Paul B. Hudson

Telecommunications Services Contracts

• Negotiates and arbitrates wholesale and retail telecommunications contracts and interconnection agreements.
• Negotiates contract dispute settlements and releases, and has won multimillion-dollar judgments before state public service commissions and in American Arbitration Association proceedings.

Broadband Subsidies

• Led three successful Recovery Act broadband stimulus award applications, successful FCC Connect America Fund Phase II and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund bids, and the largest successful application to receive funding in the FCC's Low-Income Broadband Pilot Program.
• Actively engaged with potential bidders for the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program.
• Manages program compliance for recipients of federal Rural Utility Service and broadband stimulus grants and loans from the federal government.
• Advises on compliance and audits for the FCC Affordable Connectivity Program.

Communications and Energy Regulation of Consumer Electronics Equipment

• Counsels on compliance with FCC Part 15 equipment authorization and labeling requirements for electronic devices and on interference risk management, mitigation, and disputes.
• Advocates for and counsels the cable industry regarding the FCC's regulation of cable equipment, including set-top boxes.
• Represents video and broadband service providers and consumer electronics manufacturers in the management of energy efficiency voluntary agreements for televisions, Internet equipment, and set-top boxes.
• Advocates on behalf of the consumer technology industry to state regulators, the U.S. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency, the European Union Directorate for Energy, and Natural Resources Canada to address energy and resource efficiency without undermining innovation.

Universal Service and Telecommunications Taxes

• Advises on federal and state universal service fund and other tax and fee programs, including their potential application to emerging IP and other new services, wholesale exemption forms, Form 499 and traffic study filings, reporting strategies for companies that previously have not filed or have underreported, USAC audits, and universal service reform proposals.

Telecommunications Transactions

• Advises companies engaged in stock and asset sales involving licensed telecommunications companies and franchised cable operators, including required approvals from the FCC, state utility commissions, local franchise authorities, Team Telecom and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

E-Rate

• Advises service providers and school districts regarding participation in the federal Schools and Libraries "E-Rate" and Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) programs, including drafting contracts and managing responses to USAC questions and audits.
• Prosecuted successful appeals of E-Rate funding denials in cases before USAC and the FCC, including on issues of valid contracts, competitive bidding, cost-effectiveness, and eligibility of services.

Privacy and Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI)

• Developed policies and employee training materials for Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) rules for more than 50 service providers.
• Advises clients on data breaches involving customers' private information.