Communications Infrastructure
Overview
Wireless Siting and Deployment
We help ensure that the next generation of wireless and wireline infrastructure can be deployed quickly and efficiently. As providers deploy more small cells and prepare for 5G deployment, and as equipment size continues to shrink and become more pervasive, regulations have not kept pace. We are helping streamline and shape regulations for this next generation of deployment and litigate where necessary so our clients can achieve their business plans.
- Site acquisition and environmental due diligence
- Rights-of-way (ROW) permitting, franchise agreements, and compliance for wireless and wireline networks, including negotiating access terms, fees, and regulatory requirements
- Real estate, tower, and building access agreements
- Land use permits and variances; zoning and environmental issues
- Federal and state court appeals of permit denials
- Fiber swaps, conduit builds, and fiber pulls
- Facilities siting and permitting
- Franchise, pole attachment, right-of-way access, and joint use agreements with utilities and government agencies
- Counsel regarding Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) applications to secure operational rights
- Navigating and challenging municipal regulations, including local fees, right-of-way rules, design standards, and other restrictions on communications infrastructure deployment
- 5G deployment, integration of wireless technologies and small cell placements
Pole Attachments
Our attorneys have negotiated hundreds of pole attachment agreements for clients in nearly every state, as well as the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. We help our clients gain access, reduce pole attachment rates, or revise onerous terms and conditions imposed by pole owners, including extensive dealings with unregulated pole owners such as electric cooperatives and municipal utilities. We have successfully litigated pole attachment cases at the FCC and in state and federal courts, including in federal Courts of Appeal and U.S. Supreme Court. DWT attorneys have also played a crucial role in shaping pole attachment policy, participating in every pole-related FCC rulemaking over the last five decades and in most state pole attachment rulemakings, and advocating for favorable pole attachment laws before Congress and state legislatures.
- Pole attachment rate compliance
- Enforcing timely and affordable access to poles
- Pole attachment litigation
- Advocacy before state and federal decision-makers, including participation in rulemaking processes to develop fair and transparent pole attachment policies and advance legislative reforms
Datacenters and Subsea Cables
Our team of grounded, practical lawyers understand the complexities of developing and operating datacenters and fiber infrastructure across the United States and beyond. Our versatile, cross-disciplinary team is capable of assisting our clients with the full spectrum of legal issues our clients encounter through all phases of infrastructure deployment.
- Advising on siting, permitting, leasing, developing, and operating datacenters
- Identifying suitable locations and navigating zoning, permitting, and environmental compliance
- Securing reliable power, water, and other essential resources for datacenter operations
- Drafting and negotiating agreements for fiber procurement and infrastructure development
- Regulatory counsel for compliance with local, state, federal, and international requirements
- Strategic guidance for integrating datacenters with terrestrial fiber, subsea cables, and satellite networks
- Supporting subsea cable projects, including regulatory approvals, environmental due diligence, and contract negotiations
- Negotiating agreements for advanced telecommunications and colocation resources critical to cloud services, including long-term dark fiber leases, IRUs, interconnection, and provision of lit services
