As Senior Vice President, Government Affairs for T-Mobile, Kathleen O’Brien Ham is the chief public policy advocate for the Un-carrier. Kathleen manages all public policy issues before federal and state governments impacting the company. Her team regularly engages Congress, the FCC, state agencies, and other governmental bodies on a wide range of regulatory and policy issues, including spectrum, consumer, public safety, and competition matters. She has led numerous successful efforts to gain additional radio spectrum for the company, including C-Band spectrum as well as the acquisition of 600 MHz frequencies to expand T-Mobile’s coverage and deploy 5G technology. She has also testified before Congress numerous times in support of the company’s policy positions. Most recently, Kathleen oversaw the two-year advocacy campaign and regulatory engagement at all levels of government that led to the closing of T-Mobile’s merger with Sprint in April 2020. This landmark merger has positioned T-Mobile as a 5G Leader in the wireless marketplace, making the company a stronger competitor.
Prior to joining T-Mobile, she worked for fourteen years at the FCC in several top policy positions, including Deputy Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. She was the first Chief of
the FCC’s Spectrum Auctions Program where she was responsible for the early landmark PCS spectrum auctions. She also served on the FCC’s Spectrum Management Task Force and was involved in the Intergovernmental Advisory Committee that negotiated the reallocation of third generation (3G) wireless spectrum from government to commercial use.
A graduate of Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law, she received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado, with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. For several years, she taught telecommunications as an adjunct professor at Catholic University. She has received numerous industry honors and recognition, including most recently being named among Cablefax’s 2020 Most Powerful Women in broadband and media. Kathleen was named one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Wireless to Watch in 2017 by Global Telecoms Business. The Hill named her as one of the Top Lobbyists in 2016. In 2014 the Competitive Carriers Association celebrated her contributions to the industry with an Outstanding Achievement Award for her work
in support of spectrum auction rules that benefit smaller carriers and help promote competition in the wireless ecosystem. Since 2010 she has been named four times as one of the Most Influential Women in Wireless by FierceWireless.
In her spare time, Kathleen enjoys traveling with her husband Doug, time with her three children and four grandchildren, and her Cairn Terrier, Tucker.