Wireless group spent nearly $1.6M to lobby in 2Q

The wireless industry's leading trade group also lobbied on the upcoming transition from analog to digital broadcasting, which will free up valuable wireless spectrum to deliver high-speed Internet connections and provide interoperable networks to allow police officers, firefighters and emergency medical workers to communicate with each other.

In addition, CTIA lobbied on efforts to map the availability of high-speed Internet connections and proposals that would allow the use of "white spaces"--the currently unused spectrum between television channels--to deliver wireless broadband access.

The trade group--whose members include Sprint Nextel Corp., Leap Wireless International Inc. and Motorola Inc.--also lobbied on efforts to reform the federal program that subsidizes telecommunications services in rural and underserved communities, and proposed "net neutrality" rules that would prohibit broadband providers from favoring or discriminating against Internet traffic flowing over their networks.

Besides Congress, CTIA lobbied the Commerce Department, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission and other agencies in the April-June quarter, according to an amended disclosure form filed July 30 with the Senate's clerk office.