The past year and a half demonstrated how much daily life relies on a broadband connection. Americans have spent more time working, learning, and playing at home via the internet than ever before. While many tasks and commerce moved to the internet in recent months, broadband was vital to the economy long before the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, every two years, the Bortz Media & Sports Group conducts research on how much the cable broadband and TV industry impacts the American economy. Last week, the most recent version was published and underscores how strongly the industry powers the American economic engine.
The cable internet & TV industry has had a $460 billion impact on the American economy.
According to the report, the cable industry boasts a $460 billion impact on the American economy. That’s over four times the GDP of Morocco. As more and more businesses rely on digital sales and online platforms to connect with customers, that number is sure to continue to increase.
Though the experience is digital, internet networks are physical infrastructure, and require highly-skilled professionals to keep it running and growing. But it’s not just engineers that power the cable industry. Customer service professionals, actors, directors, writers, designers, accountants, and more are just some of the jobs that make up the 2.9 million Americans employed directly and indirectly by the cable internet and TV industry.
Over the past two decades, America’s cable broadband leaders have invested over $300 billion in internet infrastructure and networks.
The physical infrastructure that delivers broadband service requires more than highly-trained professionals to keep it on the cutting edge—it requires lots of capital investments. In fact, over the past two decades cable broadband providers have invested more than $300 billion in internet infrastructure. Heavy investment from the industry has been a success story for the country’s digital infrastructure, something that can’t be said about other types of infrastructure like roads and bridges.
As time progresses, our economy will only continue to rely on cutting edge broadband technology. Whatever the future has in store, next generation networks like 10G are positioned to be the driving force behind a slew of new technologies and services. When America’s internet technology wins, everybody wins. To learn more about how the broadband industry powers the American economy, be sure to read the report, "Investing in America: The Cable Industry's Economic Impact on People, Infrastructure & Programming."