TMC – Legal Featured Article
September 14, 2011

Ben Bronston, Telecom Lawyer, Unveils 50 State Survey of Auto-Renewal Clauses

By John Lahtinen
Community Development Editor, TMCnet

In response to the increasing practice by carriers and service providers of adding automatic-renewal clauses in telecom contracts, Ben Bronston – Telecom Lawyer (Booth #832 at ITEXPO-West) has released a survey of statutes, legislation and cases for each of the 50 states, 50 States Automatic Renewal Laws.

According to Bronston, who is participating in this week’s ITEXPO in Austin at Booth #832, many partners are facing heightened challenges from auto-renewals, including auto-renewal provisions that extend the customer’s contractual obligations for periods of one year or more, with little or no notice.

The new survey is a collection of publicly available legislation, statutes and cases for each state that breaks down the laws relating to auto-renewal clauses and, in some cases, telecom contracts.

Courts and legislatures within each state have dealt with the issue differently so there is no uniform legal precedent regarding the enforceability of automatic renewal clauses.

At the recent Channel Partners Expo in Chicago, Bronston, a nationally-recognized expert in the field of telecommunications and related technology law and regulation with more than 20 years of experience, spent some time with TMC discussing the challenges facing the marketplace today, and how he stays so competitive with larger firms.

“It’s important to have a real world context when helping clients, and we have to do more on our own” Bronston said. “Our clients don’t want to pay the high-end, multi-attorney rates and we can provide quality at a competitive cost.”

Want to learn more about the Automatic Renewal laws? Visit Ben at Booth #832 at ITEXPO West 2011, taking place NOW, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It’s also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities.

John Lahtinen is Community Development Editor for TMCnet. He has more than 15 years of combined professional and educational experience involving news, education, and marketing. John holds a master’s degree in journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree in English from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell