Thailand's Leading Premium Boutique Law Firm
John Formichella leads our Telecommunications, Media, Technology, and Data Privacy group and served as past Chair of the Information and Communications Technology Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok. He is recognized as a Leading Individual by Legal 500 and ranked as a Band 1 individual by Chambers and Partners.
With over 25 years of sophisticated experience in the technology, media, and telecommunications sector across Asia, John specializes in advising foreign investors and multinational corporations on market entry, foreign direct investment structures, and regulatory strategy. Drawing on a graduate background in economics and deep sector knowledge, he brings both commercial judgment and regulatory insight to every engagement. Working alongside the firm’s Thai-licensed lawyers, he guides international clients through inbound investment considerations in Thailand, from corporate structuring and FDI entry vehicles to telecommunications regulation, data privacy, cybersecurity, cloud computing, media including OTT service providers, film and television, and e-commerce.
John has also served as an advisor to local chambers of commerce and the US Government regarding technology, media, and telecommunications matters, including the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the United States Department of State in connection with international trade and telecommunications, and has provided testimony to members of the United States Senate on fact-finding missions in Thailand.
John is a regular contributor to Mondaq, Lexology, The Law Reviews, and other industry publications on cybersecurity, telecommunications, space law, and data privacy.
Before forming Formichella & Sritawat, John worked at Minter Ellison in Bangkok and served as Vice President and General Counsel of Wherever.net Holding Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed telecommunications company based in Hong Kong. Earlier in his career, he worked at East West International Law Offices in Taipei, Taiwan.
John is admitted to practice law in Washington, D.C. and is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association.
The regulator does not license a partnership. In Thai telecommunications, satellite, gateway, cloud-connectivity, IoT, and digital-infrastructure projects, foreign operators often start with a straightforward question: can we do this through a Thai partner? The question makes sense. A Thai partner
Thai Language version available here: https://fosrlaw.com/2026/การเชื่อมต่อผ่านดาวเที/ Offshore energy operations increasingly depend on reliable connectivity. Drilling rigs, offshore platforms, floating production facilities, offshore service vessels, offshore wind assets, subsea infrastructure, and remote energy facilities may require voice, data, internet access, private network
การดำเนินงานด้านพลังงานนอกชายฝั่งในประเทศไทยมักพึ่งพาการสื่อสารผ่านดาวเทียมและเครือข่ายโทรคมนาคมเฉพาะทาง อย่างไรก็ตาม การที่โครงการตั้งอยู่ “นอกชายฝั่ง” มิได้หมายความว่าอยู่นอกขอบเขตการกำกับดูแลด้านโทรคมนาคมของไทยเสมอไป บทความนี้วิเคราะห์ประเด็นทางกฎหมายที่ผู้ประกอบการควรพิจารณาก่อนดำเนินโครงการ … Read More
บทความวิเคราะห์การแจ้งเหตุละเมิดข้อมูลส่วนบุคคลภายใต้ PDPA ของประเทศไทย โดยอธิบายหลักเกณฑ์การเริ่มนับ 72 ชั่วโมง การประเมินความเสี่ยง และหน้าที่ในการแจ้งเหตุแก่สำนักงาน PDPC … Read More
Thai Language version available here: https://fosrlaw.com/2026/การแจ้งเหตุละเมิดข้อมู/ Why the 72-Hour Rule Is Only the Beginning Data breach notification under Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019) (“PDPA”) is often reduced to a single rule: notification to the Office of Personal
The announcement of 29 January 2026, in which the Ministry of Commerce signaled its intention to remove telecommunications services from List 3 of the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999) (FBA), in a manner that corresponds, in regulatory scope, to