Ash Johnston, Co-Founder and Member 

Contact:

Telephone: 202-552-5121

Email: [email protected]

Ash Johnston advises communications and technology companies seeking to implement their legal, policy, and business objectives before federal and state regulators. His practice encompasses a broad range of matters, including purchase and sale of licenses, spectrum rights, and other regulated assets; rulemaking and other policy proceedings; and complaints and enforcement actions.

In the wireless arena, he regularly counsels clients on spectrum access matters, including auctions, leasing and other secondary market transactions, and unlicensed bands, as well as siting and infrastructure, interference, competition, equipment, and compliance.

Ash has substantial experience in communications transactions, representing service providers, investors, and lenders in merger and acquisitions, intercarrier arrangements, construction and management agreements, resale agreements, leasing arrangements, and fiber capacity agreements.

He has guided large public companies and start-ups alike to successful resolutions of FCC investigations.

Ash was a member of a winning bidding team in the first spectrum auction conducted in the United States and has continued to represent successful auction winners through the recent Upper Microwave Flexible Use Service auction for high-band 5G spectrum and the incentive auction of television broadcast spectrum.

Representative Matters

• Counsel to wireless licensee in transactions involving the leasing and partitioning of geographic service area authorizations.
• Regulatory advice to new technology company on development and implementation of new Internet of Things service.
• Advise publicly held international company on U.S. federal and state laws governing the operation of drones.
• Regulatory counsel to foreign-owned (India) company entering the U.S. market as a competitive service provider.
• FCC and state regulatory counsel to seller of regional telecommunications and Internet service provider.
• Counsel equipment manufacturers regarding FCC equipment authorization and marketing rules.
• Advise private investment group on regulatory and business issues related to use of telephone numbers.
• FCC counsel to companies seeking to deploy commercial operations in the 3.5 GHz band, including obtaining experimental authorizations.
• Neutrality Auditor of nationwide local number portability system administrator, 2001-2018. 

Education

James Madison University, B.A. (Communications), 1982

Catholic University, Columbus School of Law, J.D., 1991

Awards and Distinctions 

2015-2018 Legal 500 – Recommended Attorney – Telecoms and Broadcast: Regulatory

2015-2018 Legal 500 – Recommended Attorney – Telecoms and Broadcast: Transactional

AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated

American Jurisprudence Award, Administrative Law

American Jurisprudence Award, Corporations

Catholic University Law Review

Practice Admissions 

District of Columbia Bar

United States Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Second, Fourth, and Tenth Circuits

Federal Communications Bar Association

Prior Experience 

Member, Telecommunications Law Professionals PLLC, Washington, DC

Managing Partner, Lampert, O'Connor & Johnston, P.C. and Communications Law Counsel, P.C., Washington, DC

Partner, DLA Piper, Washington, DC