In network neutrality debate, FCC faces uphill climb against lobbyists

Despite reports to the contrary, the debate over network neutrality is far from over. If the Federal Communications Commission decides to take up the issue again, it will face some of the most formidable lobbyists in town.

Three Internet service providers were among the top 20 lobbying spenders in the first nine months of 2013. Combined they hired more than 350 lobbyists, 14 of whom were former members of Congress. Comcast, the nation’s largest cable operator, spent almost $14 million during the period, the fifth-largest amount of all corporate lobbying spending, and hired 98 lobbyists, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. AT&T hired 89 lobbyists and spent $12.3 million, ranking it 11th among the top spenders. Verizon Communications, the plaintiff in the suit against the FCC, came in at No. 17 with $10.1 million in spending, hiring 96 lobbyists. Also among the top lobbying spenders is the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, which includes Comcast and Time Warner Cable as members. NCTA spent $13.3 million in the first nine months of 2013, ranking it ninth among the top spending lobbyists, according to CRP. The NCTA, which opposed the net neutrality rules, hired 73 lobbyists, three of whom were former members of Congress. Add in another $5.8 million from Time Warner Cable, the second-largest cable company in the nation, and the total from these broadband providers and their association surpassed $55 million in the first nine months of 2013. That’s about as much as the top health and pharmaceutical industries spent on lobbying combined.