James Troup focuses his practice on providing comprehensive representation on transactional, regulatory and litigation matters for the full spectrum of companies involved in electronic communications to the public such as the telecommunications, broadcast radio and TV, cable TV and Internet industries.

Mr. Troup has extensive experience negotiating and arbitrating interconnection agreements pursuant to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, incumbent local exchange carrier rate regulation, preparing tariff and cost support, universal service and access reform issues, carrier-customer negotiations, CALEA compliance, and compliance by computer and communications equipment manufacturers with FCC Parts 2 and 15 testing and equipment authorization procedures. His practice includes addressing the unique problems of wireless telecommunications companies, satellite companies, prepaid debit card companies, online service providers, voice messaging companies and other enhanced service providers.

He assists cable TV operators with the local franchising process and compliance with the rules and regulations administered by the FCC. Mr. Troup also guides radio and TV stations through the regulatory requirements that affect all aspects of the broadcast business. He has represented acquirers and sellers in hundreds of communications and technology acquisitions. He has negotiated, closed, and implemented numerous mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and other transactions involving service providers in the telephone, broadcast radio and TV, cable TV, satellite, wireless telecommunications and Internet service industries.

These transactions have included local exchange acquisitions, the purchase of long distance carriers or their customer bases, spectrum acquisitions, the purchase of broadcast radio and TV facilities, the acquisition of cable TV properties, orbital location acquisitions, the construction of fiber optic networks, transponder leases, satellite construction and launch contracts, billing software agreements, Internet service contracts, building access agreements, and telecommunications service contracts.

He also represents communications companies in administrative agency and court litigation involving billing disputes, claims of breach of service contracts and revenue sharing agreements, rights to broadcast licenses, carriage of programming on cable systems, interconnection disagreements, U.S. landing rights for foreign satellites, investigations by the FCC, FTC, state attorneys general, and other state regulatory agencies, alleged antitrust violations, consumer group complaints, and appeals of adverse regulatory state and federal agency actions. He is well known in the industry as the only attorney to ever successfully obtain a court stay of an FCC license auction (the spectrum for sale was worth $10 billion).

Significant Matters

• Negotiated agreements for banks, major retail chains, municipalities and other major purchasers of communications services and technology that significantly reduced their costs and produced new revenue streams through the resale of those services to the public.
• Represented more than 100 communications companies that were creditors in major bankruptcies.
• Structured numerous join ventures between electric companies, municipalities and telecommunications companies for the over-build of their incumbent systems for the provision of telephone service, cable TV and high-speed Internet access.
• Drafted legislation for a major U.S. local telephone company to enable it to provide cable TV over its fiber-to-the-home network without obtaining local cable TV franchises.
• Advised clients on regulatory matters before the FCC, FBI, U.S. Justice Department, FTC, State Department, United States Trade Representative, National Telecommunications & Information Administration in the U.S. Commerce Department, International Telecommunications Union in Geneva and regulators in other countries.
• Counseled real estate developers and building owners regarding their inside wiring property rights and building access by competing communications companies and helped those clients implement telephone and cable TV systems on their properties as an additional revenue source.
• Successfully appealed adverse district court decisions involving billing disputes between wireless and wireline carriers to the Eighth Circuit and Ninth Circuit.
• Obtained an exemption from state rate regulation for more than 100 local telephone companies.
• Successfully prosecuted approval of multi-billion dollar mergers of long distance telephone companies at the FCC and before regulatory commissions in every state.