UK Telecoms Lawyer | Data | Payments | Regulation | Transactions

Specialist UK Telecoms, Data and Payments Regulation Lawyers

Telecoms | Data | Payments: senior regulatory and transactional advice, given directly, alongside your deal team or as your fractional general counsel

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If your business operates in UK telecoms, processes personal data, or provides payment services, you must know what you may build and sell under the rules, and what risks you carry. Bratby Law provides specialist regulatory and transactional advice across telecoms, data protection and payments, together with digital regulation and the transactions that depend on them, led by Rob Bratby, a Chambers Band 2 telecoms lawyer with more than 30 years’ experience including a one-year secondment to Oftel, senior in-house roles at UK telecoms operators, and partnership at international law firms. Clients instruct the firm through three models: Direct Legal Advice, Specialist Co-counsel and Fractional General Counsel.

Chambers & Partners Band 2 Telecoms (UK Guide 2026)

Lexology Global Elite Thought Leader, Telecoms & Media

Lexology Thought Leader, Data Privacy & Protection

When clients instruct us

New product launch in a regulated sector

Regulatory compliance review, licensing requirements and go-to-market risk assessment for telecoms operators, fintechs and platforms launching new services. Product launch advice

Regulatory due diligence on an acquisition

Telecoms, data protection and payments risk assessment for investors and acquirers in regulated sectors. Due diligence

AI product launch or data compliance review

DPIA, controller/processor analysis and UK GDPR compliance for technology companies deploying AI-enabled products. AI and data advice

FCA or PSR authorisation application

Payment services and e-money authorisation, safeguarding requirements and PSR scheme compliance. Authorisation advice

Ongoing senior regulatory counsel

Fractional General Counsel for telecoms, fintech and data businesses that need board-level legal support without a full-time hire. Fractional GC

Your deal needs UK regulatory depth

Specialist co-counsel to the corporate and private equity teams of large UK and US law firms on deals with UK telecoms, payments or data-heavy targets, white-label or under our own name. Co-counsel

An end-to-end regulatory perspective

Rob Bratby’s experience spans three perspectives that are seldom combined in a single adviser: the regulator’s, from work at Oftel on how UK communications regulation is developed and enforced; the operator’s, from fractional General Counsel appointments at regulated telecoms and payments businesses and embedded roles inside industry joint ventures; and the adviser’s, from senior partnership at international law firms in London and Singapore. The combination produces advice that is legally rigorous, commercially aligned and technically grounded. Why Bratby Law sets out how the three perspectives work together.

Telecoms, data protection and payments regulation lawyers

Bratby Law advises on telecoms regulation, data protection, payments regulation, transactions and digital regulation across the communications, financial services and technology sectors.

Telecoms Regulation

We advise communications providers, operators, infrastructure investors and platforms on UK telecoms regulation. Our work covers authorisation, General Conditions, numbering, switching, security and resilience, spectrum, access and interconnection, and Ofcom enforcement and disputes.

Data Protection

We advise organisations on UK GDPR compliance, data protection impact assessments, controller and processor arrangements, international transfers and ICO engagement. We also advise on data protection for AI-enabled products and services.

Payments Regulation

We advise payment service providers, fintechs and scheme participants on PSRs 2017 compliance, FCA and PSR authorisation, open banking, cVRPs and scheme governance. Our payments regulation practice is informed by a fractional General Counsel appointment at UK Payments Initiative Limited.

Transactions

We draft and negotiate commercial and corporate agreements across the telecoms, data and payments sectors. Our work spans network-sharing, MVNO and wholesale agreements, digital infrastructure projects, SaaS and platform contracting, data commercialisation, and joint ventures and M&A.

Digital Regulation

We advise digital platforms, challengers and investors on the UK digital markets competition regime and the EU Digital Markets Act. Our work covers SMS designation and conduct requirements, pro-competition interventions, merger control in digital markets, market investigations, and competition enforcement and litigation.

Why Choose Bratby Law?

Sector expertise

Bratby Law advises exclusively across the telecoms, data and payments sectors. That concentration means deeper knowledge of the regulatory environment, faster analysis, and advice that reflects how regulators actually behave: not how the textbook says they should.

Senior delivery

Every instruction is handled by Rob Bratby personally. With more than 30 years’ experience spanning partnership at international law firms, senior in-house roles at UK telecoms operators and a secondment to Oftel, you receive the analysis directly: not through a junior team. The firm uses AI tools to extend research capacity and accelerate document review, so senior judgment is applied to more of your matter, not less.

Current appointments

Rob Bratby currently holds fractional General Counsel appointments at TOTSCo, TelXL, Core and the UK Payments Initiative. These ongoing roles keep his advice grounded in how regulated businesses run day to day.

Independent directory rankings

Our specialist expertise is recognised in major independent legal directories:

  • Chambers & Partners: Rob Bratby is ranked as a Band 2 lawyer in the UK Guide 2026 in the “Telecommunications” category: Chambers
  • Lexology: Rob Bratby is recognised in the Lexology Index as a Global Elite Thought Leader for telecoms and media, and as a Thought Leader for data privacy and protection: Lexology
Chambers and Partners accreditation
Lexology Global Elite Thought Leader accreditation

Start with a scoping call

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What clients say about Bratby Law:

  • “I would recommend Rob for any major Telecoms project”

    “I worked with Rob to introduce One Touch Switching for broadband and fixed voice, which launched successfully with almost two million customers using the service to date. Rob is a first class Legal Counsel with exceptional legal and regulatory knowledge enabling him to give insightful strategic guidance to the ExCo and the Board. He is highly trusted by Directors and easy to work with. I would recommend Rob for any major Telecoms project.”
    Toby Lovell
    (Former) Chief of Staff, The One Touch Switching Company

  • “…he has an outstanding understanding of the telecoms market…”

    “Rob has been my lawyer for over 25 years. He has advised us through every stage of the business, from international voice through to SIM distribution and eSIMs. He knows our business inside out, he has an outstanding understanding of the telecoms market and he gives us direct, practical advice without the overhead of a full-time hire.”
    Tony Greaves
    CEO, Core Communication Holdings Limited

  • “…the commercial judgment of a general counsel with the specialist regulatory knowledge we need…”

    “Rob understands our business at a level that an external lawyer normally wouldn’t. He provides the commercial judgment of a general counsel with the specialist regulatory knowledge we need across telecoms, data protection and payments. That combination is rare.”
    Aaron Fox
    Chief Executive, TelXL Limited

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