Cisco Systems weighed in on the issue of network neutrality in a letter to Congress last week, affirming the importance of neutrality but urging lawmakers to refrain, for the time being, from enacting legislation on the subject.

"We strongly support the principle of an open Internet," Cisco CEO John Chambers wrote in a letter to Congressman Joe Barton, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "We must, however, balance the fact that innovation inside the network is just as important as innovation in services and devices connected to the Internet. Broadband Internet access service providers should remain free to engage in pro-competitive network management techniques to alleviate congestion, ameliorate capacity constraints and enable new services."

The letter, which was dated March 9 but released yesterday by Cisco, characterized the router vendor's position as a "first, do no harm" philosophy. The company acknowledged the potential danger inherent in broadband access providers limiting consumers' content choices. However, Cisco recommended that any such restrictions or anti-competitive behavior be addressed by the Federal Communications Commission on a case-by-case basis and "only if and when [the FCC] is faced with a specific complaint…"

Cisco enumerated four connectivity principles it supports: the right of consumers to choose the legal Internet content they want ("within the bandwidth limits and quality of service (QOS) of their service plan"), to run the applications they want (within bandwidth and QOS limits and "as long as they do not harm the provider's network"), to attach the devices they want to their connection (within bandwidth and QOS limits, without doing harm or enabling service theft) and to receive "meaningful" information about their service plans.

Cisco also expressed support for broadband access providers' right to network management techniques that alleviate congestion, ease capacity constraints and enable new services as long as they are not anti-competitive. Providers should be free to offer additional services, such as bandwidth tiers, QOS, security and anti-spam measures and to enter into commercial agreements with third parties for such services, Cisco said.

Executives of incumbent broadband access providers such as AT&T and BellSouth have stirred controversy in recent months by suggesting a move to charge content providers for the delivery of bandwidth-rich media. Content providers and consumer advocates have argued that such charges, coupled with consumers' existing service fees, would amount to double-billing for broadband.

The U.S. Senate's Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee held a hearing on the subject in early February.