Office (202) 659-0830
Fax (202) 828-5568

OUR ROLE IN U.S. TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens, Duffy and Prendergast, LLP is a telecommunications law firm in Washington, D.C. providing legal and engineering services to its clients including telephone companies, wireless service providers, international carriers, cable providers, private radio users, tower owners and equipment manufacturers. 

Our firm was founded in 1946 as the Law Offices of Jeremiah Courtney. On January 1, 1979, the firm of Blooston and Mordkofsky was formed by Mr. Courtney’s associates, the late Arthur Blooston and Harold Mordkofsky, to handle common carrier and commercial wireless representation as Mr. Courtney moved toward retirement. Both started their communications careers with the FCC — Mr. Blooston in 1950 and Mr. Mordkofsky in 1965. For many years, the firm was one of few specializing in telecommunications law, including common carrier and private mobile radio communications. Mr. Courtney eventually merged the remainder of his practice into what had become Blooston, Mordkofsky, Jackson & Dickens, and subsequently retired.

The firm specializes in representing its clients before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the courts and state regulatory commissions, and in international matters, on a variety of telecommunications issues. Our telecommunications engineering staff enables us to efficiently meet the ever changing technological needs of our clients. 

In addition to its FCC and other regulatory commission work, the firm has also assisted clients in presenting testimony before both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate concerning changes to the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, including the 1996 Telecommunications Act; has worked with clients in their efforts to review telecom matters with Senators, Representatives, their staffs, committees and subcommittees; and has testified before state legislatures concerning deregulatory laws before those bodies. Because of the increased importance of Congressional actions in the telecommunications arena, we have associated with Perry Woofter, former Chief of Staff to Senator Robert Byrd, who has years of experience on Capitol Hill. We have also worked closely with various lobbying/consulting firms on behalf of our clients.

The firm's clients consist of certain large wireline telephone companies; publicly traded and privately held companies engaged in cellular, PCS, paging and other wireless communications, serving major U.S. markets; hundreds of smaller local exchange companies and cellular and PCS carriers serving rural areas; and several high technology companies whose products and services have been in the forefront of advances in telecommunications and technology regulatory policies. We are also working with numerous clients who either own or lease antenna towers, to help them negotiate a tower or site lease, achieve compliance with FCC Rules and minimize potential liability.

We have assisted numerous clients in obtaining licenses through auction process, and have obtained licenses for hundreds of clients using private radio spectrum for internal operations. The firm also serves as general counsel to the principal trade association of the nation's electronic security industry, and we have represented other industry associations. The firm's clients are either presently serving, or have served in the past, as officers and board members of the leading telecommunications trade associations in the United States.

Through our retainer arrangements and the BloostonLaw Telecom Update, we keep our clients informed of regulatory developments affecting them, and provide information on key technology and industry trends.

We provide assistance to our clients in any area involving telecommunications law, including but not limited to the following areas:

Wireline:

  • Interconnection Agreements

  • CPNI compliance

  • USF reform

  • Access charge issues

  • Exchange Mergers & Acquisitions

  • Study Area Waivers

  • ILEC/CLEC access tariffs

  • Section 214 Authorizations

  • RUS lien releases

  • Rate hearings

  • Numbering issues

  • FCC Compliance Reports

  • Long distance detariffing

  • FCC Complaints

  • FCC rulemakings

  • ETC certification

  • CALEA compliance

Wireless:

  • WiFi, WiMax and unlicensed spectrum use

  • CPNI compliance

  • Tower Siting, NEPA/Historic Preservation Compliance

  • 3G

  • Cellular

  • Personal Communications Service (PCS)

  • Microwave

  • Paging

  • Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR)

  • Multichannel Distribution Service (MDS)

  • Local Multichannel Distribution Service (LMDS)

  • 39 GHz and other fixed wireless access technologies

  • Private Land Mobile

  • Equipment Certification/Verification

International:

  • Project Development (wireline and wireless)
  • Due Diligence
  • Advice and counsel regarding regulatory reform for developing markets
  • Local partner identification/introduction
  • Satellite offices in Buenos Aires
  • Fluency in Spanish

Cable:

  • Open Video

  • Cable Franchising

  • Annual filings

  • Signal leakage reports

  • Copyright issues/filings

Internet:

  • Privacy issues

  • Customer contracts

  • Monitoring statutory/regulatory developments


The firm presently has eight lawyers:

Partners:

Of Counsel:

Legislative Consultant:

Engineering: