The communications industry, encompassing information technology and numerous existing and emerging channels and media, is both an industry unto itself and a powerful driving force behind the business world at large. Business today depends on information infrastructure—including many new and innovative ways to support and deliver vital business and consumer intelligence. Facing complex regulatory, market and competitive challenges, today’s communications leaders require counsel experienced in a wide range of industries, practices, markets and courts, on both the domestic and international fronts. The communications practice at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is committed to providing experienced, effective, results-oriented representation. With power, purpose and precision, we help to communicate a clear path to success. Then we help to guide the way, creating new opportunities for our clients and the vital communications channels, technologies and programs they support.
Our Services
Akin Gump maintains a diversified domestic and international regulatory, transactional and policy practice in communications. In conjunction with the firm’s corporate, domestic policy, litigation and financial restructuring practices, the communications practice represents clients in all segments of the communications industry.
Akin Gump’s communications practice represents clients before domestic and international regulatory agencies regarding the formulation of policy in the United States, the European Union (EU) and elsewhere, and also with regard to a wide range of day-to-day compliance issues. We have represented our clients’ interests before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC); the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; the departments of Commerce, Justice and State; the U.S. Trade Representative; the National Aeronautics and Space Agency; the U.S. Information Agency; and Congress.
We also represent clients involved in all types of transactions, from routine to complex, including transactions involving securities, mergers and acquisitions, commercial arrangements and joint ventures. The communications practice focuses on 10 major areas:
- satellite communications
- mass media and cable
- telecommunications transactions
- international telecommunications regulation and policy
- wireless telecommunications
- distressed companies and financial restructuring
- common carrier regulation and policy
- equipment manufacturers
- domestic communications policy
- new technologies.
Our Approach
Innovative technologies require innovative representation, and Akin Gump lawyers take pride in developing bold new solutions to the myriad of challenges our clients face—pushing the boundaries and stretching the possibilities to help our clients reach new frontiers. But vision without diligence is folly, and at Akin Gump our approach is backed by the global reach and interdisciplinary resources of one of the world’s largest full-service firms, with more than 800 lawyers in 14 offices—including London, Geneva, Moscow, Abu Dhabi and Beijing—and throughout the United States.
To choose one significant example, our public law and policy practice, based in Washington, D.C., has repeatedly been effective in helping communications businesses disentangle the web of regulatory issues that, left unchecked, might have delayed or derailed important new products or services. We bring the same commitment—and the same level of effectiveness—to each of the more than 85 practices and to every business matter and challenge we face.
Our commitment to communications is also expressed in our approach to our clients and to each other. We communicate openly and listen carefully to our clients, acting in partnership with client management and in-house counsel, as required, to ensure that our approach is as comprehensive and consistent as it is rigorous. And when the challenges our clients face involve lawyers from our other practice areas, our integrated legal teams deliver multifaceted representation that is as efficient as it is effective—never losing sight of our clients’ strategic objectives, nor of the premium placed on speed in this fast-moving, high-performing and global arena.
Our Experience
One significant measure of Akin Gump’s experience is the wide array of industries, related business matters, transactions and policy issues in which our lawyers have served communications and information technology clients with strategic and tactical representation.
Satellite Communications
Our lawyers have extensive experience representing a wide range of businesses associated with the satellite industry before the FCC and in private contractual matters, including both satellite licensees and resellers and the companies that finance and invest in them. Our practice helps these companies to file applications and reports with the FCC, understand and comply with applicable FCC rules, and monitor and influence the promulgation by the FCC and Congress of new rules and laws affecting the satellite industry. Our communications practice lawyers often work closely with those from the firm’s domestic and international policy, corporate and financial restructuring practices to provide satellite-related clients with a comprehensive range of legal services. Our lawyers have experience representing mobile-satellite service providers, fixed-satellite service providers and direct-broadcast service providers. With respect to the financial and investment community, our practice assists financial institutions with the financing of satellite construction and operations.
Mass Media and Cable
Our practice represents clients with television, radio and cable system interests, from top-four networks and large broadcast groups to local cable franchisees and individual station owners. Our diverse practice in the broadcast and cable arenas includes providing policy advice and advocacy in a broad range of FCC inquiries and rulemaking proceedings and congressional and executive branch activity, as well as assistance with day-to-day licensing and compliance issues. We provide multidimensional representation based on a comprehensive understanding of the industry from the regulatory, policy and commercial perspectives. Our lawyers regularly work in conjunction with lawyers from the firm’s other practices, including corporate, litigation, tax, financial restructuring, intellectual property, and public law and policy, to develop creative solutions in media-related projects.
