Regulatory dispute in the telecommunication sector

Lear is assisting an Italian telecom operator that has filed a claim against the decisions of the sector regulatory body regarding its evaluation of the annual net costs of the Universal Service Obligation (USO) borne by the incumbent (USO Provider by law) that other telecom operators can be asked to provide funding for. Lear’s client claims that in the past this value has been overestimated. Lear has been appointed as a party expert to provide its advice to the court expert witness that has to assess whether the regulator has incurred in significant errors in evaluating USO net costs, based on best practices. The dispute is still ongoing.