Notice2025-21642
Options Price Reporting Authority; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Amendment To Modify the OPRA Fee Schedule Regarding Certain Direct Access Connectivity Fees
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 1, 2025
Issuing agencies
Securities and Exchange Commission
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 228 (Monday, December 1, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 228 (Monday, December 1, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55226-55228]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-21642]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-104267; File No. SR-OPRA-2025-02]
Options Price Reporting Authority; Notice of Filing and Immediate
Effectiveness of Proposed Amendment To Modify the OPRA Fee Schedule
Regarding Certain Direct Access Connectivity Fees
November 25, 2025.
Pursuant to Section 11A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act'') \1\ and Rule 608 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that
on November 13, 2025, the Options Price Reporting Authority (``OPRA'')
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') a
proposed amendment to the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated Options
Last Sale Reports and Quotation Information (``OPRA Plan'').\3\ The
proposed OPRA Plan amendment (``Amendment'') would amend the OPRA Fee
Schedule. The Commission is publishing this notice to provide
interested persons an opportunity to submit written comments on the
Amendment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
\2\ 17 CFR 242.608.
\3\ The OPRA Plan is a national market system plan approved by
the Commission pursuant to Section 11A of the Act and Rule 608
thereunder. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 17638 (Mar. 18,
1981), 22 S.E.C. Docket 484 (Mar. 31, 1981). The full text of the
OPRA Plan and a list of its participants are available at <a href="https://www.opraplan.com/">https://www.opraplan.com/</a>. The OPRA Plan provides for the collection and
dissemination of last sale and quotation information on options that
are traded on the participant exchanges.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Amendment has been filed by the Participants pursuant to Rule
608 under Regulation NMS.\4\ The Commission is publishing this notice
to solicit comments from interested persons on the proposed Amendment.
Set forth in Section I, which was substantially prepared and filed with
the Commission by the Participants, is the statement of the purpose and
summary of the Amendment, along with information pursuant to Rule
608(a) under the Act.\5\ A copy of the OPRA Fee Schedule, marked to
show the proposed Amendment, was filed as Exhibit I.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ 17 CFR 242.608.
\5\ 17 CFR 242.801(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Rule 608(a)
(a) Statement of Purpose
The purpose of the proposed Amendment is to provide clarity to the
public regarding the definition of direct access to OPRA Data, how
direct access can be obtained, and to provide the public with
additional transparency regarding the connectivity fees charged to
subscribers who obtain direct access to OPRA Data. The Amendment also
provides additional clarity regarding the Direct Access Fee that is
charged by OPRA.
A. Connectivity Fees To Obtain Direct Access to OPRA Data Payable to
SIAC or Its Affiliates
The Securities Industry Automation Corporation (``SIAC'') is OPRA's
``processor,'' meaning that SIAC gathers the last sale and quote
information from each of the OPRA members, consolidates that
information, and disseminates the consolidated OPRA Data. Before 2020,
SIAC disseminated data over what was known as the Secure Financial
Transaction Infrastructure network (``SFTI''), which involved a process
where OPRA Data was consolidated in a data center located in Mahwah,
New Jersey (the ``Mahwah Data Center'') and then delivered over SFTI,
through which subscribers could access the OPRA Data at many of the
access points on SFTI outside of the Mahwah Data Center.
In 2020, SIAC began disseminating OPRA Data over a new national
market system network, the ``NMS Network,'' instead of over SFTI. The
NMS Network is a dedicated, low-latency network for OPRA Data (and for
the data of two other national market system data feeds, the
Consolidated Trade Association and the Consolidated Quotation feeds).
While SFTI had multiple locations and access points where data could be
[[Page 55227]]
directly accessed outside of the Mahwah Data Center, the NMS Network
exists only within Mahwah Data Center and OPRA is clarifying in its Fee
Schedule that ``direct access'' to OPRA Data means receiving OPRA Data
through a connection to a port on the NMS Network in the Mahwah Data
Center. Such access is provided through either a 10 or 40 Gb access
port. To obtain an NMS Network port, a subscriber must enter into a
contract with an affiliate of SIAC, NYSE Technologies Connectivity,
Inc., and the port is then provided by another affiliate of SIAC, the
ICE Global Network, which also maintains the NMS Network.
A subscriber does not have to be co-located in the Mahwah Data
Center in order to obtain direct access to OPRA Data through the NMS
Network. Instead, it could choose to use a telecommunication circuit to
access its port on the NMS Network through the Meet Me Room (also
referred to as an ``MMR'') in the Mahwah Data Center.
The connectivity fees associated with obtaining direct access to
OPRA Data through a port on the NMS Network (the ``Connectivity Fees'')
were filed by SIAC's affiliates, The New York Stock Exchange, Inc.,
NYSE Arca, Inc., NYSE American, LLC, and NYSE National, Inc.
