Ishtiaque Omar

Ish is a partner in Webb Henderson’s telecommunications, media and technology practice. He works at the intersection of law and digital transformation. He has focused on this intersection for two decades, building on degrees in computer science and law.

At the foundational layers of the digital economy, Ish assists leading digital infrastructure builders to structure and sell digital infrastructure businesses, assets and access services.

He is the lead external advisor to Australia’s national broadband network company, nbn co, on its supply arrangements with its wholesale customers, advising on contracts worth in excess of $5 billion in annual revenues. He also advises nbn co on its long-term Special Access Undertaking to Australia’s competition regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). He has been repeatedly chosen to advise on these projects since 2011, assisting with multiple revisions, negotiations and technology evolution.

Ish is also a key advisor to New Zealand’s lead operator, Spark, on digital infrastructure transactions like the creation and sale of mobile infrastructure company Connexa to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the creation and partial sale of New Zealand's newest data centre operator to Pacific Equity Partners (PEP).

Both nbn and Spark regularly work closely with Ish on their most strategic commercial and regulatory projects. Beyond Australia and New Zealand, Ish has worked on regulatory, commercial and corporate projects for telecoms operators, digital infrastructure investors and regulators across South-East Asia, the Middle East and North America, assisting with digital transformation, industry shifts and regulatory reform in a variety of economies.

At the highest layers of the digital economy, Ish advises cutting-edge companies like MATTR, the company pioneering trusted digital identity and credentialing ecosystems. He has also advised digital platform companies in establishing new media ecosystems that have transformed national media landscapes, and clients navigating the governance and regulatory considerations raised by new artificial intelligence developments.

Ish has been listed in Chambers Asia-Pacific for the last several years. He joined Webb Henderson in 2011 and became a partner in 2016.

What people say about Ish

[Ish] combines excellent legal advisory and contract drafting skills with phenomenal industry and technological knowledge.