Verizon lifts data caps for California firefighters, Hurricane Lane responders
After swirling controversy about data caps being imposed on emergency responders, Verizon has apologized and will remove restrictions on first responders in California as well as Hawaii, while offering a new plan.
Three days after a complaint was filed accusing Verizon of throttling the Santa Clara County Fire Department's data as the department was battling Mendocino Complex fire, the carrier has apologized.
"In supporting first responders in the Mendocino fire, we didn't live up to our own promise of service and performance excellence," Mike Maiorana, Verizon Senior Vice President of Public Sector, said in a statement. "Our process failed some first responders on the line, battling a massive California wildfire. For that, we are truly sorry. And we're making every effort to ensure that it never happens again."
Verizon went on to announce that it has "removed all speed cap restrictions for first responders on the west coast and in Hawaii to support current firefighting and Hurricane Lane efforts," and that in the event of future tragedies, it will "lift restrictions on public safety customers, providing full network access."
The company also said that next week, it will introduce a new plan for first responders, which will "feature unlimited data, with no caps on mobile solutions and [which] automatically includes priority access."
The accusations were made Tuesday as part of a declaration filed by Santa Clara County Fire Department, as part of a lawsuit seeking to block the FCC's reversal of Obama-era net neutrality rules. Verizon at the time had characterized the throttling as "a customer support mistake."
Three days after a complaint was filed accusing Verizon of throttling the Santa Clara County Fire Department's data as the department was battling Mendocino Complex fire, the carrier has apologized.
"In supporting first responders in the Mendocino fire, we didn't live up to our own promise of service and performance excellence," Mike Maiorana, Verizon Senior Vice President of Public Sector, said in a statement. "Our process failed some first responders on the line, battling a massive California wildfire. For that, we are truly sorry. And we're making every effort to ensure that it never happens again."
Verizon went on to announce that it has "removed all speed cap restrictions for first responders on the west coast and in Hawaii to support current firefighting and Hurricane Lane efforts," and that in the event of future tragedies, it will "lift restrictions on public safety customers, providing full network access."
The company also said that next week, it will introduce a new plan for first responders, which will "feature unlimited data, with no caps on mobile solutions and [which] automatically includes priority access."
The accusations were made Tuesday as part of a declaration filed by Santa Clara County Fire Department, as part of a lawsuit seeking to block the FCC's reversal of Obama-era net neutrality rules. Verizon at the time had characterized the throttling as "a customer support mistake."
Comments
We all know Unlimited isn’t unlimited. There was a mistake made on both sides. Fireman normally don’t need truly unlimited data, and it would be enormously expective on a limited budget. The public doesn’t need to be paying for firemen watching Netflix...
During an emergency the need is real (for unlimited) and “throttling” becomes a public safety issue with the potential for life lost. It’s good the issue has been fixed. The new plan must include additional details that we’re not aware of... probably some kind of usage monitoring.
Does not absolve the fire department knowingly entering a data contract that required customer support intervention when there is a fire. Absolutely appalling risk management, it took a risk that a high consequence, high likelihood event would not happen in a crisis to save a few bucks.
The poorly trained dummy at the verizon customer support no doubt has lost their job. They have cost Verizon a lot of money into the future for PR control. Meh, I suppose, but there it is.
I hope the penny pinching bean counter at SCFD whose real fault it is also faces the consequences.
If they keep doing that, it will cost lives.
It is a bad argument to make that if those were fire fighters, then everyone needs to bow before them. No, they should plan ahead and buy the right equipment and then, if it is an emergency even though it happens multiple times a year, I suggest firing those morons, and hiring those who can actually figure out what equipment is needed and how to get it IN THE TIMELY MANNER, before the emergency strikes.
It was actually a department vehicle that had an installed SIM. The firefighters were having to use their personal devices to supplement until they could get the plan updated through the county’s billing department.
I worked seasonally as a Wildland Firefighter for the BLM while I obtained my Engineering degree, and after that, took jobs on a Helitack Crew, and later worked three seasons as a Smokejumper out of Ft. Wainwright, AK, and deployed throughout the West.
I've never seen such attacks on a class of people that actually see significant risk in their daily lives, providing a service that is absolutely required, not to mention a work ethic the likes the few of you could imagine or even obtain.
For the record, the SIM was for use in a Mobile Command Post, providing communications to some of the resources on a fire some hundreds of miles north of Santo Clara, the Mendocino Fire Complex, possibly record breaking in modern times, via a Verizon plan that was ridiculously inappropriate for emergency services, because there was, to that time, no true unlimited plan available.
Now, thanks to the fuck up by Verizon, there will be an actual unlimted plan available to emergency services.
Piss off.
Somebody at Verizon made a bad decision. Even if it was a first line CSR, they should have known that this was something to be handled by high level management. Even middle management would probably have had to kick it up.
Somebody might have made a decision they weren't authorized to make. That would mean the top level management might not have been aware of the problem. If so, shame in the Verizon employee (regardless of level) who made the bad call.
If high level management made the bad decision, it's disgusting that as mentioned, they had to be shamed into corrective action.
I hope other carriers have taken notice, if not already made plans to assist emergency services.
Personally, I doubt any major carriers would need to throttle customers to provide unlimited, un-throttled throughput to first responders in the event of an emergency, but it would a minuscule price to pay.
We know many first responders have paid a significantly higher price for us.