Tech startups will be put at a disadvantage if broadband Internet providers are allowed to take payment for favoring traffic from some content companies over others, the venture industry’s top trade group argued in a letter to the FCC.

The idea of “paid prioritization,” often likened to the creation of an Internet fast lane, is at the center of the latest controversy over net neutrality. The window for public comment on the FCC’s proposed net neutrality rules closed Monday, drawing a record 3 million comments.

Among those groups attacking the practice was the Arlington-based National Venture Capital Association, which argued that “Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should not be allowed to discriminate through paid prioritization.”

“If the FCC were to allow this, it would create a competitive advantage for well-established companies while disadvantaging entrepreneurs who build disruptive and transformative new companies,” NVCA CEO Bobby Franklin wrote in the letter, dated Monday. “Anything short of fair and equitable access to users and customers through the Internet could jeopardize startup companies, dry up venture investment and threaten one of the most important components of the innovation economy.”

Next up: The agency is conducting a series of roundtables this week on net neutrality. Livestream here.