Keener Law Group

Barlow Keener has been specializing in communications law and development for over 15 years and is an authority on wireless matters related to picocells, and femtocells, Wi-Fi mesh networks, IMS, and fixed mobile convergence (FMC).

• Represents competing telecommunications providers, including firms using wired and wireless technologies, in state and federal regulatory matters. He negotiates interconnection agreements and issues involving universal service, pricing, and tariffing, and handles Internet-related entities in regulatory matters relating to rights management, privacy, and internet video. He is also manages issues related to start-up firms in the telecom, wireless, and internet sectors including incorporation and general corporate governance.

• Provides strategic and policy advice to telecommunications, information technology and media firms in the United States, Asia and Europe. Assisting telecommunications, wireline and wireless broadband providers on all aspects of regulatory and legal issues related to network build–out, operations and service, Barlow has served as lead telecom regulatory counsel in connection with numerous RBOC, VoIP, CLEC, conference calling, voicemail, and collocation projects. He provides counsel, analysis, and guidance in the areas of interconnection, state regulatory matters, E911, CNPI, CALEA, FISA, intercarrier compensation, phantom traffic, SS7, number portability, number allocation, and USF. He delivers guidance to communications providers and systems integrators related to defining telecommunications and non-telecommunications services.

Barlow has provided commercial, strategic and regulatory advice in connection with the rollout of next generation networks involving both wireless and wireline technologies.

On the content side, he has represented clients delivering feature length video productions on broadcast and cable network television regarding production agreements, copyright, FTC and broadcast agreements.

• As legal counsel for a regional facilities-based CLEC providing broadband, telecommunications services, and information services in New England, he oversaw and coordinated all legal and regulatory issues related to the CLEC including ILEC and IXC interconnection, number pooling, tariffs, CPNI, E911, and state certification. In addition, he was responsible for all agreements related to billing, telecom equipment acquisition, and financing. He provided regulatory and tariff guidance to network operations and finance by guiding the team through the tariffs and FCC orders including the TRO and TRRO. He has comprehensive knowledge of telecommunications networks and equipment including soft switches, SS7, LNP, 911 PSAPs, routers, collocation, billing systems, OSS, and voicemail.

• International work as a private–practice attorney in Budapest, Hungary, he guided a telecommunications startup in securing regulatory approvals, obtaining local franchises rural licenses in Poland and Hungary, resolving interconnection issues under new regulatory regimes, and negotiating agreements for venture capital and U.S. government financing.

• Barlow was a general attorney for BellSouth Telecommunications for eight years. While at BellSouth, he was actively involved in state regulatory dockets and worked extensively on matters involving 911, privacy issues related to CallerID, voicemail, private line competition, information service, public rights of way and pole matters, private line competition, and structural separations in particular cost allocation methodology.

Bar Admissions

· Florida Bar Association

· State Bar of Georgia

· Massachusetts Bar Association

Education

· J.D., Emory University School of Law, Co-Founder & Editor, Emory International Law Review

· M.A., History, North Carolina Central University

· B.A., University of the South

Throughout his practice he has had membership positions in various bar associations including Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA), American Corporate Council Association (President, South Florida Chapter), Florida Bar International Law Section Executive Committee, ABA Section of International Law and Practice, International Communications Committee.

Select Publications

“Obama Delivers: Recovery for the Telecom Industry,” Politics and Technology Featured Article, TMCnet (February 19, 2009)

“Broadband Provisions in the Senate's Economic Recovery Bill: A Stimulus for the U.S. Telecom Industry,” Politics and Technology Featured Article, TMCnet (February 10, 2009)

“Will the FCC Shift Direction Under Obama?,” IVR / VoiceXML Featured Article, TMCnet (January 2, 2009)

“Sorting Out the FCC's Debate Over Inter-carrier Compensation Reform,” Business VoIP, TMCnet (November 13, 2008)

“Reregulating Information Services at the FCC: Audio Bridging,” Business VoIP, TMCnet (September 18, 2008)

Select Presentations

Speaker, “Legal and Regulatory Hurdles to be Addressed for Mass Market Deployment of Femtocells,” Informa Telecoms & Media Femtocell Solutions USA Conference, (July 16-17, 2008, Boston, MA)

Panel, “The next stage of FMC: Femtocells,” Expo Comm Mexico and PulverMedia (February 27, 2008, Mexico City, Mexico)

Moderator, “When WLAN is the LAN,” Expo Comm Mexico and PulverMedia Conference (February 28, 2008, Mexico City, Mexico)

Speaker, “Femtocell Regulatory and Legal Issues,“ MA DTC Staff Educational Lunch Presentation, Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable (Mass DTC) (March 7, 2008, Boston, MA)

Moderator, “Femtocells vs. Dual Mode Phones,” VON Fall (October 31, 2007, Boston, MA)

Moderator, “Femtocells: Changing the Rules of Cellular Service,” VON Fall (November 1, 2007, Boston, MA)

Moderator, “Getting Femtocells Right: Coping with Real Issues,” VON Fall (November 1, 2007, Boston, MA)

Speaker, “Femtocell Regulatory Issues,” Femtocells Tutorial Workshop, VON Fall (October 29, 2007, Boston, MA)

Panel, “Service Providers' Perspective on Content Delivery,” International Multimedia Teleconferencing Consortium (IMTC) Forum General Session - Content Delivery in a Converging World: Realities and Perspective, (October 29, 2007, Boston, MA)

Moderator, “Femtocells: What's the Impact to the End User?” VON Fall General Session, (October 29, 2007, Boston, MA)

Speaker, “FemtoCcells What's the impact to the end user?,“ Pulvermedia Fixed Mobile Convergence Conference (September 7, 2007, Chicago, IL)

Panel, “IPTV – The Final Frontier,” Massachusetts Network Communications Council (June 23, 2006, Newton, MA)