To direct the Secretary of Commerce to submit to Congress a report containing an assessment of the value, cost, and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria.
HB 1737 directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, to prepare and submit to Congress within one year a report assessing the value, cost, and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable linking the contiguous United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria. The report must examine the project’s potential effects on digital security, national security, and economic opportunity, as well as the condition and security of existing telecommunications links between the mainland United States and the Virgin Islands.
The bill also requires analysis of the readiness of Virgin Islands telecommunications infrastructure to support such a cable, the potential use of trusted entities in deployment, and the geopolitical and economic advantages of doing so. In addition, it asks for an assessment of whether a data center and high-security cloud services facility with independent power generation could be established in the Virgin Islands to support U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, and other national security communications. The report must be submitted in unclassified form, though it may include a classified annex, and the Secretary may not compel any entity to provide data for the report.
If enacted, the bill would not directly build the cable or change existing telecommunications regulations; instead, it would create a federal reporting requirement for the Department of Commerce. Its practical effect would be to place the proposed cable, related infrastructure, and associated national security communications issues under formal congressional review, potentially informing future appropriations, procurement, or policy decisions affecting submarine cable deployment, telecommunications security, and infrastructure development in the U.S. Virgin Islands and across trans-Atlantic communications routes.
The available legislative history suggests generally favorable or at least noncontroversial treatment, as the bill passed the House and was referred in the Senate without recorded opposition in the provided materials. The framing of the measure emphasizes national security, trusted communications infrastructure, and economic opportunity, which likely contributed to broad support. No committee transcript or vote breakdown is provided, so there is no evidence in the record supplied here of organized opposition or significant debate.
The main substantive issues embedded in the bill are whether a trans-Atlantic cable is feasible and valuable, whether the U.S. Virgin Islands infrastructure can support it, and whether deployment should rely only on “trusted” entities. Potential points of contention include the national security rationale, the use of classified information in the report, the role of foreign partners such as Ghana and Nigeria, and the cost and practicality of pairing the cable with a high-security data center and cloud facility in the Virgin Islands. Because no hearing transcript or vote details are included, specific objections from members or stakeholders are not identified in the provided record.