(collectively, ``NYSE'') and approved by the Commission on May 7,
2020.\6\ Pursuant to the NYSE's approved rules, direct access
connections to the NMS Network are provided at no additional charge
when subscribers purchase 10 Gb or 40 Gb connections on one of the two
local area networks located in the Mahwah Data Center--either the
Liquidity Center Network (``LCN'') or the IP Network. The Connectivity
Fees described above are charged to purchasers on behalf of NYSE by
NYSE Technologies Connectivity, Inc. OPRA does not directly charge any
connectivity fees, collect any connectivity fees, or receive any
portion of the Connectivity Fees collected by NYSE. Nonetheless,
because a person or entity that wishes to obtain direct access to OPRA
Data must pay Connectivity Fees to NYSE, OPRA believes that it is
appropriate to include the current NYSE Connectivity Fees in OPRA's fee
schedule as set forth below and in Exhibit I: \7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 88837 (May 7, 2020), 85
FR 28671 (May 13, 2020) (SR-NYSE-2019-46, SR-NYSENAT-2019-19, SR-
NYSEArca-2019-61, SR-NYSEAMER-2019-34) (Order Granting Approval of a
Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 1, to Amend the
Exchanges' Co-Location Services to Offer Co-Location Users Access to
the NMS Network).
\7\ NYSE's current Connectivity Fee Schedule is available at:
<a href="https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/Wireless_Connectivity_Fees_and_Charges.pdf">https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/Wireless_Connectivity_Fees_and_Charges.pdf</a>.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type of service Description Connectivity fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IP Network and NMS Network 10 Gb IP Network $10,000 initial
Access. Circuit and 10 charge per
Gb NMS Network connection to both
Circuit. the IP Network and
NMS Network plus
$11,000 monthly
charge per
connection to both
the IP Network and
NMS Network.
For purposes of these
charges, the IP
Network Circuit and
NMS Network Circuit
are together
considered to be one
connection, and so
Users are not
subject to two
initial or two
monthly charges.
IP Network and NMS Network 40 Gb IP Network $10,000 initial
Access. Circuit and 40 charge per
Gb NMS Network connection to both
Circuit. the IP Network and
NMS Network plus
$18,000 monthly
charge per
connection to both
the IP Network and
NMS Network.
For purposes of these
charges, the IP
Network Circuit and
NMS Network Circuit
are together
considered to be one
connection, and so
Users are not
subject to two
initial or two
monthly charges.
LCN and NMS Network Access.... 10 Gb LX LCN $15,000 initial
Circuit and 10 charge per
Gb NMS Network connection to both
Circuit. the LCN and NMS
Network plus $22,000
monthly charge per
connection to both
the LCN and NMS
Network.
For purposes of these
charges, the LCN
Circuit and NMS
Network Circuit are
together considered
to be one
connection, and so
Users are not
subject to two
initial or two
monthly charges.
LCN and NMS Network Access.... 40 Gb LCN Circuit $15,000 initial
and 40 Gb NMS charge per
Network Circuit. connection to both
the LCN and NMS
Network plus $22,000
monthly charge per
connection to both
the LCN and NMS
Network.
For purposes of these
charges, the LCN
Circuit and NMS
Network Circuit are
together considered
to be one
connection, and so
Users are not
subject to two
initial or two
monthly charges.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPRA and SIAC have negotiated certain port fee caps applicable to
the direct access Connectivity Fees payable to SIAC or third parties
working with SIAC, such as NYSE. Under the terms of the Processor
Services Agreement (the ``Processor Agreement'') between SIAC and OPRA,
effective as of January 1, 2021 (which, as amended, runs for a term
ending on January 1, 2031), the parties agreed as follows:
Port Fees
During the Term of the Agreement, SIAC will provide, directly or
through a third party, access to OPRA Data to any person authorized
by OPRA to receive direct access to OPRA Data for total fees not to
exceed $16,000 per month per 10G port and $20,500 per month per 40G
port, in each case, inclusive of cross-connect (whether or not such
fees also cover direct access to data in addition to the OPRA Data).
If and when during the Term, direct access to OPRA Data becomes
available via higher capacity ports, SIAC will provide, directly or
through a third party, access to OPRA Data to any person authorized
by OPRA to receive direct access to OPRA Data for total fees not to
exceed an amount approved by OPRA (such approval not to be
unreasonably withheld) and not inconsistent with the 10G and 40G
port rates.
The Connectivity Fees charged by SIAC's affiliate, NYSE, satisfy
the port fee caps for recurring monthly charges in the 2021 Processor
Agreement because a subscriber can obtain direct access to the NMS
Network through a 10 Gb port for less than $16,000 per month (by
selecting the IP Network and NMS Network bundle with a cost of $11,000
per month per bundle) and through a 40 Gb port for less than $20,500
per month (by selecting the IP Network and NMS Network bundle with a
cost of $18,000 per month per bundle). The port fee caps in the 2021
Processor Agreement do not apply to the one time ``initial charge[s]''
included in the current NYSE Connectivity Fees.
Although direct access to OPRA Data is provided only at the Mahwah
Data Center, subscribers also can access OPRA Data through other
networks and
[[Page 55228]]
from other locations using services and connectivity provided by
vendors who have executed a Vendor Agreement with OPRA. OPRA does not
have any control over the myriad locations where a data recipient might
choose to receive OPRA Data and OPRA has no role in setting the
connectivity fees that might be charged by the vendors that control
access at those locations.
