Sectors

Communications

As technologies, applications and regulations evolve, our clients respond with new ideas, innovations and business models. We work with them to anticipate challenges, meet their legal obligations and achieve their commercial objectives.

Our expertise:

We have unrivalled experience in this sector in Ireland. Our clients include major network, broadcasting and media operators as well as regulators and other state bodies.

We continue to focus on the implications of the European Electronic Communications Code, which updates and consolidates the EU electronic communications regulatory framework and significantly strengthens the enforcement powers of ComReg, including giving it the power to impose significant fines subject to High Court confirmation. We also focus on the Competition (Amendment) Act 2022 which transposes Directive 2019/1 (ECN+ Directive) into Irish law and expands the powers of ComReg to enforce European and Irish competition law.

We cover the full range of transactional, regulatory and contentious work, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, financing, joint ventures and access agreements. We also deal with statutory appeals, judicial reviews, competition complaints and regulatory compliance matters.

‘‘The lawyers are good at dealing with things on the fly.’’

Chambers 2024

‘‘The McCanns team are highly proactive and familiar with our sector. We have developed a very close working relationship, ensuring that everyone is comfortable expressing strongly held views on particular cases. The team are always at hand to contribute advice whenever needed. They have made their technology available to us whenever needed.’’

The Legal 500, 2024

‘‘The team at McCann FitzGerald is brilliant.’’

Chambers 2024

‘‘Expert advisors in the telecoms sector, a female-led diverse team. Commercial and strategic.’’

The Legal 500, 2024

‘‘McCann FitzGerald LLP is experienced across the gamut of commercial, transactional, regulatory and contentious work related to the telecoms industry. The team works with a wide variety of clients, including fixed line and mobile network operators, telecoms infrastructure providers, OTT providers, broadcasters and cable television operators. ’’

The Legal 500, 2023

‘‘McCann FitzGerald’s team assists in appeals and enforcement actions in the telecoms sector. They have a top notch team which has an excellent understanding of the regulatory framework and is capable of appreciating policy and other imperatives and objectives.’’

The Legal 500, 2023

Key areas:

Irish and EU regulatory and licensing/authorisation requirements
Interconnection and access
Market reviews, dominance/SMP issues
Network provision and roll-out
Wireless spectrum allocation
Property and planning law issues
Contractual issues, including supply terms and conditions
Consumer protection
Data protection and privacy
Information society legislation and policy
Outsourcing
EU audio visual policy, including television without frontiers
Public service obligations and USO
State aid

Key highlights include advising:

ComReg in relation to a number of statutory appeals in the Commercial List of the High Court.
AMP Capital Investors (UK) Limited in connection with the sale of Towercom Limited by AMP as infrastructure manager of the IIF.
Nostra, one of the country’s largest Irish-owned managed services IT providers, in connection with its acquisition of Passax Business Systems, a provider of telecoms and cloud-based PBX solutions.
Vodafone GmbH in Commercial Court proceedings against Intellectual Ventures concerning claims by Vodafone GmbH that Intellectual Ventures is abusing a dominant position by the manner in which it is conducting FRAND licensing negotiations in respect of patents related to digital subscriber line technology which have been declared to be Standard Essential Patents in the telecommunications field.
Vodafone Group plc, as Irish counsel, in respect of the partial divestment of its indirect shareholdings in Vantage Towers AG, a German listed stock corporation, via the establishment of a co-controlled joint venture company with an investor.