Legal counsel to the Telecommunications, Voice over IP (VoIP) / SIP, Cloud Communications and Broadband industries; experienced in virtually all aspects of federal and state communications law and regulation. Serving clients in these industry segments:

• Cloud Communications and providers of Software as a Service (“SaaS”) / Communications as a Software (“CaaS”)
• Traditional wireline telecommunications services, including domestic & international Long Distance (IXC) and Competitive Local Exchange (CLEC)
• Information & enhanced communications services
• Wireless and MVNO services
• All segments of prepaid services, including Prepaid Calling Cards, PINless, Wireless/MVNO, Gift Cards and Financial Services
• Broadband networks, ISPs & Internet Access services
• Advanced communication application (apps) services & developers
• Broad spectrum of Internet Based (IP-based) services, including Voice over Internet (“VoIP”) and other hybrid & convergent communications service providers
• Communications equipment manufacturers

Specialized experiences include: Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and nationwide state utility commission (PUC), Secretary of State and Attorney General regulatory, transactional, enforcement defense and FCC advocacy services; telecom tax issues, including traditional communications taxes, VoIP, SIP and Cloud-communications taxes, Universal Service Fund (USF) and other regulatory fees & tax planning; wireline & wireless transfers/assignments of control; mergers, acquisitions and customer base/asset sales; regulatory compliance & reporting, contract drafting, negotiations and review; domestic and international communications market entry services, including licensing & tariffing; dispute resolution and administrative litigation; FCC advocacy and representation of clients in a variety of administrative proceedings, including rulemakings, declaratory petitions, and enforcement matters, such as Show Cause, NALs and informal and formal complaints.

As the firm’s Managing Partner and head of its Regulatory and Communications Taxes and Fees Practices, Mr. Marashlian is responsible for coordinating and managing staff and attorneys and guiding the firm’s clients through the maze of state and federal regulatory requirements, including the coordination, management and execution of regulatory filings associated with a full range of corporate and regulatory transactions, from the routine to the highly complex. Mr. Marashlian assists clients with regulatory compliance, transactional, litigation & regulatory defense matters before the FCC, USAC and state regulatory agencies across the nation; counsel clients in all aspects of state and federal regulatory matters with concentrations in the areas of telecommunications taxes, regulatory fees, and the prosecutions and defense of actions before the FCC Enforcement Bureau, State Public Utility Commissions and other government agencies.

Mr. Marashlian has applied his extensive knowledge of the telecommunications and information & advanced communication technology industries to assist clients with regulatory compliance, transactional, litigation & regulatory defense matters before the FCC and other federal agencies, as well as state regulatory agencies across the nation. Mr. Marashlian counsels clients in all aspects of state and federal regulatory matters as well as the impact regulation and operating in an incumbent dominated industry have on competitive businesses of all sizes, from start-ups to established providers.

Mr. Marashlian is experienced with a broad range of telecom issues – including long distance, competitive local exchange, international, VoIP, IP-enabled and other advanced communications and information services, Internet access, prepaid communications, wireless, satellite and more. He is well acquainted with the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the FCC’s interpretation and implementation of the Act and the many legal issues and battles that have arisen from the Act.

Mr. Marashlian’s expertise extends beyond traditional voice technologies and includes knowledge of convergent technologies, such as VoIP, xDSL, the myriad of IP-enabled services and technologies and other issues surrounding the Internet and high technology. In 1999, the Multimedia Telecommunications Association certified Mr. Marashlian as a Convergent Network Technologies Specialist.

During law school, Mr. Marashlian joined the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (“NTCA”) and worked in its Legal and Industry Affairs Division. While at NTCA, he analyzed and interpreted Federal Communications Commission orders and court decisions affecting rural telcos and researched and prepared comments and other filings concerning the interpretation and implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Mr. Marashlian also worked in the Local Markets and Enforcement Group of MCI Communication Corp.’s (“MCI”) Federal Law and Public Policy Division. During his tenure at MCI, Mr. Marashlian analyzed FCC decisions bearing on local competition, evaluated and responded to Section 253 preemption petitions, and assisted MCI’s efforts to gain entry into the local exchange market.