B. Direct Access Fee Payable to OPRA
OPRA also proposes to clarify certain language in the OPRA Fee
Schedule regarding the ``Direct Access Fee'' of $1,000 per month that
OPRA charges to every vendor and professional subscriber that has been
authorized to directly access OPRA Data. OPRA initially proposes a
modification to use the phrase ``direct access to OPRA Data'' rather
than ``receiv[ing] OPRA Data directly'' to more accurately reflect the
description as a Direct Access Fee in light of how OPRA Data is now
distributed.
OPRA proposes to delete the sentence ``[a]dditional circuit
connections are available at a monthly charge of $100 per connection.''
OPRA proposes to delete that sentence because OPRA has never charged an
additional $100 fee and the deletion reduces any potential for
confusion that ``circuit connections'' are directly available from OPRA
as described above. In addition, the OPRA Fee Schedule currently notes
that ``[t]his charge includes one primary circuit and one back-up
circuit connection at the processor.'' OPRA proposes to delete that
sentence because it could be read as implying that OPRA, rather than an
affiliate of SIAC, provides circuits on the NMS Network. The reference
to a ``back-up circuit connection'' in the current Fee Schedule also is
incorrect because a back-up circuit connection is not provided by SIAC
and its affiliates when a subscriber purchases either an IP Network and
NMS Network bundle or an LCN Network and NMS Network bundle.
OPRA currently charges, and will continue to charge, each vendor or
professional subscriber that obtains direct access to OPRA Data through
the NMS Network a single $1,000 monthly Direct Access Fee, regardless
of the number of direct access NMS Network ports (whether backup or
additional) obtained by that vendor or professional subscriber from
SIAC or its affiliates. Therefore, the additions and deletions to the
existing language in the ``Direct Access Fee'' section of OPRA's fee
schedule should not increase the amount of the Direct Access Fee that
vendors or professional subscribers are paying to OPRA.
C. Other Technical Amendments
In the ``Professional Subscriber Device-Based Fees'' section of
OPRA's fee schedule, OPRA proposes to change the reference from
<a href="http://www.opradata.com">www.opradata.com</a>'' to ``<a href="http://www.opraplan.com">www.opraplan.com</a>.'' OPRA's current website
address is <a href="http://opraplan.com">opraplan.com</a> and the <a href="http://opradata.com">opradata.com</a> domain is no longer
active. In the ``Monthly Non-Display Use Fees'' and the ``Television
Display Fee'' sections of OPRA's fee schedule, OPRA proposes to change
the footnote references to reflect the renumbering of footnotes
required by the addition of footnote 9, which includes the new
definition of direct access to OPRA Data.
(b) Manner of Implementation of Amendment
OPRA proposes to add the proposed Amendment to the OPRA Fee
Schedule following Commission approval of the Amendment pursuant to
paragraph (b)(1) and (b)(2) of Rule 608 of Regulation NMS under the
Act. OPRA states that the 10 Gb and 40 Gb port Direct Access
Connectivity Fees have been in effect since May 2020.
(c) Phases of Development and Implementation
Not applicable.
(d) Impact on Competition
OPRA believes that the proposed Amendment will impose no burdens on
competition that are not justified in light of the purposes of the Act.
OPRA states that the proposed Amendment simply clarifies the
connectivity fees that purchasers of direct access to OPRA Data pay for
such connectivity. OPRA states that the proposed Amendment does not
propose any new fees or propose changes to any existing fees. OPRA
states that the proposed Amendment also removes obsolete text and
replicates on the OPRA Fee Schedule the existing connectivity fees for
direct access to OPRA Data that are assessed by SIAC and/or its
affiliates.
(e) Written Understandings or Agreements Among Plan Members
Not applicable.
(f) Approval of Proposed Amendment
OPRA represents that the proposed Amendment to the OPRA Fee
Schedule was approved in accordance with the provisions of the OPRA
Plan.
II. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the Amendment is
consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the
following methods:
Electronic Comments
<bullet> Use the Commission's internet comment form (<a href="https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>); or
<bullet> Send an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c9bbbca5ace4aaa6a4a4aca7bdba89baacaae7aea6bf"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d7a5a2bbb2fab4b8babab2b9a3a497a4b2b4f9b0b8a1">[email protected]</span></a>. Please include
file number SR-OPRA-2025-02 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
<bullet> Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to file number SR-OPRA-2025-02. This file
number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help
the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently,
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on
the Commission's internet website (<a href="https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>). Copies of the filing will be available for inspection and
copying at the principal office of the Participants. Do not include
personal identifiable information in submissions; you should submit
only information that you wish to make available publicly. We may
redact in part or withhold entirely from publication submitted material
that is obscene or subject to copyright protection. All submissions
should refer to file number SR-OPRA-2025-02 and should be submitted on
or before December 22, 2025.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(85).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-21642 Filed 11-28-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 1, 2025.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.