The wireless industry contributes nearly $100 billion either directly or indirectly to the U.S. economy on an annual basis, according to a recent filing with the FCC made by CTIA, a trade organization representing the wireless industry. Moreover, the wireless industry supports more than 268,000 direct employees and more than 2.4 million American jobs that are either directly or indirectly dependent on it. Pay for these workers is more than 50% higher than the national average of other production workers. In addition, U.S. carriers are investing $22.8 billion per year on average to upgrade their networks.
Steve Largent, CTIA President and CEO, offered the following comments in response to the filing:
“With the urgent focus from President Obama and Congress on stimulating the economy and creating jobs, CTIA has submitted a filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that demonstrates the substantial investment and contributions the wireless industry is making to achieve the nation’s economic and infrastructure goals. CTIA and our member companies are looking forward to continuing to work with the Obama Administration, Congress and FCC to ensure that wireless services continue to lead the way to economic recovery and prosperity.”http://www.ctia.org
