Cable Industry Mobilizes Lobbying Army to Block FCC Moves

In recent weeks, staff members for Rep Bobby Rush (D-IL) have asked fellow lawmakers to sign a letter opposing a Federal Communications Commission proposal to limit how broadband providers can share users’ personal data. Last month, 60 lawmakers signed a separate letter voicing their objections to an FCC regulation that would open the market for cable television set-top boxes. What the actions have in common: the financial connections and legwork of cable companies like Comcast. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association, an industry lobbying group, said it had edited the letter shared by Rush’s staff. Cable industry lobbyists also helped gather the 60 signatures on the set-top-box letter; nearly all of the lawmakers who signed count cable and telecom companies as top campaign donors, according to federal disclosures.

The behind-the-scenes activity by cable companies and their industry groups is part of the biggest lobbying push by the $115 billion industry in Washington since 2009, when the government drew up its net neutrality rules. These days, the cable and telecom industries are hiring more lobbyists, issuing warnings that they may sue federal agencies, and making speeches and writing scathing blog posts about policymakers. The trigger? A string of proposed regulations by the FCC that has left cable companies feeling besieged.