Services & Practices > Regulation and Disputes
We have assisted both regulators and private clients with a wide range of TMT and digital policy and regulatory issues as well as litigation, taxation and antitrust disputes. We have also assessed regulatory frameworks and individual regulators' processes and outputs, including management advising and training of regulators.
Our regulatory cases have involved more than 60 countries, along with the EU’s Competition Commissioner, the Justice Departments of Canada and the United States, the Supreme Court of Ireland, and the U.S. Department of Defense. The regulatory expertise we offer includes the former heads of ministries and regulatory commissions in several countries, including Argentina, Costa Rica, Hungary, Malawi, New Zealand and Somalia. We have also advised several operators on spectrum auctions, including training of their bidding teams.
In terms of regulatory disputes, consultations and other proceedings, we have served as industry experts on cases in Brazil, Canada, Georgia, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Jordan, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Timor-Leste and United States, including in a Supreme Court level case (see details below). We have also advised several operators on spectrum auctions, including training of their bidding teams.
Some case summaries follow.
EU Competition Authority Approvals
We provided a hedge fund with assessments of two proposed mobile mergers (Germany and Ireland)—specifically, whether approval by the EU Competition Authority could be expected and the conditions that were likely to be imposed. Our basis included the Authority’s track record as well as changing policies and political perspectives regarding industry structure and investment.
Sharing of Broadband Infrastructure
For several clients we have examined the impact of shared broadband infrastructure (including active facilities) policies after these were introduced by regulation. In the cases we examined (Brazil, China, India, Kenya, Mexico, Rwanda, Singapore, South Africa, etc.), the results have not been positive unless involving very substantial government subsidies. The one clear exception has been China’s use of two competing shared networks in the deployment of 5G.
We have also advised clients in the United States and Japan on “open access” models for mobile broadband and cable TV networks.
Mandatory vs. Voluntary MVNOs
We have examined the introduction of MVNOs to determine the overall viability of MVNIOs in different markets and the benefits and risks of mandatory vs. voluntary MVNO frameworks. The market contexts have included EU countries, emerging economies, and developing countries, including case studies of MVNO introduction in Hong Kong, Israel, Kosovo and South Africa. Overall, we have found that voluntary approaches result in more enduring and competitive MVNO entries.
Organization of New Regulator
In one of Africa’s countries, where there was no regulator until recently, we advised the new entity on different organizational options and projected its staffing and budgetary needs. We also conducted a training program for its senior managers, covering licensing, consultation, spectrum assignment, and other functions, providing related case studies from other countries.
Expert Witness and Industry Analysis
On a longstanding court case on whether the mobile licenses issued by the government should be sustained or additional licenses should have been issued, we assessed the impact across OECD of the number of licenses issued on market growth as well as the readiness of the claimant’s technology for national deployment at the time of the original licensing. The case was settled a week prior to the scheduled testimony of our expert witness.
Expert Witness in Mobile Operator License Case
In Ireland we provided an expert witness during a Supreme Court review of an appeals court decision that upheld a challenge of how the government issued the third mobile operator license. The review resulted in the Supreme Court reversal of the lower court decision and citation of the supporting role of the expert witness.