The cable industry substantially impacts the Texas economy by directly providing jobs and through its investment and innovation initiatives.
Cable by the numbers in Texas:
Job growth – in the state and nationally is predicted by cable analysts to increase:
- Cable companies are branching into new service areas beyond traditional video, broadband and home phone, including mobile phone, home security, home automation and even smart home insurance (Comcast)
- Cable providers continue to invest billions of dollars to upgrade networks and deliver new technologies to their customers. This requires additional skilled technicians.
There are thousands of cable employees who not only work in cities and towns across Texas, they also live there and want to better their communities. Cable companies make financial and in-kind donations to numerous civic and charitable organizations, while employees volunteer thousands of hours of their time each year.
As Texas Cable Association newsletters have highlighted, cable providers serving Texas participate in food and toy drives and shelter pet adoption events, provided relief in areas stricken by hurricanes, awarded scholarships, sponsored community events, fed local firefighters, mentored students and much more.
The cable industry is committed to closing the digital divide by promoting the benefits of broadband, encouraging families to connect, and by offering programs that help families overcome barriers they may face.
Cable is the nation’s leading broadband provider, with more than two-thirds of all high-speed internet subscribers. More than 90% of Texans have access to high-speed internet.
Connecting kids at school, or helping them connect at home, is critical not just for their education now, but to prepare them for an increasingly technical and competitive U.S. economy.
As an information provider, cable is a natural fit with education.
Cable is committed to enhancing and promoting education. Cable companies are working with schools to expand internet connectivity, make going online more affordable, promoting distance learning, and responding to students’ increasing use of tablets and digital devices both at home and school.
Connecting kids at school, or helping them connect at home, is critical not just for their education now, but to prepare them for an increasingly technical and competitive U.S. economy.
In Texas, cable operators provide free video services to more than 4,000 schools and free high-speed Internet to more than 300 community centers across the state.
Cable originated by providing video service direct to your television, but the industry has come a long way since then.
The cable industry is a leader in innovation. Cable has invested billions of dollars of its own money (without government subsidy) to develop and deploy cutting-edge technology to give consumers expanded choices and increased access.
Cable providers have invested $290 billion invested over the past 20 years (1999-2019) to deploy and continually upgrade networks and other infrastructure.
Cable companies want to make sure you and your personal data are safe while online. Privacy is a priority for the cable industry because it is the nation’s leading broadband provider, with more than two-thirds of all high-speed internet subscribers.
Customer privacy is one of the primary legislative issues of interest for the Texas Cable Association.
The issue of privacy has come to the forefront on both the state and federal levels as more Americans than ever are on the internet – more than 312 million Americans used the internet in 2019, up from about 121 million in 2000. Overall, 90% of U.S. adults were reported to use the internet at least occasionally, up from 76% in 2010.
On the state level, the Texas Cable Association monitors bills filed by the Texas Legislature that are related to privacy issues. In 2019, one passed, which related to the privacy of a consumer’s personal identifying information collected by certain businesses: HB 4390 by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake).
