Verizon throttled data for fire department battling Mendocino Complex fires

Verizon throttled one Bay Area fire department’s data plans as its firefighters helped battle the largest wildfire in state history, and even demanded the department should pay nearly three times more to remove the throttling, according to its fire chief.

Santa Clara County Fire Department Chief Tony Bowden wrote to the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Monday, saying the throttling “had a significant impact on our ability to provide emergency services” for firefighters dispatched to help battle the wildfire. Bowden said Verizon knew the throttling affected the firefighters’ crisis response and essential emergency services, but did nothing; he provided email correspondence as evidence.

In the emails, Verizon accounts manager Silas Buss initially told Bowden’s staff that they needed to upgrade from a $37.99-per-month unlimited data plan to a $39.99-per-month plan in early July before the Mendocino Complex fires “to get the data speeds restored on this device.” On July 30, when the fires were raging, Buss raised the price to $99.99 per month to remove throttling. Buss did not respond to requests for comment from this news organization.

Verizon spokeswoman Heidi Flato said the Santa Clara County Fire Department was subscribed to an unlimited data plan for government agencies that reduces speeds after a certain allotment of data has been used - and that the data restrictions should have been lifted at the fire department’s request.

“Regardless of the plan emergency responders choose, we have a practice to remove data speed restrictions when contacted in emergency situations,” Flato said. “We have done that many times, including for emergency personnel responding to these tragic fires. In this situation, we should have lifted the speed restriction when our customer reached out to us. This was a customer support mistake. We are reviewing the situation and will fix any issues going forward.”

Firefighters deployed to the Mendocino Complex fires - two separate fires near each other that have burned 400,000 acres total so far - experienced internet speeds reduced to 1/200 of previous speeds. Firefighters who battle wildfires rely on live document-based apps such as Google Docs to update information, and the speed reduction made the communication nearly impossible, said Bill Murphy, a public information officer with the Santa Clara County Fire Department.

He noted that it is unclear whether Verizon’s throttling actually jeopardized the lives or safety of any firefighters. He also added the department no longer gets throttled, as it has upgraded to a different, unspecified plan.

“The fire department’s concern is more that the throttling may impact the public in times of emergency and disaster,” Murphy said. “We as a society rely so much on our ability to communicate through the internet. Our bigger concern is the throttling will impact people accessing evacuation notices, maps and public warnings.”

Bowden submitted the addendum as part of a larger brief by 22 state attorneys general and other government agencies seeking to overturn the recent repeal of net neutrality rules by the Federal Communications Commission.

“County Fire believes it is likely that Verizon will continue to use the exigent nature of public safety emergencies and catastrophic events to coerce public agencies into higher-cost plans ultimately paying significantly more for mission-?critical service - even if that means risking harm to public safety during negotiations,” he wrote.

Flato countered: “This situation has nothing to do with net neutrality or the current proceeding in court.”