What it does The National Security Agreement requires SES and its affiliates to maintain U.S.-based law-enforcement and security officers, comply with lawful U.S. process and CALEA obligations, and protect U.S. records, domestic communications, principal equipment, ground elements, and lawful-process systems. It creates notice, disclosure, and Committee objection procedures for equipment, service providers, foreign personnel, other third parties, access locations, data storage, protected facilities, hosted payloads, and operational changes. It also requires security policies and plans, personnel screening, incident reporting, audits, training, annual reporting, and a one-time independent third-party assessment.

Who it affects The obligations bind SES, its affiliates, personnel, service providers, equipment vendors, and other third parties with access to relevant systems or records, including hosted-payload customers. The Committee, DHS, DOJ, and DoD serve as compliance-monitoring agencies and may object to proposed actions or direct removal of designated officers or the assessor.

Why it matters The agreement makes Team Telecom mitigation enforceable through conditions on SES’s new and pre-existing FCC licenses and authorizations. It centralizes oversight of the combined satellite operator’s supply chain, foreign access, cybersecurity, lawful-intercept capability, and handling of U.S. communications and records.

Key dates and numbers

• The FCC referred the applications to the Committee on September 30, 2024.
• The transaction is based on a May 1, 2024 share purchase agreement.
• Initial major submissions generally are due within 90 days of the Effective Date; many new actions require 30 days’ advance notice.
• Security incidents generally must be reported within 72 hours; certain foreign-government information requests must be referred within five days.