Short answer
Telecommunications is SIC Major Group 48, Communications. Wired telephone, internet and long-distance carriers use 4813, Telephone Communications, Except Radiotelephone; wireless carriers use 4812, Radiotelephone Communications; cable operators 4841; and satellite and other services 4899, Communications Services, NEC. In NAICS 2022 the main codes are 517111, Wired Telecommunications Carriers, and 517112, Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite), with 517121 for resellers and 517122 for agents selling wireless plans.
- SIC 4813 is wired telecom (including ISPs on their own lines), 4812 is wireless, 4841 cable, 4899 everything else.
- NAICS 2022 renumbered the carriers (517311 became 517111, 517312 became 517112) and created 517122 for phone stores that sell plans as agents.
- County Business Patterns counted 58,992 telecommunications establishments with paid employees in 2023, employing 912,645 people.
- The SBA measures the four carrier and reseller codes by employees (1,500), not receipts.
- Building towers and laying fiber is construction (237130); wiring buildings is 238210; neither is telecom in NAICS.
On this page
- The SIC codes for telecommunications
- The NAICS 2022 codes for telecommunications
- How to choose: network, resale, or neither
- How many telecom businesses there are
- SBA size standards
- Where the code is used and what a wrong one costs
- Finding telecom companies by code
- Worked example: coding a regional fiber provider
- Sources
- Questions people ask
This page is for telecom carriers, ISPs, resellers and contractors filling in a form that asks for a SIC or NAICS code (a bank, an insurer, SAM.gov, a tax return) and for sellers building telecom lists.
The SIC codes for telecommunications
SIC Major Group 48, Communications, covers "establishments furnishing point-to-point communications services," including paging, leased lines and resale of transmission capacity, plus radio and television broadcasting. The Census concordance maps each code to NAICS 2022:
| SIC 1987 | Title | NAICS 2022 codes it maps to |
|---|---|---|
| 4812 | Radiotelephone Communications | 517112 Wireless carriers, 517121 Resellers, 517122 Agents |
| 4813 | Telephone Communications, Except Radiotelephone | 517111 Wired carriers, 517121 Resellers, 517122 Agents |
| 4822 | Telegraph and Other Message Communications | 517111 |
| 4832, 4833 | Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations | 516110, 516120, 516210 |
| 4841 | Cable and Other Pay Television Services | 517111 (distribution), 516210 (cable networks) |
| 4899 | Communications Services, NEC | 517410 Satellite, 517810 All other telecommunications, 517112, 517122, plus small parts elsewhere |
| 7375 | Information Retrieval Services (part) | 517111 and 517810, for internet access providers |
The SIC manual sends telephone answering services out of Major Group 48 to 7389. To convert other codes, use the NAICS to SIC converter.
The NAICS 2022 codes for telecommunications
| NAICS 2022 code | Official title | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 517111 | Wired Telecommunications Carriers | Operating wired networks you own or lease: local and long-distance phone, VoIP and broadband on your own lines, cable TV distribution, and by exception direct-to-home satellite TV |
| 517112 | Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) | Holding spectrum licenses and running wireless networks: cellular, paging, wireless internet |
| 517121 | Telecommunications Resellers | Buying network capacity and reselling it without operating facilities, including mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and prepaid calling cards |
| 517122 | Agents for Wireless Telecommunications Services | Selling wireless plans on commission for carriers, including phone stores that sell plans as agents |
| 517410 | Satellite Telecommunications | Satellite communications and resale of satellite services |
| 517810 | All Other Telecommunications | Satellite tracking, telemetry, radar stations, and ISPs or VoIP providers using the customer's own connection |
NAICS 2022 changed the numbers. 517311 became 517111 and 517919 became 517810. The 2017 wireless code 517312 became 517112, except agents, and the reseller code 517911 was split between 517121 and the new 517122. Forms that reject a code are often still on NAICS 2017.
