Harris Beach has a long history representing telecommunications industry clients. In the wireless area, we drove groundbreaking litigation in interpreting the 1996 Telecommunications Act. This litigation related to the ability of municipal power authorities to regulate the siting of telecommunications towers and concluded with favorable results for our clients. Our Telecommunications team is led by a former chairman of the New York State Public Service Commission who, as head of one of the country’s leading state regulatory bodies on telecommunications, established numerous major policies and regulatory initiatives.
To address the complex business, technological, and regulatory challenges of the telecommunications industry, Harris Beach offers comprehensive legal services for all transactional, regulatory compliance, and litigation matters. We represent many companies, including those focused on wireless service, optics, cable, satellites, cellular telephones, internet, IP telephony, and WiMax, as well as manufacturers of communications equipment, companies that purchase and sell communications services, and broadcast radio and TV stations. In addition to transactional and regulatory matters, we represent cable television providers and telecommunications carriers on franchise, First Amendment, libel, and system development issues.
Our Telecommunications Industry Team counsels clients regarding franchise agreements, municipal ordinances, construction and use of dark fiber, zoning regulations, and state and federal statutes applicable to the industry. Our extensive experience enables us to advise on a wide range of issues such as negotiating vendor-financing agreements, executing mergers and acquisitions, managing equipment purchasing transactions, implementing contracts, securing capital funds for deployments of wireless networks, coordinating leases for multi-site tower placements, negotiating interconnection with incumbent carriers, registering and enforcing patents for manufacturers, selling fiber optic rights, preparing bankruptcy restructurings/ settlements, and much more. We also guide clients on government relations and strategic planning initiatives related to economic development, state and federal regulatory affairs, and policy decisions. In an environment with such rapidly evolving technologies, our strong knowledge of the technical, legal, and regulatory matters faced by telecommunications companies is valued by our clients. With them, we share extensive industry knowledge, identify emerging trends, and develop legal solutions to help them move ahead of issues and compete more effectively.