Wireless Industry’s Substantial Contributions to U.S. Economy

This morning we filed an ex parte with the FCC to highlight the significant contributions the wireless industry is making to aid the revitalization of our short and long-term economic health.

President Barack Obama has made it very clear that broadband is vital for the U.S. In a Washington Post column on February 5, 2009, President Obama said “now is the time to create jobs that remake America for the 21st century by rebuilding aging roads, bridges and levees; designing a smart electrical grid; and connecting every corner of the country to the information superhighway.”

Indeed, as our nation struggles in a fiercely competitive global marketplace to revitalize once unchallenged industries, mobile broadband services bring opportunities, increased productivity and represent a beacon on the path toward renewed economic prosperity.

Highlights of the filing are:

• In 2007, U.S. wireless services delivered nearly $100 billion in “value added” contributions to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (“GDP”).
• Going forward, estimates place productivity gains from wireless broadband services at almost $860 billion between 2005 and 2016.

Jobs/Compensation:

• Economic contributions of wireless services have grown significantly faster than the rest of the U.S. economy, averaging over 16% growth vs. less than 3% for the remainder of the economy.
• Wireless jobs command compensation that is more than 50% higher than the national average of other production workers.
• Wireless carriers directly employ more than 268,000 people, a number that has grown more than 6% year-over-year for the last four years.
• Beyond direct carrier employment, more than 2.4 million American jobs are either directly or indirectly dependent on the U.S. wireless industry.

Equipment/Network Investment:

• Total wireless expenditures on structures and equipment from 1998-2007 amounted to more than $217 billion.
• Carriers responding to CTIA’s Semi-Annual Survey reported an average combined investment of more than $22.8 billion per year to upgrade their networks from 2001 through 2008.
• As of December 2008, wireless carriers have deployed over 240,000 cell sites across the country.
• Clearly, wireless voice and broadband services are major contributors to the U.S. economy through the massive capital investments of wireless providers, by creating high-paying, skilled jobs across the country and with billions of dollars of direct and indirect benefits flowing from the innovative wireless services and applications consumers demand.

 To view the filing, please click here  .