The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Regulators have accepted arguments from Cable Bahamas and the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) that they should retain the power to mandate that satellite operators appoint a local representative over the latter industry’s opposition.

The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), unveiling the results of its consultation on the proposed regulatory framework for satellite operators providing Internet and other services into The Bahamas, said the issue of whether it should have the ability to require such providers to establish a local ‘point-of-contact’ for supervisory purposes was the source of greatest division between the industry and its terrestrial rivals.

It ultimately decided to take BTC and Cable Bahamas’ advice, and retain such power - but only to be used on a risk-based basis according to the potential dangers a particular operator and its activities may pose. This came after satellite providers, including Elon Musk’s Starlink, argued that Bahamas-based representatives are not necessary for those who have established compliance mechanisms and will only result in duplication and extra costs.

“BTC and the Cable Bahamas group both supported URCA retaining discretion to require the appointment of a local representative in circumstances involving elevated risk profiles or operational configurations warranting enhanced regulatory oversight. Cable Bahamas group specifically supported the retention of this discretion as an important safeguard from both a national security and regulatory/accountability perspective,” URCA said.

“A majority of satellite-operator respondents, however, expressed concerns regarding either the principle or the scope of the proposed discretion. GSOA advocated for the proposed discretionary local representative provision to be removed entirely on the basis that the existing notification, designated point of contact, and co-operation framework already provides sufficient accountability without imposing the operational and financial burdens associated with mandatory physical presence requirements.

“Starlink expressed similar concerns, submitting that local representation requirements do not necessarily improve practical compliance outcomes and arguing that URCA should not require the appointment of a local representative in circumstances where the operator already maintains established compliance and legal support arrangements,” the Bahamian regulator added.

“Starlink further submitted that, where enhanced supervisory measures are considered necessary, operators should be permitted to appoint an appropriate representative of their choosing regardless of location and that any discretion should be guided by clear and predictable implementation criteria.” They were backed by other satellite operators, including Amazon Leo, which is headed by Mr Musk’s billionaire rival, Jeff Bezos.

“URCA has considered the submissions of AST SpaceMobile, Starlink, GSOA, Amazon Leo and other respondents that the designated point of contact requirement should not, as a baseline matter, entail a mandatory physical presence requirement within The Bahamas,” the communications regulator added.

“URCA considers that the underlying regulatory objective of the point of contact framework, namely ensuring that URCA and relevant Bahamian law enforcement authorities have access to a reliable, responsive and accountable escalation mechanism can generally be satisfied through a remotely accessible contact arrangement, provided that the designated point of contact is reachable on a 24-hour basis, is authorised to receive, execute or immediately escalate lawful-access requests, and is supported by documented internal compliance procedures.

“URCA will clarify, whether in applicable operational guidance or licence conditions, the practical requirements relating to point of contact responsiveness, escalation timelines and secure communication arrangements.” However, URCA was not going to give the satellite industry everything its own way as it quickly pivoted to the submissions by Bahamian licensees.

“URCA nevertheless considers, having regard to the submissions of BTC and Cable Bahamas, that it is appropriate to retain discretion to require the appointment of a local representative or locally based point of contact arrangement in circumstances where an operator’s configuration, risk profile, operational footprint, compliance history or involvement in critical national infrastructure sectors justifies enhanced regulatory oversight or local accountability measures,” URCA added.

“URCA further considers that the exercise of such discretion should be guided by principles of transparency, proportionality and regulatory predictability as submitted by Purpose Partners. Accordingly, URCA intends to provide further guidance on categories of circumstances that may ordinarily inform the exercise of this discretion.”

As for URCA’s co-operation-based approach to compliance by satellite operators offering Internet and other communications services in The Bahamas, the regulator added: “Respondents broadly agreed that URCA’s revised cooperation-focused framework centred on notification obligations, designated point of contact, and assurances of data accessibility represents a proportionate and operationally workable baseline for lawful access compliance within the satellite sector.

“Several respondents, including Amazon Leo and GSOA, emphasised that this approach avoids duplicating compliance obligations already applicable in other jurisdictions and appropriately reflects the globally distributed architecture of satellite communications systems.

“Rivada Space Networks acknowledged the revised framework but submitted that its application to global wholesale space-segment providers is inappropriate, on the basis that such providers generally have no direct relationship with end-users and therefore lack the operational capability to intercept individual communications. Rivada accordingly submitted that lawful-access obligations should be directed primarily toward retail satellite communications providers managing the end-user relationship,” URCA said.

“Plan-S submitted that satellite Internet of Things (IoT) services should be excluded entirely from lawful-access obligations on the basis that operators of transparent-payload IoT satellite systems are unable to decode machine-generated data payloads, and therefore cannot meaningfully execute interception requests directed toward content-level communications data.”

Rejecting both Plan-S and Rivada’s arguments, URCA replied: “URCA considers that a blanket exemption for wholesale providers would create material accountability gaps inconsistent with national security, lawful access and law enforcement objectives applicable under the Bahamian legal framework…

“The appropriate regulatory approach is not to exempt wholesale providers categorically from lawful access obligations, but rather to ensure that compliance responsibilities within the service chain are appropriately allocated, clearly identified and operationally enforceable.”

Turning to the Internet of Things, the Bahamian regulator added: “URCA further does not accept Plan-S’s submission that satellite Internet of Things services should be categorically excluded from lawful access obligations. URCA considers that machine-generated data payloads may, in appropriate circumstances, constitute communications data, traffic data or other information relevant to lawful investigations.

“URCA further considers that the inability of an operator to decode content-level communications data does not extinguish obligations relating to metadata, signalling information, transmission records or other categories of data within the operator’s possession or control.

“URCA notes that such information may be relevant in a range of investigative contexts, including cybersecurity incidents, unlawful network activity, fraud investigations and other matters involving the use or misuse of connected devices and electronic communications networks.”