This bill directs the Secretary of Commerce to deliver a report to two Congressional committees within 1 year after the bill becomes law. The report must assess the value, cost, and feasibility of building a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable that would connect the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria. The Secretary must consult other federal agencies as needed and submit the report to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The report must be unclassified but may include a classified annex. The bill also says the Secretary may not require entities to provide data for the report.
The bill lists specific areas the report must cover, including: (1) digital security, national security, and economic opportunities from the cable; (2) lifespan of cables now linking the United States Virgin Islands to the contiguous United States; (3) current security of telecommunications between the contiguous United States and the United States Virgin Islands; (4) readiness of telecommunications infrastructure in the United States Virgin Islands to support the cable; (5) potential to work with trusted entities for deployment and the related geopolitical and economic advantages; (6) connectivity opportunities to maximize U.S. economic investment; (7) the value, cost, and feasibility of building a data center and high-security cloud facility with independent power in the United States Virgin Islands for certain U.S. military communications; (8) the state of submarine cables connected to U.S. telecommunications infrastructure; and (9) any other matters the Secretary finds appropriate. The bill also defines the terms "trusted" and "not trusted" for entities in the report.
This bill does not itself build a cable or change service right away. It asks the Commerce Department to study whether such a cable makes sense and how it might affect security and economics. The report could inform future decisions by Congress or federal agencies about whether to approve, fund, or support a cable project. No entity is forced by this bill to provide information for the report.
No publicly available information on the cost of conducting the study or of building the cable is in the bill text. The bill does not include specific funding or appropriations for the report or for construction of a cable.
The bill states the purpose is to assess a cable to "enhance the national security of the United States" and directs analysis of "digital security, national security, and economic opportunities." Based on the bill text, supporters want a government assessment of security, infrastructure readiness, and economic benefits tied to a trans-Atlantic cable and related facilities in the United States Virgin Islands.
No publicly available information on opponents' views is included in the bill text or the provided metadata.