Robert McDowell

Rob McDowell is chair of Cooley’s global communications practice group, and he advises telecommunications, media, space technology and satellite clients – including private equity and venture funds – on their most significant regulatory, legal and business matters. As a former commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission and a highly regarded industry leader, Rob has been at the forefront of the most complex and groundbreaking issues facing the telecom-media-tech sector.

Rob was appointed to the FCC by President George W. Bush in 2006 and was reappointed by President Barack Obama in 2009. He was unanimously confirmed both times by the US Senate. During his tenure, Rob led efforts to expand consumer access to spectrum through his work on the two largest wireless auctions in US history at the time. He also played a key role in the 2009 digital television transition, he and led efforts to establish the first federal civil rights rule in a generation by creating a ban on racially discriminatory practices in broadcast advertising, among many other accomplishments.

While at the FCC, Rob worked extensively on several large and complex mergers, including Sirius and XM; Comcast and NBCUniversal; Verizon and Alltel; AT&T and Dobson; Sprint and Clearwire; Verizon and SpectrumCo; and AT&T and T-Mobile. At Cooley, he represents clients on transformative deals before the FCC, Congress, the White House and other regulatory bodies.