How to choose: network, resale, or neither
| If the business mainly... | NAICS 2022 | SIC |
|---|---|---|
| Runs fiber, cable, copper or fixed wireless it owns or leases, for phone, internet or TV | 517111 | 4813 (4841 for cable TV) |
| Holds spectrum and runs a cellular or wireless network | 517112 | 4812 |
| Resells wired or wireless service without its own network (MVNO, reseller) | 517121 | 4812 or 4813 |
| Sells wireless plans in stores or online as a carrier's agent | 517122 | 4812 |
| Provides satellite communications | 517410 | 4899 |
| Provides VoIP or internet access over the customer's connection | 517810 | 4899 or 7375 |
| Builds cell towers or lays fiber and cable lines | 237130, Power and Communication Line and Related Structures Construction | 1623 |
| Installs telephone, data and telecom wiring inside buildings | 238210, Electrical Contractors | 1731 |
| Wholesales telecom equipment | 423690, Other Electronic Parts and Equipment Merchant Wholesalers | 5065 |
| Makes telecom equipment | 334210, 334220 or 334290 | 3661, 3663, 3669 |
| Advises companies on telecom costs and contracts | 541618, Other Management Consulting Services ("telecommunications management consulting") | 8748 |
| Designs and integrates communication and computer systems | 54151, Computer Systems Design and Related Services | 7373 |
| Rents server and network space in data centers (colocation) | 518210 | 7374 |
| Runs call centers or answering services | 561422 or 561421 | 7389 |
The test for 517111 is whether you operate the transmission facilities: an ISP on its own cable or DSL is 517111, a dial-up or VoIP provider riding on someone else's connection is 517810. If you do several, the one with the most revenue sets the primary code; the IRS asks for "the principal source of your sales or receipts."
How many telecom businesses there are
County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 still uses NAICS 2017, so the counts are under the old numbers:
| NAICS 2017 code (2022 equivalent) | Establishments | Employees | Annual payroll |
|---|---|---|---|
| 517311 Wired carriers (517111) | 28,618 | 593,911 | $58.3 billion |
| 517312 Wireless carriers, agents included (517112, 517122) | 24,269 | 241,720 | $18.4 billion |
| 517911 Resellers (517121, 517122) | 3,744 | 40,319 | $2.3 billion |
| 517919 All other telecommunications (517810) | 1,932 | 26,776 | $3.3 billion |
| 517410 Satellite telecommunications | 429 | 9,919 | $1.5 billion |
| 517 Telecommunications | 58,992 | 912,645 | $83.9 billion |
The 2017 wireless code averages ten employees per location against 21 for wired carriers (our calculation), because it counts phone stores selling plans as agents, which NAICS 2022 moves to 517122. Across all of 517, 32,283 locations (54.7%) have fewer than five employees and 51 have 1,000 or more. The top states are California (5,828), Texas (5,317), Florida (4,052), New York (3,386) and Pennsylvania (2,304); Texas has the most telecom employees, 97,501. Tower and line construction (237130) adds 7,112 establishments and 292,604 employees, shared with power line builders.
CBP counts locations, not companies, and a carrier's network of stores and offices counts once per location.
SBA size standards
From 13 CFR 121.201 on the eCFR (last amended March 17, 2023). Receipts are averaged over five completed fiscal years; employees are averaged over the pay periods of the last 24 completed months, part-timers counting the same as full-timers, affiliates included in both:
| NAICS code | Small if no more than |
|---|---|
| 517111, 517112, 517121, 517122 Carriers, resellers and agents | 1,500 employees |
| 517410 Satellite telecommunications | $44.0 million |
| 517810 All other telecommunications | $40.0 million |
| 237130 Power and communication line construction | $45.0 million |
| 238210 Electrical contractors | $19.0 million |
| 334210, 334220 Telephone and wireless equipment manufacturing | 1,250 employees |
| 541618 Other management consulting | $19.0 million |
The small business size standards page explains how receipts, employees and affiliates are counted.
Where the code is used and what a wrong one costs
- Tax returns. The IRS Schedule C list has one code for the whole subsector, 517000, Telecommunications (including wired, wireless, satellite, cable, resellers, agents and internet service providers).
- Federal contracts. An agency buying fiber construction may code it 237130 ($45.0 million) or 517111 (1,500 employees); a 300-person contractor with $60 million in receipts is small under one and not the other.
- Lists. A list built on SIC 4812 mixes national carriers with phone store franchisees and MVNOs, and one on 4813 includes rural telephone cooperatives and fiber ISPs alongside national carriers.
Finding telecom companies by code
EDGAR lists public companies by SIC: SIC 4813, SIC 4812 and SIC 4841. The largest, with total revenue from each company's latest 10-K:
| Company | EDGAR SIC | Headquarters | Revenue, latest 10-K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verizon Communications | 4813 | New York, NY | $138.19 billion (2025) |
| AT&T | 4813 | Dallas, TX | $125.65 billion (2025) |
| Comcast | 4841 | Philadelphia, PA | $123.71 billion (2025) |
| T-Mobile US | 4812 | Bellevue, WA | $88.31 billion (2025) |
| Charter Communications | 4841 | Stamford, CT | $54.77 billion (2025) |
| Lumen Technologies | 4813 | Monroe, LA | $12.40 billion (2025) |
Comcast's figure includes its Media, Studios and Theme Parks segments as well as connectivity. Tower owners file elsewhere: American Tower is under 6798, Real Estate Investment Trusts, with $10.64 billion in 2025 revenue. For headcounts, see Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. For regional carriers, fiber builders and resellers, a Bebop search takes plain-language criteria (fiber or fixed wireless, business or residential, states served) and returns companies and contacts with the reason each fits.