Recent examples—
- assisted a top-four network in developing advocacy strategy and preparing filings for various rulemaking proceedings addressing network-affiliate relations
- developed and implemented digital television implementation strategy for group owner of local commercial broadcast stations
- negotiated asset purchase agreements for sale and purchase of commercial radio and television stations.
Telecommunications Transactions
The firm has extensive experience in all aspects of domestic and international telecommunications transactions and has served as counsel to top-tier telecommunications carriers, equipment manufacturers, new technology companies and other industry service providers. We have represented and advised—
- foreign governments regarding the privatization of their government-owned telecommunications facilities
- international and domestic communications businesses in restructuring, sales and acquisitions, development of new infrastructure and a host of other commercial arrangements
- financial lenders, underwriters and private equity funds in relation to investments (i.e., securities or bond offerings) and sales and acquisitions of communications companies.
In conjunction with the firm’s corporate practice, the communications practice handles all aspects of financing and M&A transactions for technology and telecommunications clients in every stage of development.
International Telecommunications Regulation and Policy
The communications practice advises U.S. telecommunications companies seeking to enter regulated foreign markets and represents such companies before the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the European Commission (EC) and other foreign regulatory agencies. Our lawyers also help foreign telecommunications companies to enter the U.S. market in compliance with all applicable U.S. telecommunications regulations. Members of the practice have advised foreign and domestic clients on various intellectual property matters, including privacy, piracy and copyright issues raised by the distribution of video programming outside of the United States. Our diverse international experience includes recent negotiations on behalf of a Russian satellite company in connection with an agreement for the construction and launch of a DBS system in Russian.
Wireless Telecommunications
The communications practice has extensive skills and experience involving commercial, private and unlicensed wireless services in both the domestic and international marketplaces. We advise and represent companies and individuals that are involved in the wireless industry as service providers, vendors, lenders and end-users.
We practice regularly before the FCC, various state regulatory agencies and the courts. Our wireless regulatory practice includes licensing, rulemaking and enforcement matters. Our lawyers are involved in all phases of various wireless licensing processes and has been counsel to several major wireless carriers, including cellular, broadband wireless, PCS, paging and air-to-ground carriers.
On the transactional side, lawyers in the communications practice routinely handle the negotiation and drafting of a wide variety of intercarrier, carrier-user and carrier-vendor agreements, including telecommunications services agreements, management agreements, interconnection agreements, roaming agreements, and equipment and facility purchase agreements.
Distressed Companies and Financial Restructuring
Akin Gump lawyers have significant experience in the strategic and creative financial restructuring of distressed telecommunications and technology companies from the perspective of the company, the lenders and other creditors. Communications lawyers work closely with lawyers from the firm’s corporate and financial restructuring practices to provide telecommunications regulatory and industry counsel in the context of large and complex bankruptcy proceedings. For example, Akin Gump represented the Official Unsecured Creditors’ Committee in the WorldCom reorganization, the largest corporate bankruptcy in history, in numerous regulatory issues, including the FCC’s Triennial Review Proceedings.
Common Carrier Regulation and Policy
Communications practice lawyers monitor and help clients navigate the changing regulatory challenges facing the wireline communications industry. We monitor and analyze daily the evolving regulatory landscape facing incumbents, competitors and investors.
Recent examples include—
- advising clients on both sides of the competitive-access-to-incumbent-facilities debate, as well as outside investors with financial interests at stake in the changing regulatory regime
- guiding clients through the often frustrating web of local and state regulations governing use of public rights of way
- providing clients with regulatory and transactional guidance regarding interconnection agreements
- assisting clients with interconnection-related disputes.
Equipment Manufacturers
The firm represents a number of key manufacturers of telecommunications equipment, much of which is subject to the FCC’s complex equipment authorization procedures and other technical rules. Our work on behalf of these manufacturers includes advice on pending legislation, prosecution of rulemaking petitions, assistance in obtaining requisite equipment authorizations, representation in FCC enforcement actions and assistance in litigation involving allegations of non-compliance with FCC rules. We also advise equipment manufacturers regarding the substantive areas of FCC regulation, such as the wireline common carrier area, with respect to the implications that existing regulations and proposed changes in the regulation of such areas may have on manufacturers’ existing products and services, proposed product offerings and market demand.
Domestic Communications Policy
In conjunction with the firm’s domestic policy practice, the communications practice regularly represents clients in the communications industry before Congress and other federal and state legislative bodies and government agencies.
New Technologies
In the field of new technologies, the firm has advised clients on a wide range of new communications technologies and services, including high-definition television, interactive video and data service, fiber-optic cable networks, wireless Internet access services, digital audio broadcasting, personal communications services, mobile and fixed satellite services, electronic paging, voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP) services and air-to-ground telephone service. In a similar vein, the firm has been active in advising equipment manufacturers on regulatory compliance issues for both new and existing equipment.