Revenues of cellular and other wireless telecommunications firms, both employers and nonemployers, increased 17 percent in 2002 -- from $78 billion in 2001 to $91 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.

The increase occurred despite an overall dip in revenues for the telecommunications industry of 4 percent, from $367 billion in 2001 to $353 billion in 2002. Within this industry group, revenues of wired telecommunications carriers were down 9 percent in 2002 to $240 billion, from $263 billion in 2001.

The report, 2002 Service Annual Survey: Information Sector Services, showed revenues for the nation's information firms totaled $885 billion in 2002.

Highlights for employer firms:

Publishing Industries

• Revenues of book publishers increased 4 percent to $27 billion.
• Newspaper publishers' revenues remained stable at $48 billion in 2002.
• Software publishing revenues dropped 2 percent to $89 billion.

Motion Picture and Sound Recording

• The majority of revenue in this industry came in motion picture and video production and distribution, up 11 percent, from $40 billion to $44 billion.
• Motion picture and video exhibition revenues were up 7 percent to $11 billion.

Broadcasting and Telecommunications

• Television broadcasting revenues were up 9 percent to $37 billion.
• Radio broadcasting revenues increased 8 percent to $15 billion.
• Revenues of cable and other program distribution firms increased 8 percent to $56 billion. Revenue sources contributing to this increase were cable Internet services, up 60 percent to $3 billion, and basic, fixed local telephone services, up 8 percent to $1 billion.
• Cable networks and program distribution revenues were up 8 percent to $81 billion.

Information Services and Data Processing

• Data processing services had an increase in revenues of 12 percent to $53 billion.
• News syndicates' revenues decreased 2 percent to $2 billion.
• Revenues of online information services dropped 3 percent to $28 billion, but revenues from Internet access, a separate item, increased 3 percent to $15 billion.

Estimates in this report are based on data from the 2002 Service Annual Survey.