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posted by chromas on Saturday August 25 2018, @06:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the metaphorical-fire dept.

Verizon tries to douse criticism, touts "priority access" for first responders -- Firefighters don't like their mobile hotspots slowed to a "dial-up modem from 1995."

Verizon officials were contrite and apologetic during a California State Assembly committee hearing that was convened Friday to examine mobile Internet throttling experienced by firefighters during recent blazes. "We all make mistakes from time to time, the true measure of leadership is how soon we admit it, own it," Rudy Reyes told the Select Committee on Natural Disaster, Response, Recovery, and Rebuilding after reading from a statement that the company released hours earlier.

In that statement, Verizon said it would be introducing a "new plan" with truly unlimited data and "priority access" for first responders nationwide. "As of yesterday, we removed all speed cap restrictions for first responders on the West Coast and in Hawaii to support current firefighting and Hurricane Lane efforts," the company said. "Further, in the event of another disaster, Verizon will lift restrictions on public safety customers, providing full network access."

The executives spoke shortly after hearing from Santa Clara County Fire Chief Tony Bowden who said that his agency had experienced similar throttling in December 2017. The Santa Clara department had tried to address it with the Verizon accounts manager at the time.

See also: Verizon stops throttling more firefighters, plans unlimited data "with no caps"
California State Assembly plans hearing on Verizon throttling of firefighters' data

Previously on SN: Verizon Throttled Fire Department's "Unlimited" Data During California Wildfire


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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 25 2018, @10:37PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 25 2018, @10:37PM (#726380)

    They just want you to pay more

    I have been in the meetings. Yes. That is it.

    When AT&T was charging 30 a month for unlimited they wanted to charge 50 a month for 10MB. Their reasoning? "Our network is better" Yes, they are that clueless.

    The incumbents have already carved us up. 'net neutrality' is a farce the ISPs and the big site providers are playing us to make sure we do not properly fix the issue. Which is one of who owns the 'last mile' and who can connect to it. Solve that little gem and the whole issue goes away. Instead they want to insure they get 'free internet' and we pick up the tab on both ends.

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