TELECOMMUNICATIONS
NAVIGATING FEDERAL COMPLEXITIES

Despite enormous changes in technology and the nature of service providers in recent years, the federal government remains the gatekeeper of the telecommunications industry. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 and its regulatory and legislative progeny continue to shape the environment for telecom and information providers of all types, as well as their suppliers and vendors. Because both Congress and federal agencies can critically impact your business in helpful or harmful ways, counsel with strong expertise and relationships with these policymakers is essential for a company needing to navigate the complexities of government oversight. Davis Wright Tremaine LLP (DWT) can provide that expert counsel.

Broad and deep industry expertise

Our attorneys are familiar faces in the corridors where federal telecommunications issues are weighed and decided, whether the offices belong to Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), or the Executive Branch, including the Commerce Department and the Department of Justice. We have been key players in the most significant telecommunications developments of the past two decades, including both legislation—notably the Telecommunications Act of 1996—and FCC decisions, especially those that have introduced greater competition into the industry.

The clamor of competing interests will only increase, as dramatic changes continue to transform the provision of communications and information services. Backed by more than 20 years of industry-specific expertise, DWT attorneys can be counted upon to be ahead of the trends and ready to assist clients in facing the newest challenges as well as perennial issues.

Our work

Attorneys in our telecommunications practice group advise clients in every type of regulatory proceeding: rulemakings, applications, petitions, investigations, complaint and enforcement proceedings, and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediations, among others. In addition, we offer an impressive depth of experience in working directly with Congress and the White House. Our many successes in Washington and the states are powered in part by the fact that our telecommunications attorneys have held senior positions in both government and industry.

Our clients include:

• VoIP providers
• Wireless carriers
• Wireline and wireless broadband providers
• Long-distance carriers
• Competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs)
• Cable companies and their telecommunications affiliates
• Municipal providers of telecom services
• Telecommunications equipment suppliers and vendors
• Television, cable and satellite networks

Select engagements

• Representing a coalition of wireless carriers in a challenge to FCC number portability rules
  
  
• Advocating for a major telemarketing industry association in a constitutional challenge to the FTC’s and FCC’s establishment of Do-Not-Call Lists
  
  
• Developing and executing strategies for a coalition of small CLECs in connection with the FCC’s "Triennial Review" proceedings
  
  
• Representing a large wireless carrier in the development of the FCC’s numbering rules, and providing ongoing compliance advice
  
  
• Defending various carriers in FCC enforcement actions on slamming, telemarketing and numbering issues
  
  
• Recovering more than $2 million for a major wireless carrier in microwave cost-sharing compensation from various carriers

The DWT advantage

Our expertise is as broad and deep as the government’s role in telecommunications and advanced services. Let’s talk about how our attorneys can help chart your course to win and thrive in this challenging arena.