California firefighters battling the huge blazes in Lake County got furious with Verizon Wireless, claiming the company slowed down the internet service that was critical in the firefighters’ efforts.
According to Capt. Bill Murphy, the slowed service, which happened several weeks ago as firefighters battled the Mendocino County fire, affected email and the updating of documents that dealt with deployment.
According to The Los Angeles Times, the firefighters discovered that Verizon Wirless had slowed the fire department’s connection to 1/200 or less than previous speeds because the data plan limit had been exceeded.
Murphy commented, “It essentially rendered those very routine communications almost useless or completely ineffective. They were essentially dealing with dial-up type speeds.”
After a Verizon representative informed the firefighters they needed to upgrade their service to a $99.99 per month plan, doubling the bill, the department complied, and service improved.
Verizon spokeswoman Heidi Flato acknowledged, “In this situation, we should have lifted the speed restriction when our customer reached out to us. We are reviewing the situation and will fix any issues going forward.”
Santa Clara County Fire Chief Anthony Bowden said his department’s mobile communication center sent and received five to 10 gigabytes of data every day.
The Santa Clara County Fire Department is now suing Verizon Wireless, according to The Daily Mail, which added the lawsuit claims the throttling resulted from the repeal of net neutrality rules.