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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

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." [arstechnica.com]

Verizon officials were contrite and apologetic during a California State Assembly committee hearing that was convened Friday to examine mobile Internet throttling [arstechnica.com] 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 [svlg.org] told the Select Committee on Natural Disaster, Response, Recovery, and Rebuilding after reading from a statement [verizon.com] that the company released [arstechnica.com] 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" [arstechnica.com]
California State Assembly plans hearing on Verizon throttling of firefighters' data [mercurynews.com]

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