In modern society, telecommunications encompass a wide swath of communications technology, from radio broadcasting to telephones, cell phones, television, and the Internet. Telecommunications law concerns the ways that all of these various communications technologies are regulated, distributed, and taxed. Lawyers work in governments to make telecommunications laws, in telecommunications companies who need to understand and implement those laws, and in law firms, advising clients who are or want to be involved in the telecommunications industry.
Every country has its own set of telecommunications laws and regulations. In some countries, the bulk of telecom law is geared towards control: controlling what companies can do, and controlling what citizens can access. Telecom laws in other countries are mostly focused on market regulation, monopoly prevention, and consumer fairness. Still others are primarily concerned with open access and affordability of services. The nuances of telecommunications law thus depend a lot on location, but the basics that the various laws cover are similar.
Telecommunications law is the system of governing laws and regulations that apply to various methods of wired or wireless communication. The first telecommunications laws pertained to radio transmissions. Those laws set broadcasting requirements, rules about what kinds of programs could air, and regulations pertaining to what sort of content could be broadcast to the public. Corresponding regulations incentivized radio advertising, set taxing structures for radio programmers, and made provisions for emergency broadcasting, among other things.
Radio broadcasting is still an important part of telecommunications law, but the field has expanded greatly. Telecommunications now include television, telephones, cell phones and smart phone technology, and the Internet. The law has kept pace.
A telecommunications attorney has a wide spectrum of jobs available to him. Many telecommunications lawyers work on the regulatory side of things, ensuring that the laws in place keep up with the changing technology. Laws crafted when radio was dominant may not be relevant to a world of text messages, spam e-mail, and cable television shows being re-broadcast for free online. They may not even be relevant to the radio of today.
Law firms are also popular places for lawyers to finds jobs in telecommunications. A telecommunications law firm, or even a law firm with a practice area devoted to telecom law, staffs lawyers who manage the legal concerns of telecommunications industry clients. These lawyers will make telecommunications law arguments before the courts. Telecom court battles can involve anything from antitrust and anti-competition claims to trademark or brand infringement, or allegations of decency violations. It is also common for a law firm telecommunications lawyer to engage in lobbying activities, seeking to influence regulation and national laws that will benefit individual clients’ interests.
It is not uncommon for telecommunications companies to have internal legal departments, too. Lawyers in those departments generally work on internal legal matters. Product licensing and contracts with service providers are common tasks, as are navigating the regulatory landscape to advise executives of what moves can and cannot be made.
Telecommunications law looks different depending on the angle from which it is approached. The law is characterized by its focus on either the practice or the regulations of telecommunication services, be they for the government, the public or the private industry. So long as a telecom service or industry is implicated, the law is likely a telecommunications law, no matter what else it concerns on the surface.