Substantial capabilities and resources are concentrated in a dedicated telecommunications, media and technology practice group, which involves lawyers who combine industry and product specialization, based throughout the Firm’s global network of offices. Working on behalf of governments, regulatory bodies and telecommunications operators, we have considerable know-how in the area of telecommunications regulation, especially concerning access, interconnection, licensing, numbering, spectrum, tariffs and unfair commercial practices. We can also draw on the experience of our lawyers who were previously employed by regulatory bodies such as the European Commission and the Federal Communications Commission.

Practice Highlights WHITE & CASE IN $7 BILLION SAUDI TELECOMS FINANCING Investor Interest in the Saudi Telecommunications Sector Continues to Grow The Law Office of Mohammed Al-Sheikh, in association with White & Case LLP, advised Citigroup, SAMBA, Gulf International Bank, Bank Saudi Fransi, Al Rajhi Bank, BNP Paribas, Calyon, Arab National Bank, Arab Banking Corporation and National Bank of Kuwait as Mandated Lead Arrangers in connection with two financing facilities, with a combined value in excess of $7 billion, which have been created to finance the purchase of the third mobile telecommunications licence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  Please click here to read press release. REVOLUTIONARY $2.875 BILLION ISLAMIC FINANCE FACILITY BREAKS NEW GROUND IN TELECOMS SECTOR The Law Office of Mohammed Al-Sheikh, in association with White & Case LLP, advised Mobily, one of only two mobile telecoms service providers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in connection with a groundbreaking $2.875 billion Islamic financing facility, based on airtime. In a market first, this highly innovative Islamic finance instrument enables Mobily to sell minutes of airtime to the financiers involved, before then taking on the role of agent to these banks and selling the minutes for a profit. The financing is also the largest syndicated Islamic loan to date. ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Banque Saudi Fransi, CALYON, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, The National Commercial Bank, Saudi Holland Bank and SAMBA acted as Mandated Lead Arrangers in the financing.  Please click here to read press release. €3.4 BILLION TELECOMS TRANSACTION White & Case acted for Weather Investments S.p.A. ("Weather"), a privately held telecommunications investment company controlled by the Sawiris family and Naguib Sawiris, in its acquisition of Greek mobile operator TIM Hellas Telecommunications S.A. ("TIM Hellas"); a deal worth €3.4 billion. TIM Hellas was sold by Texas Pacific Group and Apax Partners.  White & Case advised Weather on all aspects of the deal, including the acquisition and the financing.  Completion of the transaction is subject to applicable competition and regulatory approvals. PREMIERE CONCLUDES COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH DEUTSCHE TELEKOM AG Represented Premiere AG and Premiere Fernsehen GmbH & Co. KG; the leading German PayTV-provider; in concluding a cooperation agreement with Deutsche Telekom AG, the leading German telecommunication company and T-Online International AG, the leading German Internet service provider. The agreement allows Premiere to broadcast Premium PayTV content on a new IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) platform to be launched by Deutsche Telekom AG with investments for a new multicast VDSL IP network, said to be the most advanced IP network in the world. €470m CEE TELECOMS SALE Advised the owners of Invitel Távközlési ZRt. ("Invitel"), including the private equity firms GMT Communications Partners ("GMT"), Mid Europa Partners and senior management of Invitel, in their conclusion of an agreement to sell 100 per cent of the share capital of Matel Holdings N.V. ("Matel"), the owner of 99.98 per cent of Invitel, to Hungarian Telephone & Cable Corp. ("HTCC") for a total consideration of €470 million. £3.775 BILLION FINANCING FOR NTL/TELEWEST MERGER Acted for joint bookrunners, Deutsche Bank AG, J.P. Morgan Plc, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc and Goldman Sachs International, in connection with the provision of a £3.775 billion senior financing to NTL and Telewest. This enabled the successful completion of the merger between the two companies, which closed on March 3, 2006, and provided further financing for the acquisition of the Virgin Mobile Group by the merged NTL group.   $3.575 BILLION REFINANCING Bespoke structure includes largest equity-linked deal of 2006.  Advised Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. and its parent company, Weather Capital S.a r.l., on a comprehensive $3.575 billion refinancing.

White & Case has advised governments in Bahrain, Colombia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Qatar, the Slovak Republic, South Africa, Tunisia and Turkey in connection with the reform of the telecommunications industry in each of these countries. We have advised the European Commission in the area of telecommunications regulation, and have recently worked on behalf of the governments of Hungary and the Slovak Republic to align existing national legislation with European Community law and policy. For the Kingdom of Bahrain we drafted new legislation and various regulatory instruments, which together constitute a comprehensive regulatory framework for the telecommunications industry.

Our lawyers have extensive experience with regulatory compliance as it affects telecommunications, media and technology. In addition to regulation, the telecommunications practice is acknowledged for its work in a range of related areas, including:

The Technology page provides more detailed information on this aspect of our practice.