Verizon slows service to firefighters battling California blazes

Verizon has implemented changes in speed restrictions for emergency workers in wake of California’s largest wildfire on record. The telecommunications company had slowed firefighters’ internet service while they battled the blaze in August, crippling an emergency communications truck’s data speeds and forcing firefighters to use other agencies’ internet connections and their personal cellphones.

Under its internet plan, Santa Clara County had used up its monthly data capacity, which allowed Verizon to significantly slow service. Although the high-speed wireless data plan provides an unlimited amount of data at a set monthly cost, speeds can be reduced if the consumer exceeds certain levels of use during that billing cycle.
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Verizon restored full speeds only after the department subscribed to a more expensive plan, a move the company has since called an “operational error,” as they should have lifted the data cap as soon as firefighters called. 

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