The cable and broadband practice of Dow Lohnes focuses on all aspects of the cable television industry, including video, telephony, and broadband services. Dow Lohnes represents four of the ten largest multichannel video programming distributors, as well as a number of mid-sized and smaller industry players.
Dow Lohnes has been representing clients providing broadband service since before that service was first offered commercially. Dow Lohnes lawyers helped develop the underlying analysis that led to the FCC’s decision to classify broadband service as an information service and have been active in the FCC’s network neutrality and “Third Way” proceedings.
Today, Dow Lohnes cable and broadband attorneys regularly handle a broad range of issues and matters before federal, state, and local administrative agencies and the courts, and they are involved in strategic planning for the provision of existing services as well as the introduction of new products and services. The scale and scope of the issues that Dow Lohnes attorneys cover are as broad as the services, commercial relationships, and regulatory requirements our cable television clients provide and navigate daily.
The firm’s cable and broadband attorneys also prepare and negotiate commercial contracts for cable systems, including commercial leased access channel agreements, easement and building access agreements, MDU agreements, agreements for business services, pole attachment and conduit agreements, fiber lease and sharing agreements, roaming agreements, and municipal franchise agreements. This team also handles acquisition, disposition, and financing agreements for cable operators. In short, Dow Lohnes cable attorneys handle all commercial, regulatory, litigation, transactional, and operational matters involved in providing cable television, information, and telephone services in the United States.