Google and Comcast were Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in 2015 federal lobbying spending by 16 tech and communications firms monitored by Consumer Watchdog, according to records filed with Congress.
Google topped the list at $16.66 million, followed closely by Comcast at $15.63 million. Comcast's total was down 7% from last year, but only a portion of 2015 was spent trying to push the ultimately failed Time Warner Cable merger through the FCC and the Justice Department.
Time Warner Cable, the nation's No. 2 cable operator, spent $6.98 million in 2015, down 31.2% from the year before, when it, too, was trying to get the would be Comcast merger through the regulatory gauntlet, though it was (and is) back at it with the Charter deal.
Edge providers were on the upswing. Amazon's spending was up a record 91% to $9.07 million in 2015 over $4.74 million in 2014.
Facebook, which has boosted its Washington profile in recent years, came in slightly ahead of Amazon at $9.85 million, but only up 5.5%.
