|
The world travels on the “information superhighway” – locally, nationally, and globally. The advent of the Internet alone has transformed the telecommunications industry into the single most critical component in today’s world economy. Every aspect of daily life is touched and shaped by telecommunications, from entertainment to medicine to national security, spawning new technologies, new industries, and new regulatory issues. The landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996, for example, had enormous impact on the telecommunications field, eliminating many rate controls and artificial regulation barriers. This encouraged local telephone service providers to become the long-distance providers, cable television providers to get into the local telephone business, and on and on. Carlton Fields attorneys have extensive experience in all aspects of telecommunications law, in all courts, representing all categories of telecommunications providers, including telephone, traditional radio and television broadcast, cable, Internet, satellite, and others. The firm's attorneys have handled some of the leading cases in Florida and around the United States on a wide variety of matters for our telecommunications clients, including: Litigation involving Federal and State Communications Statutes: - The Federal Communications Act, United States Code, Chapter 47
- The Telecommunications Act of 1996
- Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act
- Florida Statutes, Chapter 364, Telecommunications Companies
- The Public Service Tax, Florida Statutes, Chapter 166
- Communications Services Tax Simplification Law, Florida Statutes, Chapter 202
- Special Powers of Telegraph and Telephone Companies, Florida Statutes Chapter 362
- Use of Right-of-Way for Utilities, Florida Statutes §337.401-406
- Telephone Consumers Protection Act
Litigation involving disputes over: - Use of right-of-way and franchise ordinances
- Cost of relocation of facilities
- Pole access
- Federal preemption of local ordinances as "barriers to entry" pursuant to Telecommunications Act of 1996 § 253
- Taxability of telecommunications charges upon FPSC ordered refunds
- Preemption of local ordinances pursuant to jurisdiction of FPSC under Florida Statutes § 364.
- Delay damages for failure to timely relocate buried utilities
- Lost profit claims based upon alleged failure to properly police toll free directory assistance listings
- Misappropriation of trade secrets regarding cell phone technology
- Charges for telecommunication service involving federal tariffs
- Conservation/eminent domain
- Bid protests
- Breach of a wide variety of contracts.
Intellectual property consulting and litigation related to: - Copyrights
- Trademarks
- Patents
Employment Matters: - Non-competition/Confidentiality/Trade Secrets
- Call Monitoring/Recording
- Employment Discrimination
- Drafting of employee severance agreements
Consumer Law Matters: - Class Actions
- Telephone Solicitation
- Advertising
- Fair Credit Reporting Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act
- Customer Complaints
Governmental/Regulatory Matters: - Representation before the Florida Wireless E911 Board
- Assist with preparation of annual abandoned property report pursuant to Chapter 717, Fla. Stat.
- Assist with fictitious name and corporate registrations
Real Estate Issues: - Acquisition and leasing of real property for transmission facilities and towers
- Land use, zoning and situsing transactions and litigation
Bankruptcy Matters: - Representing carriers in bankruptcy cases of dealers and resellers
- Defense of preference and fraudulent conveyance actions
- Purchase and sale of assets in bankruptcy cases
Attorneys in our Communications and Technology Law Practice Area understand the business and legal issues that are of paramount importance to our clients' business. We represent clients in proceedings before federal and state courts as well as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Florida Public Service Commission. We provide experienced, comprehensive litigation, regulatory, strategic and transactional services on complex legal issues facing the telecommunications industry.
The firm's attorneys have represented telecommunications providers before local governmental bodies and state and federal agencies dealing with telecommunications tax audits, cell tower siting, tariff disputes, right-of-way franchise ordinances, easements, interconnection charges, zoning and permitting and other issues specifically relating to communications facilities. The firm also has extensive experience with condemnation proceedings relating to parties' leasehold interests in communications towers. Our attorneys have been trusted to represent many of the largest communications service providers and equipment manufacturers, including Adelphia, AOL, AT&T, BellSouth, Comcast, Cingular Wireless, Siemens AG, Sprint Nextel Corporation, Sprint-Florida, Time Warner, TracFone Wireless, Verizon, and others, on matters that are of critical importance to their business.
|