STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER JESSICA ROSENWORCEL
Re: Improving Outage Reporting for Submarine Cables and Enhancing Submarine Cable 
Outage Data, GN Docket No. 15-206
There are nearly 300 submarine cables that crisscross the globe, buried in the coldest depths of 
our oceans.  Roughly 60 of these cables are licensed in the United States.  Every one of them plays an 
essential role in the global economy.  Together they are responsible for $10 trillion worth of transactional 
value every day.  On top of that, they are indispensable for national security because they carry the vast 
bulk of our military communications traffic.  In fact, life as we know it would not be the same without 
these facilities laid across the ocean floor.  And yet undersea cables are surprisingly vulnerable to damage 
and attack—from natural disasters, accidents, aquatic vessels, sea life, and those who would do us harm.  
Up until now, the Commission has monitored submarine cable outages through the Undersea 
Cable Information System.  But this system is not only dated, it has real limitations.  The information is 
not standardized nor uniform and most outages and disruptions go unreported.  I think we can do better 
than an ad hoc system for these essential facilities.  I think we need to do better—because our economic 
and national security depends on it.  
I support this rulemaking and thank the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau and 
International Bureau for their efforts.