The House Energy and Commerce Committee yesterday rejected a network-neutrality amendment that would have prevented cable and telecom providers from charging Internet content suppliers for priority treatment or faster delivery. The amendment from Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) was voted down 34-22. It was backed by content powerhouses including Google, Yahoo!, and eBay. But while the amendment’s defeat is being hailed as a win for broadband service providers, it’s important to note there’s no single industywide position on net neutrality; “net neutrality” means different things to different people, and different companies view it in different ways. Cox Communications’ position has long been and continues to be that we observe net neutrality and are committed to delivering “best effort” services for all of our high-speed Internet customers. Our customers can visit any legal web site they wish on our open network, and we have no intention to block them. The only exception, of course, is that we’re legally required to block access to illegal websites (such as child pornography) when reported. The fact remains that consumer needs and uses of the Internet are still evolving. Imposing government mandates, as urged by net neutrality proponents, would be both unnecessary and counterproductive. The beauty of high-speed broadband is lightning-fast access to a world of compelling content. That’s what our customers love, and we have no intention of changing that—except that we want to meet even higher speed demands and enable even more robust features for our customers.

The Markey amendment was just one of many the House committee considered on a day that ended with their approval of a telecommunications bill, sponsored by committee chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas), granting telcos national franchises to offer cable-like video services. Unlike earlier versions of the bill language, the bill approved by the panel yesterday would grant cable companies a national franchise immediately in markets with another wireline video provider.