Ronald W. Del Sesto, Jr.

In the TMT sectors, Ron counsels software, technology, and communications clients on ecommerce, cloud computing, cybersecurity, privacy, surveillance obligations, the provision of emergency services, and behavioral advertising, among other matters. His clients include: domestic and international providers of all forms of communications services, wireless, and enhanced services; service providers using emerging technologies; large end-users of telecommunications services; electronic commerce providers; Internet service providers (ISPs); trade associations; Internet portals; financial institutions; infrastructure projects (land and submarine networks); and providers of Internet-protocol-enabled applications and services, including leading providers of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. Ron represents clients before Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), state public utilities commissions (PUCs), and assorted foreign regulatory agencies.

Ron advises communications carriers, venture capitalists, private equity, and other clients in connection with investments in the TMT sector, state and federal approvals for complex corporate transactions like debt and equity issuances, mergers and acquisitions, and other financing arrangements. He assists clients on numbering issues; Short Messaging Services (SMS); the Communications Decency Act (CDA); and FCC and state laws and rules concerning the provision of emergency 911 services using a multitude of technologies, including IP-enabled services in a variety of environments, such as corporate and university campuses that employ Multi-Line Telephone Systems (MLTS).

Ron also counsels clients on privacy issues that implicate a myriad of federal statutes and rules, including the FCC’s Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) rules; retention marketing and “winback” rules; the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA); the FTC’s Identity Theft or Red Flag Rules; the Telemarketing Sales Rules; and the CAN SPAM Act. He advises clients with respect to the use of location-based data by mobile applications, assists clients in implementing “best practices” when handling personally identifiable information, and is familiar with the self-regulatory industry practices established by various trade associations as well as FTC rulings and other reports and analyses released by the FCC, the FTC, and state attorneys general that provide guidance to the industry. He also advises clients regarding state privacy laws, including data breach notification obligations, the Massachusetts Data Security Law, and similar state data security laws. His practice includes advising clients with respect to lawful surveillance obligations under federal and state law, including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), the Stored Communications Act, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the USA PATRIOT Act, and the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA).

Ron drafts and negotiates telecommunications and technology contracts on behalf of telecommunications operators, equipment manufacturers, and large telecommunications users. He works with Fortune 500 companies and other large, sophisticated telecommunications users negotiating and restructuring purchases of large packages of customized telecommunications and high-technology services. He also represents technology users in negotiating agreements in areas such as dark fiber leases and IRUs.

Ron frequently speaks at industry events and writes on many different facets of the law, including cybersecurity and privacy, telecommunications policy, net neutrality, federal and state regulation of emerging services, access to wireline and wireless networks, and a myriad of other issues relating to Internet protocol-enabled applications and services. He is certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) as an Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US).

Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Ron was a partner in the corporate practice of another international law firm, where he was chair of the privacy and data security practice.