Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable operator, paid Capitol Solutions LLC $300,000 in 2007 to channel its issues to Congress.According to form posted online Monday by the Senate's public records office, it paid the lobbying firm $160,000 in the second half of 2007. The firm lobbied on issues related to Internet traffic prioritization, customer access to the NFL Network channel and set-top boxes for converting TV signals from digital to analog. Comcast also paid the firm $140,000 on the same issues in the first half of the year.

The Federal Communications Commission in January said it will investigate complaints that the cable company actively interferes with Internet traffic.

In an investigation last year, The Associated Press found that Comcast in some cases hindered file sharing by subscribers who used BitTorrent, a popular file-sharing program. The findings confirmed claims by users, who noticed interference with other file-sharing applications.



Comcast denies that it blocks file sharing, but said it does delay some traffic between computers that share files to improve the surfing experience for the majority of its subscribers.

Comcast critics say it is violating the long-standing practice of "Net neutrality," which is the principle that all Internet traffic is treated equally by carriers.

In another issue, Comcast and the National Football League are facing off over providing the NFL Network to all Comcast customers. Currently, the Philadelphia-based cable operator broadcasts the channel on a premium tier that carries an additional fee.

Lobbyists are required to disclose activities that could influence members of the executive and legislative branches, under a federal law enacted in 1995.