About

Team size: 130

Major legal advisers: Baker McKenzie, Constantine Cannon, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Lewis Silkin, Linklaters, Shoosmiths

‘The last 12 months have been some of the most strategically important in Three’s history,’ says its GC and director of regulatory affairs, Stephen
Lerner (pictured). ‘We revolutionised the technology underpinning our network.’

Lerner is talking about Three’s roll out of its 5G home broadband network and purchase of 100MHz of contiguous spectrum, making it the only operator to own that much spectrum in one block. In doing so, Three became the only UK operator to meet a ‘gold standard’ 5G service, according to the UN’s international communications technology agency. For customers, that is said to result in faster download speeds.

The company believes this gives it a market-leading position with 5G, even if it is smaller than rivals such as BT and Vodafone. Lerner and his 130-strong legal, commercial and regulatory affairs (LCRA) team took a leading role over several years and projects to get there: most notably on the spectrum purchase.

Lerner, who became legal chief in 2006, says the 5G project presented many challenges. The LCRA handled the company’s engagement with its regulator, Ofcom, and had to see off regulatory challenges from rivals to Three, securing a licence variation so that it could own that much contiguous spectrum. ‘We collaborated across the business, creating cross-departmental working groups so that we could prepare for challenges and take advantage of opportunities, while fully understanding the implications across the business.’

The team, which brings together lawyers, economists, procurement, risk experts, government affairs and media relations, also worked on other projects such as an IT and network transformation, which allowed the business to adopt what it claims to be the world’s first cloud-based core mobile network. The company also needed to buy new equipment to support its 5G rollout, such as high-capacity smart antennae, which brought about further regulatory and planning issues. Lerner comments: ‘The seismic scale of this move meant a newfound need for innovation and effective collaboration with multiple stakeholders, from the government and Ofcom, to other mobile operators and tech giants.’

Three chief operating officer Graham Baxter adds: ‘The LCRA team has been instrumental in enabling Three to successfully roll out our 5G network; arguably our most strategically important commercial project of recent times. I’ve seen first-hand how they have adapted and developed in response to the many opportunities and challenges we’ve faced to get to this point, handling discussions with crucial stakeholders, regulators and business partners while playing a key role in making pioneering technology transformations a reality