Cox Internet now charges $15 extra for faster access to online game servers

Enlarge / Cox’s website advertises the Cox Elite Gamer service. (credit: Cox)

Cox cable is beginning to charge Internet users an extra $15 a month for a service that reduces lag in online gaming.

Cox’s new offer sparked concerns that the ISP is violating net neutrality principles. But the service wouldn’t have violated net neutrality rules even if they hadn’t been repealed, because Cox is merely reselling a third-party service and not making any changes to its broadband network.

Dubbed “Cox Elite Gamer,” the service is a Cox-branded version of Wtfast, which can alternatively be purchased directly from Wtfast and used with other ISPs. Cox says the service “routes your game activity through a dedicated gaming network to provide a reduced latency path between your computer and the game servers of select online games.”