Connected: Rural, poor areas lag in broadband

Broadband industry lobbying overview

By Mia Steinle

Friday, March 12th, 2010 

LOBBYING 1999-2009 — CONNECTED: The Media and Broadband Project

BROADBAND BEHEMOTHS
A decade of consolidation in the cable and telecommunications industries has left a relative few broadband service providers dominating the market. The five largest cable companies and three regional telephone companies account for 62.3 million subscribers, or 88 percent the industry total of 71 million.
The wireless industry, which is rapidly adding broadband data plans, consists of only four national providers.
The lobbying totals in this chart are from 1999 to 2009 and include the dozens of former competitors acquired by the listed providers.
TOP BROADBAND PROVIDERS Broadband SUBSCRIBERS in millions LOBBYING
Comcast Corp. 15.7 $53.3 million
AT&T Inc. 15.6 $241.3 million
Verizon Communications, Inc. 9.2 $118.9 million
Time Warner Cable Inc. 9.2 $50.1 million

Cox Enterprises, Inc. (Cox Communications, Inc.)

 4.2 $21.6 million
Charter Communications, Inc. 3.0 $6.4 million
Qwest Communications International Inc. 3.0 $38.3 million
Cablevision Systems Corp. 2.5 $3.4 million
TOP WIRELESS PROVIDERS Wirless SUBSCRIBERS in millions LOBBYING
Verizon Wireless* 91.2 $27.7 million
AT&T Inc. 85.1 See above
Sprint Nextel Corp. 48.1 $60.4 million
T-Mobile USA 33.8 $23 million
TOP TRADE ASSOCIATIONS INFLUENCE LOBBYING
National Cable &
Telecommunications Association		 The NCTA represents more than 200 companies in the cable industry, including broadband Internet providers. $96.3 million
United States Telecom Association USTelecom represents fixed and mobile broadband
providers, manufacturers and suppliers.		 $84.4 million
CTIA-The Wireless Association CTIA represents 280 companies in the worldwide wireless industry, including data and Internet providers. $48 million
GRAND TOTAL   $873 million

Sources: Leichtman Research Group Inc. (broadband subscribers, 3rd quarter 2009); lobbying disclosure forms with the Senate Office of Public Records (lobbying data); SEC and company filings (wireless subscribers, 4th quarter 2009).

*Verizon Wireless is a partnership between Verizon Communications (55 percent) and Vodafone Group of England (45 percent).

Graphic research by Mia Steinle, Investigative Reporting Workshop