Lee Petro is former chair of the Federal Communications Bar Association and a member in the Communications Law Practice at law firm Dickinson Wright. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Petro to learn more about his practice.
Lee Petro’s Background
What is Lee Petro’s background? Petro said:
“I am a Member with Dickinson Wright PLLC in the Washington, D.C. office. I have been practicing for 27 years, and represent broadcast companies, wireless service providers, educational institutions, and consumer product and industrial companies on regulatory and transactional matters.”
“A significant part of my current work is guiding consumer and industrial product manufacturers through the equipment authorization and marketing/importation process before the regulatory agencies in the United States, European Union and Asian countries.”
“A colleague Glenn Richards and I recently joined Dickinson Wright from another law firm to establish a new telecommunications law practice. We were fortunate to have many of our clients to join us at Dickinson Wright, and we are rapidly connecting with Dickinson Wright lawyers and existing clients to address their telecommunications and technology regulatory needs.”
Case Success Stories
Would you like to share any specific case success stories? Petro shared:
“One great example of how spectrum issues can affect seemingly unconnected services was a client’s design and sale of an “invisible fence” pet collar. The product relied on a technology regulated by the FCC, but had specific service rules that restricted the use of the technology for outdoor applications. In order to bring the product to market, we were successful in obtaining a waiver from the FCC to permit the use of the technology as proposed by the manufacturer.”
“Another example of our practice’s breadth is the service we provide to school districts who participate in government subsidy programs. The administrator of one subsidy program attempted to recover funds distributed more than 20 years ago to several school districts and regional educational districts in northern Michigan. By appealing the initial decisions with the fund administrator and the FCC, we were able to convince the FCC to cease its attempt to recover more than $600,000 from the rural school districts.”
“Additionally, the FCC recently launched a Cybersecurity Pilot Program to provide subsidies for school districts to employ robust cybersecurity technology. The application window closed November 1, 2024. We provided advice to potential participants in the program, with a special focus on compliance with the program rules.”
“We have been coordinating with the various federal agencies involved in authorizing the construction of wind farm platforms in the Atlantic Ocean. The wind farm operators and construction crews require reliable broadband service to construct and operate the wind farms, and we have been successful in obtaining experimental authorizations for the deployment of wireless data and voice services.”
Industry Focus
What are some of the industries that your firm is focused on? Petro noted:
“Our telecommunications practice covers the wide spectrum of issues for wireline or wireless telecommunications carriers, VoIP providers, messaging platforms, IoT (Internet of Things) service providers, broadcasters, and developers of new technologies, and business purchasing telecommunications or broadband services.”
“In recent years, I have focused on advising clients on the applications (and potential impact) of new technologies in their industries. For example, the growth of generative Artificial Intelligence applications offers great opportunities for media companies and telecommunications providers, but the impact of “deep fakes” in political broadcast advertisements could cause serious harms during the election season.”
“Additionally, with the greater focus on environmental concerns, we have worked with energy companies and industrial manufacturers that are leveraging technology to provide “clean” solutions. For example, we are working with a leading wind farm manufacturer to secure spectrum rights to ensure reliable broadband service at the sites. We are also working with an IoT device manufacturer to obtain spectrum to enable the deployment of sensors to monitor the release of greenhouse gases at drilling sites.”
“We are also working with our firm’s automotive clients to advise on new developments with respect to connected cars and autonomous vehicles that rely on accessing spectrum for geolocation and remote control of the vehicles.”
Future Firm Goals
What are some of your future goals at the firm? Petro concluded:
“As noted above, we have been at Dickinson Wright for just over six months, and our most immediate goal is to inform our colleagues on the many different ways that technology and telecommunications issues affect their clients.”
“At the same time, we are focused on building out the telecommunications practice with additional expertise in certain industries (e.g., satellite and space technologies) so that we can provide service to the largest range of clients.”
