Cable Lobbying Expenses Doubled in 2006
The cable industry nearly doubled its lobbying outlay last year. Much of that went to fight the telecom franchising bill -- a cause it won indirectly when the bill withered due to lack of political interest. NCTA spent $14 million on lobbying in 2006, compared with just over $7 million in 2004, according to documents filed with the Secy. of the Senate. AT&T was the big communications industry spender in 2006.
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Telecom providers had the highest lobbying expenses as an industry -- about $60.4 million in 2006 -- compared with $23.3 million for cable and $15.1 million for wireless. The figures include trade groups and some larger companies. They don’t include expenses from contractors hired on special issues.
Documents show the NCTA met with many lawmakers, with franchising legislation a key concern. Cable didn’t support the bill, which originated in the House, because it could have sped Bells’ entry into the video business by removing barriers to franchises. The bill ultimately crumbled under opposition fomented by net neutrality advocates. They pushed for a ban on service providers’ discriminating against content providers in their network management.
The net neutrality debate spurred vigorous lobbying, made more intense congressional campaigning. Comcast’s lobbying expenses rose nearly 40% over 2005, from $3.9 million to $5.5 million, Senate records show. Time Warner’s were up 17%, from 2005’s $3.2 million to $3.8 million in 2006. Telecom companies, eager to see the bill passed, unsurprisingly upped their spending. Verizon spent $9.8 million in 2006, up 44% from $6.8 million in 2005. It spent $6.3 million in 2004.
AT&T spending reflected the BellSouth takeover, vaulting the company to the lead in dollars spent among communications companies and organizations. In 2006, AT&T lobbying expenses were $29.1 million, up from $16.7 million for the 2 Bells in 2005, a gain of 74%. USTelecom spent $18.4 million in 2006, compared with $16.7 million in 2005. Contrarily, Qwest spent nearly 10% less, dropping to $3.1 million from $3.4 million.
Wireless saw fewer lobbying expense increases than cable and telecom. CTIA reported a 20% gain in lobbying expenses, up from 2005’s $4.2 million to $5.1 million in 2006. Sprint Nextel spending was nearly flat at about $3.5 million. Qualcomm expenses went up to $3.8 million from $3.2 million.