Verizon Stops Data Throttling Firefighters, Apologizes

“As of yesterday,” says Mike Maiorana, Verizon’s Senior Vice President of Public Sectorin a press statement, “we removed all speed cap restrictions for first responders on the west coast and in Hawaii to support current firefighting and Hurricane Lane efforts. Further, in the event of another disaster, Verizon will lift restrictions on public safety customers, providing full network access.”

The company’s action first caught the public eye when Santa Clara County Fire Chief Anthony Bowden wrote an addendum in a lawsuit concerning net neutrality filed on behalf of 22 states, the District of Columbia, and a variety of California fire-fighting organizations.

Bowden described how during the midst of fighting the Mendocino Complex fire, the largest in state history, crucial firefighting operations like keeping track of inventory where impossible because the Fire Department had apparently crossed a boundary upon a plan they had believed to be unlimited. Emails to Verizon requesting assistance were met with a sales pitch for a plan more than double cost, to which the Department acquiesced.

“In supporting first responders in the Mendocino fire, we didn’t live up to our own promise of service and performance excellence when our process failed some first responders on the line, battling a massive California wildfire,” says Maiorana. The Mendocino fire, still ongoing, has burned over 422,00 acres and remains active.

Verizon says its new plans will be available next week and “will make it easy to upgrade service at no additional cost.”

In recent years there has growing competition for first-responder Internet providers, specifically in the form of FirstNet, an independent authority within the U.S. Department of Commerce founded in 2012. Since 2017 FirstNet has been operated by AT&T, which has $6.5 billion contract to build the system out.

After the data throttling incident, the Santa Clara Fire Department signed on with FirstNet as a supplement to Verizon, as per the Los Angeles Times.

Verizon used its apology to make the case that it should still be the first responder’s first choice.

“Verizon customers have access to our more than 450,000-square mile 4G LTE coverage advantage over competitors. In addition, we consistently show up in times of disaster to extend our network capabilities, provide our customers with loaner devices, and provide customers of any provider with access to free charging stations.

We are proud to support the men and women who serve us all.”

Source: Ars Technica