Wesley (Wes) Wright counsels clients on telecommunications compliance and enforcement matters and regularly represents clients before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and state public utilities commissions.  

Wes counsels clients on compliance issues related to telecommunications service provider and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) regulations, state tariff requirements, private wireless licensing, 911 reliability and call handling, customer proprietary network information (CPNI), the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), and other related obligations. He has notable in-depth knowledge of the FCC’s wireless spectrum and tower siting rules.  

Wes also serves as the Executive Director of the Next Generation 911 Institute and has a robust understanding of federal and state rules relating to 911 services, including 911 reliability, interconnection, and outage reporting requirements. He also represents trade associations and corporate clients on policy matters before the FCC. He assists clients with all aspects of FCC enforcement investigations.  

Wes is frequently invited to speak on a host of topics, including the FCC’s 911 Reliability Rules, 911 Wireless Location Accuracy, Spectrum Licensing and Enforcement, Communications Tower Compliance Obligations, and the FCC’s New Citizens Broadband Radio Service.

Prior to rejoining Keller and Heckman, Wes worked as an in-house attorney for a telecommunications company where he advised the company’s subsidiaries on federal and state regulations governing the 911 industry, VoIP requirements, and other telecommunications compliance matters of interest.

Representative Matters 

• Advocated policy positions before the FCC on its Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) rules, 911 reliability rules, municipal broadband preemption, and many wireless spectrum rulemaking proceedings
• Represented several clients through the FCC’s enforcement process, from responding to an initial Letter of Inquiry (LOI), determining the impact of a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL), and negotiating a successful Consent Decree
• On more than one occasion, successfully convinced the FCC not to pursue enforcement actions for alleged rule violations and has negotiated settlements with the Commission that involve a reduced fine and no admission of wrongdoing
• Represented a 911 service provider on a host of regulatory compliance obligations, including CPCN certification, interconnection, RFP responses, network monitoring, and outage reporting as it deployed service across the country
• Extensive experience drafting and negotiating complex communications contracts, wireless and wireline services agreements, Software-as-a-Service agreements, tower lease agreements, and asset purchase agreements for the sale of telecommunications equipment and wireless spectrum
• Assisted clients with all aspects of wireless licensing, the experimental licensing process, equipment authorizations, and spectrum acquisition through mergers and acquisitions and FCC spectrum auctions
• Provided guidance on public safety issues, including E911, Next Generation 911, emergency preparedness and recovery, and FCC outage reporting rules
• Represented clients in FCC enforcement and complaint proceedings
• Counseled critical infrastructure and communications companies on the tower registration and approval process and compliance at both the federal and state level as well as tower and antenna siting rules under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)

Memberships

• Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA)
• Electric Cooperative Bar Association (ECBA)
• Family Learning Center (Boulder, CO), Board President