- The concerns were so great that they could not be mitigated by a security agreement and therefore, Team Telecom recommended that the application be denied outright.[1]
Where Team Telecom recommended the application be subject to the carrier complying with the conditions and obligations contained in a security agreement, the FCC's authorization provides that failure to comply with the conditions and obligations constitutes a failure to meet a condition of the Section 214 authorization and serves as grounds for terminating the authorization.[2]
2. Team Telecom's Lack of Statutory Authority, Established Procedures, and Limited Resources Hampered its Review Process
FCC Commissioners have long criticized Team Telecom's review process. Before becoming Chairman, Ajit Pai described the process as "broken," given that it "[took] too long and lack[ed] predictability."[3] Commissioner Michael O'Rielly similarly outlined a number of "high-level" complaints with Team Telecom's process, including:
- Inextricable Black Hole—Once applications are submitted, there is little to no information available to the [FCC], much less applicants, on status or potential areas of concern, no timeline for conclusion, and no way to discern which agency, if any, has concerns.
- No Clarity for the Future—The haphazard process does not provide any precedential value for future applicants to know what may be acceptable or unacceptable practices, structure or partnerships. This leaves applicants subject to the whim of the individual members of Team Telecom at that exact moment in time.[4]
One major criticism was the time Team Telecom took to review applications. Because its review process was not conducted pursuant to formal statutory
- ↑ See Briefing with the Dep't of Justice (Aug. 1, 2019). See also FCC Proposed Executive Branch Review Reform, supra note 154, at ¶8; Kathleen Collins, Assistant Bureau Chief, International Bureau, Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n, Remarks for Panel Discussion at the 2d National Forum on CFIUS (July 21, 2015).
- ↑ See, e.g., IB Public Notice, 30 FCC Red at 11018; Wypoint Telecom, Inc., Termination of International Section 214 Authorization, Order, 30 FCC Red 13431, 13431–32, ¶ 2 (2015). In addition to termination, the FCC can impose monetary sanctions or other enforcement actions for failing to meet a condition of the authorization. 47 U.S.C. §§ 312, 503.
- ↑ See FCC Proposed Executive Branch Review Reform, supra note 154 (statement, Ajit Pai, Commissioner, Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n).
- ↑ See Michael O'Reilly, Team Telecom Reviews Need More Structure, Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n, (Sept. 18, 2015), https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/blog/2015/09/18/team-telecom-reviews-need-more-structure.
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