Is there any value to working on regulatory cases so far afield?
“The only reason we highlight how many countries we have worked in,” says Kas Kalba, President of Kalba International, “is to stress the importance of context in providing consulting services.” He adds, “Each country is different in terms of market, legislation, the regulatory framework, geography, and so on.” Providing regulatory advice in places as diverse as Brazil, Germany, Jordan, Senegal, and the Solomon Islands is a challenge, he acknowledges, then says, “The good news is that even a consultant can learn as the range of cases grows.”
Kas’s latest regulatory case was in Somalia, a country where there has been no regulator but where a telecommunications law has just been passed, after 12 years in the making. This is a far cry from his very first regulatory assignment in New Jersey as an expert witness on a dispute between two cable TV operators. Since then he has worked on many cases, supported often by colleagues with wide regulatory experience.
The colleagues he can call on include former heads of communications regulation in Costa Rica, Hungary, Israel, New Zealand and Pakistan and the heads of regulatory affairs at operators in Kenya and the United States. Plus the former head of spectrum management in Canada and the editor of a key book on spectrum auctions, who teaches at the London School of Economics.
This network of resources, which includes economists and analysts based in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, has allowed the firm to support operators, governments, investors and technology providers on regulatory challenges—from winning spectrum licenses to settling court disputes—on five continents. Cases that standout? A ruling by the highest court in Ireland, says Kas, adding, “The court cited our expert witness and reversing an appeals court decision. And a spectrum auction in Italy, where our client paid the lowest amount of the five winning bidders, though still over $2 billion.”
More recent cases standout due to the new contexts involved. The clients have come not only from Canada and Switzerland but also Algeria, Fiji, Guyana, Malawi, Mongolia and Thailand. This brings up the fiftieth country. Which one was that? “I can’t really say,” Kas responds. “We’ve been working on a multi-country case. It might have been Egypt or Turkey—or the Democratic Republic of Congo.” The full range of countries and places appears in the map above.