Ted is a Partner in the Commercial/IP/IT team, specialising in Technology, Media and Telecoms.
Ted joined Matthew Arnold & Baldwin from Edwin Coe, where he headed their TMT Group. Ted has a great experience of sectoral and competition law regulation in the communications industry. He has successfully used private enforcement of competition law to great effect for a number of clients. He has also advised for many years on the funding and structure organisation of IP rich companies and had to salvage assets when such companies became insolvent.
Ted has had many years dealing with regulators like Ofcom and its predecessors and PayphonePlus. He has appeared as an advocate in the Competition Appeal Tribunal and before Adjudication panels of PayphonePlus. In addition, Ted has a broadcasting regulatory practice which has instigated judicial reviews against Ofcom in relation to its broadcasting powers.
As well as knowledge in respect of consumer-facing matters, like drafting terms and conditions and privacy policies, he has also negotiated a number of outsourcing deals involving communications or IT services and networks.
Ted has particular experience in cross-border telecoms services and outsourcings involving multiple services. Ted has been involved in the construction of a number of telecoms systems in the UK. He has a particular knowledge of the Electronic Communications Code and its workings.
Through his work on telecoms he has also gained a knowledge of the law relating to the installation of electricity and gas systems.
A good way to finish up before a bank holiday is to get notice from the Court of Appeal that you have been given leave appeal in what I think will become quite an important case if it proceeds through to a hearing. In this particular instance, Lord Justice Lewison thinks that there are real… Learn more
In my experience the problem with particular regulatory bodies who are under some scrutiny for not performing well is that they then tend to “over perform”. By that I mean that they tend to take a stentorian view if they have been accused of being lapse in the past. A recent example crossed my desk… Learn more
Ofcom began a consultation this week on the vexed question of price increases during fixed-term Telecoms Contracts. Outside of a fixed-term contract, a price increase (or indeed any change which leads to more onerous terms) should give rise to a user being able to get out of a contract without a penalty month’s notice. There… Learn more
I had a chance meeting with a former colleague the other day about an article we had written concerning DPP –v- Collins in 2006. That case, which made its way to our loftiest courts, concerns Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003. That article touched on something that is now of relevance to Twitter and… Learn more
One aspect of the “Twittergate” or “Twitterjoke”, which it wasn’t necessary to consider in the courts, is the question of what constitutes a “program service”, which is exempt from Section 127 of the Communications Act primarily because broadcast grand services they either are or should be regulated as such and not as individual communications. The… Learn more
Virgin Media and BT are challenging a decision of the European Commission to approve (from a state aid point of view) Birmingham’s plans to upgrade the City’s fibre optic systems, thus improving the chances of hyper-fast broadband in the near future. Contrast this with the situation in the countryside, where BT is subject to scrutiny… Learn more
You can always tell the important decisions from Ofcom. They are issued at 8.00am in the morning (or sometimes at 7.00am before the market is open) and usually that allows Radio 4’s Today programme to make some comment on them before it goes off the air at 9.00am! It looks like the most interesting decision… Learn more
I recently wrapped up an appeal against a fine imposed by Phonepay Plus on a network operator using a provision of their code which enables you to more or less negotiate a fine if you give grounds for an appeal. It ended up with a 50% reduction, but that’s mainly because the client had a… Learn more
There are news reports at the moment that Telefonica O2 is threatening Ofcom with legal action over the Commission’s decision to permit T-Mobile/Everything Everywhere to provide 4G services on some existing frequencies before the end of the year. There is no doubt that whoever gets in to a new better data environment will have an… Learn more
Introduction This is the much vaunted and much expected appeal from the CAT’s decision of last year on o8X. The leading Judgment was given by Lord Justice Lloyd, whom in other telecommunications matters has proved to be of good sense and have some understanding of the industry. On this occasion it is possible to argue… Learn more