Worked example: coding a regional fiber provider
Illustrative example. The company and figures are invented.
Prairie Fiber (prairiefiber.example) in Kansas sells broadband and VoIP over its own fiber network, resells mobile service to its business customers as an MVNO, and builds fiber for other carriers. Last year: fiber broadband and voice $21.0 million, mobile resale $2.0 million, construction for others $4.0 million. It has 160 employees and average annual receipts of $24.0 million.
- Primary code. Service over its own network is 78% of revenue ($21.0 million of $27.0 million): 517111, SIC 4813.
- Extra codes. 517121 for mobile resale and 237130 for fiber construction.
- Size check. 160 employees is far under 1,500 for 517111 and 517121, and $24.0 million is under $45.0 million for 237130.
- Other forms. 517000 on a tax return that uses the IRS activity list.
Next step: for the IT side of telecom (systems integration, managed services, data centers), see the NAICS code for technology companies.
Sources
- SIC Manual, Major Group 48: Communications, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, accessed 30 October 2026
- 2022 NAICS definition: 517111 Wired Telecommunications Carriers, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- 2022 NAICS definition: 517122 Agents for Wireless Telecommunications Services, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- NAICS concordances (1987 SIC to 2002 NAICS, through 2017 to 2022 NAICS), US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- County Business Patterns: 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- 13 CFR 121.201, What size standards has SBA identified by NAICS codes?, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, accessed 30 October 2026
- 13 CFR 121.106, How does SBA calculate number of employees?, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, accessed 30 October 2026
- 2025 Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040): Principal Business or Professional Activity Codes, Internal Revenue Service, accessed 30 October 2026
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code list, US Securities and Exchange Commission, accessed 30 October 2026
- Verizon Communications Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 17 February 2026
- AT&T Inc. Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 9 February 2026
- Comcast Corporation Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 3 February 2026
- T-Mobile US Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 11 February 2026
- Charter Communications Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 30 January 2026
- Lumen Technologies Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 20 February 2026
- American Tower Corporation Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 24 February 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
What is the SIC code for telecommunications?
Telecommunications is SIC Major Group 48, Communications. The main codes are 4813, Telephone Communications, Except Radiotelephone, for wired carriers and ISPs on their own lines; 4812, Radiotelephone Communications, for wireless carriers; 4841, Cable and Other Pay Television Services; and 4899, Communications Services, NEC, for satellite and other services. On SEC EDGAR, Verizon and AT&T file under 4813 and T-Mobile under 4812.
What is the NAICS code for telecommunications?
Telecommunications is NAICS subsector 517. Carriers that operate wired networks are 517111, wireless carriers 517112, resellers and MVNOs 517121, agents selling wireless plans 517122, satellite providers 517410 and all other telecommunications 517810. These are NAICS 2022 codes; the 2017 equivalents were 517311, 517312, 517911 and 517919. The SBA size standard for the first four is 1,500 employees.
What NAICS code is an internet service provider?
An ISP that delivers broadband over its own cable, fiber or DSL network is 517111, Wired Telecommunications Carriers; a wireless ISP with spectrum licenses is 517112. An ISP that provides access over the customer's own connection, such as dial-up, is 517810, All Other Telecommunications. In SIC, ISPs are 4813 or part of 7375, Information Retrieval Services.
What NAICS code is a cell phone store?
A store selling wireless plans on commission for a carrier is 517122, Agents for Wireless Telecommunications Services, a code created in NAICS 2022. A store that mainly sells phones and accessories it owns is a retailer, 449210, Electronics and Appliance Retailers. A carrier's own stores take the carrier's code, 517112. Under NAICS 2017, agent stores were counted in 517312 or 517911.
What NAICS code is telecom construction?
Building cell towers, laying fiber and cable lines and other outside plant work is 237130, Power and Communication Line and Related Structures Construction, SIC 1623; the SBA size standard is $45.0 million. Installing telephone, data and telecom wiring inside buildings is 238210, Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors, SIC 1731, with a $19.0 million standard.