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The Progressive Policy Institute, an independent think tank focused on U.S. economic growth, released a report this week ranking America’s top investment companies. Topping the list of non-financial companies was Comcast at number 10 and Time Warner Cable at number 17. Removing energy companies puts Comcast at number 5 and Time Warner cable at number 9.
The report stated, “[T]elecommunications and cable companies are a major driver of U.S. investment today, sparking the rise of what we call ‘the data-driven economy.’ The digital transformation of the U.S. economy would not be possible if high-speed fixed and mobile broadband networks were not in place. That’s why encouraging private investment in our nation’s broadband infrastructure is rightly a major priority for the Obama Administration.”
The report went on to commend cable for establishing 150,000 Wi-Fi hotspots and noted that, “Cable providers spent much of their investment on updating equipment and expanding existing network capacity.”
Since 1996, cable has invested over $200 billion in infrastructure improvements (about $13 billion in 2012), which has led to 93 percent of homes being passed by cable broadband and 85 percent having access to networks capable of 100 Mbps or faster broadband speeds. But cable’s contribution is not done. Cable will continue to invest in building a better Internet infrastructure and today is focused on opening more unlicensed spectrum for use with accessible, public Wi-Fi networks. The report concluded, “Investment in the key sectors highlighted in this report – telecommunications and cable, technology, and energy – generates very positive spillover effects for the rest of the economy.”
The full report is available HERE.