An Oft-Forgotten Detail in Infrastructure Deals – Telecom Licenses

Much of the nation’s infrastructure, from energy to transportation, depends upon telecommunications for safe and efficient operation. The facilities that provide such communications services generally are proprietary operations that are subject to licensing and regulation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or, in the case of facilities operated overseas, by foreign regulatory counterparts.

When infrastructure assets, or the companies holding them, are sold or are the recipient of major investment, those deals usually include the telecommunications facilities and the licenses pursuant to which they are operated. Failure of the parties to such transactions to obtain advance FCC approval of the assignment, or transfer of control, of the licenses can delay closing, expose the companies to stiff FCC penalties, result in license conditions or denial, and give rise to disputes among the parties that may even lead to litigation.

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