Telecommunications

Telecommunications Viewpoints →

Read about the latest legal and regulatory developments in Asia

Telecommunications Experience →

Telecommunications Team →

Meet our regional team of experienced lawyers

The telecommunications industry is constantly evolving, with new technologies, regulations, and market trends emerging at a rapid pace. This presents both opportunities and challenges for telecom operators, service providers, equipment manufacturers, investors, and regulators operating in this sector.

Our Telecommunications Practice is one of the most established and respected practices in its field in the Asia Pacific region. We have been involved in many large and complex telecommunications, and media projects.

We are highly specialised in this area and lead the market with our expertise, ingenuity, and problem-solving acuity. We also have a penchant for conceptualising new legal services in this area, which have proven to be of immense value to organizations as they navigate the digital economy.

We leverage our regional network of offices and our strong relationships with regulators to provide seamless and integrated service to our clients across Asia. We also work closely with our other practice groups, such as corporate, banking and finance, intellectual property, and dispute resolution, to offer comprehensive and holistic advice to our clients.

The team is highly regarded and has garnered numerous accolades. They have been consistently ranked Tier 1 in leading publications, such as Chambers Asia-Pacific and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific. They have also been recognised as “TMT Law Firm of the Year” at the ALB SE Asia Law Awards 2024 and is the only local law firm listed in the State of Legal Innovation in Asia-Pacific (SOLIA) Report 2020.

Featured insights

New Mediation Scheme to Help Resolve Disputes with Telco and Media Service Providers

The Infocomm Media Development Authority in Singapore has issued the Code of Practice for Competition in the Provision of Telecommunication and Media Services 2022 (“Code”) that aims to maintain fair market conduct and effective competition, and safeguard consumer interest in the telecommunication, broadcasting, and newspaper media markets. This Update provides a summary of the key features of the Code and the compliance implications of its provisions.

Competition and Regulatory

We stay constantly engaged with various regional telecommunications regulators on regulatory compliance matters and have been engaged both by the regulators and by the telecommunications principals in this area of work. Our role also extends to acting as the Secretariat of the Asia Pacific Carrier Coalition.

We have managed various telecommunications regulatory submissions for our clients including engagements by numerous telecommunications service providers and equipment manufacturers to secure telecommunications regulatory clearance in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region for over 10 years.

At state level, the team helped the telecommunications regulator in Brunei formulate a new telecommunications licensing regime, including a regulator’s handbook, telecommunications licences and a competition regime.

On the regional front, our practice has been engaged by the ASEAN Secretariat to facilitate a pan-ASEAN forum on legislative and regulatory reforms to collectively address convergence of IT, telecommunications and broadcasting across all ASEAN member countries.

We work jointly with our firm’s competition practice headed by Kala Anandarajah with regards to telecommunications competition matters in the Asia Pacific region.

Telecommunications Infrastructure

In this area, we have structured complex telecommunications infrastructure procurement agreements based on traditional and PPP models.

We were counsel to various principals in Singapore’s Next Generation National Broadband Network (NGNBN) project.

We were engaged as the lead telecommunications counsel in the first MVNO arrangements in Singapore for the US$1 Billion Virgin Mobile MVNO and in the first Malaysian MVNO.

Regionally, we have been engaged in several infrastructure projects such as being involved in one of the largest submarine cable roll-outs in Asia Pacific, the US$1.5 billion Palapa Ring project in Indonesia.

Data Protection and Cybersecurity Risks

We regularly advise clients on the data protection and cybersecurity risks and obligations associated with their telecommunications activities, and help them implement appropriate measures and policies to safeguard their data and systems.

Pursuing Growth Opportunities

We support our clients in pursuing strategic growth opportunities, such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, partnerships, and investments, and advise them on the legal and regulatory implications and challenges.

Financing & Funding

We assist our clients in securing and managing the financing and funding for their telecommunications projects and transactions, and advise them on the optimal capital structure and debt restructuring options.

Dispute Resolution

Our top tier dispute resolution team across the region has represented clients in resolving disputes and enforcing their rights and obligations, whether through litigation, arbitration, mediation, or other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

Recognition

Outstanding - Technology and Telecommunications (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore)

Asialaw Profiles (2024)
Highly Recommended - Technology and Telecommunications (Thailand)

Asialaw Profiles (2024)
Band 1 - TMT (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore)

Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024)
Tier 1 - TMT (Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam)

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2024)
Tier 1 - IT, Telecoms and Fintech (Indonesia)

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2024)
"Rajah & Tann [Singapore] has always been a cutting edge law firm when it comes to knowledge, technology, and the talents within the team. For TMT, it is probably one of the top in Singapore."

Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024) (Singapore)
"Multinational organisations and conglomerates from industries ranging from banking to e-health beat a path to Christopher & Lee Ong for assistance with issues such as IT and cloud contract negotiations, data breaches, consumer protection laws and sector specific regulatory advice."

Chambers Asia Pacific (2024) (Malaysia)
"Fields a team of seasoned lawyers who are well placed to provide expertise on telecoms and technology regulatory matters as well as licensing, data protection and data centre projects. It acts for an impressive roster of high-end domestic and multinational social media, electronics and telecoms companies."

Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024) (Singapore)
"...has a notable TMT practice that is frequently engaged by leading global and Thai clients in the technology and telecommunications sectors. The team also advises clients on telecommunications licensing requirements in Thailand."

Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024) (Thailand)
"They have good experience in the telecommunications industry and take a commercial and pragmatic approach to their legal advice, with a focus on finding solutions rather than highlighting all the problems. I find them very responsive and thorough."

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2024) (Philippines)

"Rajah & Tann [Singapore] has excellent expertise in Singapore in the telecommunications sector and also has great coverage across APAC with many affiliate firms."

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024 (Singapore)