Kathleen O'Brien Ham, vice president of federal regulatory affairs at T-Mobile USA - 2010 Top Women in Wireless

Kathleen O'Brien Ham is certainly no stranger to wireless regulation. A 14-year veteran of the FCC, Ham served as a senior attorney in the private radio and mass media bureau before moving to legal adviser to the chief of the Commercial Wireless Division. During her tenure at the FCC she was also the first chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau's auctions and industry analysis department, and served as deputy chief of both the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis. In 2004, she joined T-Mobile USA where she is currently vice president, federal regulatory affairs.

Ham has been front-and-center arguing for T-Mobile's desire to revamp the rules for special access lines and also is a vocal proponent of the re-auction of the D-Block spectrum. She also is T-Mobile's point person on the AWS-3 spectrum, which T-Mobile wants paired with its AWS-1 spectrum. Ham's lengthy experience at the FCC is a big advantage for T-Mobile, and her ability to explain complicated regulatory issues in easy-to-understand terms makes her a valuable source for reporters and regulatory novices.