It’s been a busy year for Davidson with a Republican-led FCC making major changes to communications law. “Although both the reinstatement of the UHF discount and relaxation of the media ownership rules have been appealed to the courts, the rules were not stayed pending completion of the appeals,” he says. “We already are experiencing increased merger and acquisition activity and investment in the media sector, including increased consolidation and transactional activity among existing media groups.” Davidson has represented clients for more than 30 years, with his expertise including FCC incentive auctions and spectrum.
What have been the most important legal issues in communications for you in the past year?
The most important legal issues in communications for me in the past year have been the significant changes in the media ownership rules under the Republican-led FCC. Although both the reinstatement of the UHF discount and relaxation of the media ownership rules have been appealed to the courts, the rules were not stayed pending completion of the appeals. We already are experiencing increased merger and acquisition activity and investment in the media sector, including increased consolidation and transactional activity among existing media groups.
What new legal issues do you expect in 2018?
The FCC is accelerating its efforts to authorize more spectrum for 5G service, new technologies (such as autonomous vehicles and drones), and other broadband applications and services. The FCC is also adopting rules for flexible use of such spectrum among terrestrial and non-terrestrial users. Such regulatory initiatives will keep communications companies, investors, lawyers and engineers very busy in 2018.
What is your golden rule for negotiating?
Be reasonable. Taking a very strong position in opposition to your negotiating partner makes it that much more difficult to reach a mutually agreeable win-win outcome.
