Telecommunications

Overview

In the constantly evolving world of communications, staying ahead of the curve is crucial to remaining competitive. The Arent Fox telecommunications group provides innovative solutions. Our team constantly updates its knowledge of both legal and technological changes in these fields in order to provide you with a full and complete range of services.

Our group is quick, smart, and strategic. Our goal for every client is to provide customized counseling and assistance as efficiently as possible. We will share your vision for success and eliminate roadblocks that can hinder your growth and drain your time away from your core business.

We offer a complete range of services in this field covering each aspect of your communications business — transactions, licensing, regulatory compliance and advocacy, and litigation — focusing on the following areas:

• Communications regulation
• Litigation
• Privacy

We serve clients ranging from well-established international telecommunications corporations to emerging entrepreneurs. Our clients include telecommunications carriers, wireless service providers, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers, cable companies, mobile contract providers, radio and television broadcasters, satellite operators, equipment manufacturers, and Internet Service Providers. We also assist large users of communications services with their procurement needs, as well as venture capital firms, investment banks and other investors in the communications industry.

Arent Fox is committed to building the right team for addressing each client’s needs. Our group regularly works cooperatively with attorneys in other areas of the firm to accomplish your goals, including:

• Government Relations Group, which includes two former US senators, a former Congressman, the former Mayor of the District of Columbia, a former member of the US House of Representatives, and a former member of the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Additionally, we have attorneys and professionals with extensive and recent experience in senior positions on Capitol Hill, in the executive branch and in the political arena.

• Privacy and Data Protection Team, which is comprised of attorneys with extensive experience in data security, consumer privacy, and policy advocacy. Many attorneys in the telecommunications group also serve on this team.

• Litigation Group, which complements our group’s experience in all types of adversarial proceedings, from federal lawsuits to alternative dispute resolution.

Telecommunications

Whether you are a domestic telecommunications company or an international business operating in the US market, Arent Fox’s full-service telecommunications practice can help you achieve your business goals. Our attorneys have extensive experience working with traditional telecommunications companies as well as cellular companies and Internet Service Providers.

Our experience includes:

• Litigating disputes between carriers before federal and state courts, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and state public service commissions
• Challenging orders of State Commissions and the FCC in appellate courts, including mandamus petitions under the All Writs Act
• Representing clients in FCC rulemakings
• Assisting clients with local exchange competition
• Negotiating and arbitrating interconnection agreements
• Drafting and negotiating antenna licensing and in-building wireless agreements
• Negotiating and transacting mergers and acquisitions on behalf of telecommunications providers
• Assisting with regulatory compliance, including universal service, annual regulatory fees, E911, Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), and access charges, among other issues
• Addressing federal and state jurisdictional and preemption issues
• Advising international carriers (and their affiliates) on conducting business in the United States
• Advising carriers on state entry and regulatory requirements
• Assisting equipment manufacturers with federal regulatory compliance (such as “Part 65” rules)
• Counseling and assisting with end user privacy issues

Our nationally known telecommunications attorneys have served as appellate and trial counsel in a diverse array of telecommunications matters. Our attorneys have acted as lead appellate counsel before the federal courts of appeals and lead trial counsel in a variety of federal and state judicial and administrative proceedings. We have represented carriers in breach of contract actions in federal and state courts, and we have substantial experience litigating formal and informal complaints before the FCC and state public service commissions. Our experience has given us the technological understanding, policy experience, and litigation tools to provide comprehensive counsel and advocacy in virtually any litigation forum that your company may need.

Homeland security and law enforcement compliance also are increasingly important issues for telecommunications companies. When these matters arise, we can address wire tapping regulations, information retention policies and network security concerns. Our goal is to help our clients comply with all security laws while still protecting the security of private customer records.

Our work in this field extends to representing both foreign telecommunications companies in the US market as well as representing American telecommunications providers in international matters. We strive to help companies find business opportunities. 

In addition to traditional telecommunications companies, we represent clients deploying emerging technologies, such as Voice over Internet, WiFi and WiMax.

We assist clients with legal matters pertaining to a wide variety of wireless services including:

• Cellular telephone
• Point-to-point microwave
• Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service (MVDDS)
• Paging services
• Wireless Communications Service (WCS)
• Digital Electronic Message Service (DEMS)
• Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS)

Privacy

The content explosion on the Internet as a tool for commerce and personal networking carries with it an increased risk to consumers of fraud and information misuse. We expect heightened regulatory scrutiny of utility companies, mobile marketing activities Internet content and e-commerce transactions, particularly in the areas of consumer protection of privacy. Let the privacy and data protection team help you navigate these wide waters of Internet and privacy regulation.

Subscriber privacy is one key area of increasing concern for communications providers, as high-profile customer data breaches have cost businesses in other fields millions of dollars. Given the amount of customer data communications companies must keep on file, they must be particularly concerned about information security.

We can help you understand and comply with the many statutes and regulations mandating protection of subscriber information, including the CPNI rules, the CAN-SPAM Act, the Telecommunications Consumer Protection Act, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

Our privacy services focus on more than just compliance. We take a strategic approach to privacy planning. Arent Fox has extensive experience in helping companies draft and execute policies and procedures to help ensure data privacy, while still allowing you to collect the information you need.

Our experience includes:

• Policy advocacy in legislatures and agencies at the state and federal level
• Crafting appropriate privacy policies and best practices
• Addressing data breaches
• Compliance with privacy-related regulatory requirements

Our attorneys in the telecommunications group regularly appear at conferences and industry events related to privacy regulation. In addition, we regularly publish an electronic privacy alert that includes discussion of upcoming privacy regulation and provides notice of important compliance deadlines in the various federal and state privacy regimes.