operate the wet link portion of the Cook Inlet Segment while GCIC will own and operate the cable station at GCIC's existing facilities in Homer. The Applicants propose to operate the cable system on a private, non-common carrier basis. The Applicants state that on the Southwestern Alaska route, UUI will compete vigorously with existing providers in the region, including AT&T Alascom, Bristol Bay Telephone Co-op, Bush-Tell, Nushagak Telephone Co-op, and TelAlaska. They also state that capacity will not be sold indifferently to the user public, but will be provided in bulk capacity to particular users - including common carriers, carrier consortia, and large end users - on either an Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU) or on a leased capacity basis. UUI is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of GCIC, which, in turn, is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of GCI Holdings, Inc., which, in turn, is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of GCI, Inc. GCI, Inc. is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of General Communication, Inc. (GCI Parent), a publicly-traded company. UUI, GCIC, GCI Holdings, Inc., GCI, Inc., and GCI Parent are all organized under the laws of the State of Alaska and are all engaged in the business of telecommunications. GCI Parent has two 10-percent-or-greater shareholders: (1) John W. Stanton and Theresa Gillespie, who are U.S. citizens, own as tenants in common, 40.1 percent of GCI Parent's outstanding Class B common shares and 4.8 percent of GCI Parent's outstanding Class A shares, which, on a fully- diluted basis across all share classes, gives them an 18.3 percent voting interest and a 6.9 percent equity interest in GCI Parent, and (2) Arctic Slope Regional Corp., which owns 14.4 percent of GCI Parent's Class A shares, which, on a fully-diluted basis, gives the company a 9 percent voting interest and a 13.6 percent equity interest in GCI Parent. Arctic Slope Regional Corp. is a private, for-profit Alaska corporation owned by Alaska natives. Applicant agrees to accept and abide by the routine conditions specified in section 1.767(g) of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. §1.767(g). Submarine Cable Landing License United Utilities, Inc. Page 2 of 2