Utilities and Critical Infrastructure Communications
Squire Sanders has substantial experience assisting electric and gas utilities with the purchase, sale and licensing of telecommunications capacity and services, both for their internal use and for resale to third parties. We assist energy utilities in constructing telecommunications networks and establishing subsidiaries to provide telecommunications services on a wholesale and retail basis, including developing fiber optic networks and advising on pole attachment regulations, spectrum allocation, the purchase of wireless services, interconnection, zoning and other related matters.
Our communications work involving electric utilities is international in scope. We advised a telecommunications operator on the acquisition of aerial rights-of-way on high-voltage transmission towers from a Russia-based power monopoly for the construction of a Moscow-to-St. Petersburg fiber optic ring. We advised a US-based telecommunications operator in connection with a joint venture with Poland’s electric power company to provide local and long-distance telephone service in Poland. We have also provided counsel to a large US utility on numerous matters involving the construction of communications infrastructure and the purchase, sale and use of communications services.