|
Jeffrey L. Sheldon is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP based in the Washington, D.C. office. He is a member of the Firm's Telecommunication Practice Group, where he advises clients on a wide range of regulatory and transactional issues, with an emphasis on private system users, in areas such as radio spectrum management, telecommunication infrastructure development and contract negotiations.
Prior to joining the Firm, Jeff served as vice president of a national broadband Internet Service Provider (ISP) where he was responsible for developing the company's fiber optic infrastructure. Previously, Jeff was vice president and general counsel at the United Telecom Council (UTC), an international trade association where he represented the association's member companies before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Congress and the courts.
Jeff is the author of numerous articles that discuss trends and developments in telecommunications law, and he has spoken at numerous telecommunication industry conferences in the U.S. and Latin America.
Jeff is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and is a member of the Federal Communications Bar Association.
Representative Experience
Copyright Compulsory Licensing - Provided analysis to support copyright compulsory licensing royalty claims by a major professional sports league.
800 MHz Band Reconfiguration - Represented licensees in FCC rulemakings and in contract negotiations as part of the FCC's nationwide reconfiguration of the 800 MHz land mobile band.
Spectrum Acquisition - Negotiated for the purchase and lease of radio spectrum rights and requested FCC rule waivers to enable creative use of spectrum rights for clients' unique operational needs.
Telecommunications Act of 1996 - Secured provisions in this landmark legislation preserving the "private carrier" service options and removing restrictions prohibiting utilities from entering the telecommunications market
Public Safety Auction Exemption - Secured provisions in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 exempting radio systems used to protect public health and safety from having to compete for FCC radio licenses at auction.
2 GHz Microwave and PCS - Formulated negotiation parameters for relocations of microwave communications systems from the 2 GHz band to provide spectrum for Personal Communications Services (PCS)
Spectrum for Critical Infrastructure Industries - Successfully initiated effort to secure legislation, enacted in 2001, for a federal study of the radio spectrum needs of utilities, railroad and other critical infrastructure industries
Pole Attachments - While at the UTC, participated in every rulemaking proceeding initiated by the FCC to implement the 1996 amendments to the Pole Attachment Act
Multiple Address System Licensing - Filed Petition for Writ of Mandamus with the D.C. Circuit to compel FCC action on 50,000 license applications that had been pending over five years without action. Petition was voluntarily dismissed after FCC initiated further action on the applications approximately four weeks later
Telecom Transactions - Has negotiated various agreements for telecom and data services, dark fiber, the purchase of FCC licenses, and the leasing of radio spectrum.
Privacy of Communications - While at UTC, authored a comprehensive guidebook on federal and state laws restricting the monitoring and recording of electronic communications. | 