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Communications

Commentators consider the firm to be ‘absolutely pre-eminent for telecoms regulatory work’.
Chambers & Partners 2021

Electronic communications (telecoms and broadcasting) is one of the most complex regulated sectors. Decisions by regulators and competition authorities affect business success at every level of the sector.

Our experience in the sector is second-to-none; our lawyers have been involved throughout decades of liberalisation (in the UK and in dozens of markets throughout the world), through the cutting-edge work in the digital economy. We have helped our clients talk to politicians, governments and with national, EU and regional regulators.

In the UK our people have been involved in:

  • every major market review in the last decade, covering fixed and mobile broadband markets
  • every major regulatory issue (including unbundling networks and access to ducts and poles)
  • most major rule-setting consultations, including rules on switching and contract exit
  • more than half of all regulatory disputes ever determined by Ofcom
  • most major spectrum policy consultations, including the 3G, 4G and 5G spectrum auctions

The regulatory landscape in electronic communications is diverse, extending across economic, consumer and technical regulation and often overlapping all three (for example, in spectrum policy). Our clients’ concerns range from investing in infrastructure and site access, through wholesale, intermediate and retail mass markets for broadband, fixed and mobile voice, and TV, through to over-the-top services and digital platforms. We are experienced in every area.