Earlier this summer, the Santa Clara County Fire Department sent a team to fight the largest wildfire in the history of California.
The problem? During the fire, Verizon throttled the department's "unlimited" data once it reached its limit.
As part of its emergency services, the department "relies upon Internet-based systems to provide crucial and time sensitive public safety services," Fire Chief Anthony Bowden wrote in an addendum added this week to a lawsuit fighting to overturn the FCC's net neutrality repeal.
SEE ALSO:Verizon accused of lying about rural coverage, stifling 4G LTE expansion"The Internet has become an essential tool in providing fire and emergency response, particularly for events like large fires which require the rapid deployment and organization of thousands of personnel and hundreds of fuel engines, aircraft, and bulldozers," Bowden continued in his declaration, as Ars Technica first reported.
Bowden detailed how his department's data service from Verizon Wireless was limited, or throttled, and how his team was "forced" to use other fire agencies' ISPs and personal devices to effectively communicate and coordinate firefighting plans. Eventually Verizon stopped throttling the department's data after they paid for a more expensive plan.
On Tuesday afternoon a Verizon spokesperson told Mashable in an email that the "situation has nothing to do with net neutrality." Instead the throttling and extra cost for the Santa Clara Fire Department was "a mistake in how we communicated with our customer about the terms of its plan."
For the firefighters, this was a dangerous mistake.
"This throttling has had a significant impact on our ability to provide emergency services," Bowden wrote. "Verizon imposed these limitations despite being informed that throttling was actively impeding County Fire's ability to provide crisis-response and essential emergency services."
"This was a customer support mistake"
Verizon on Tuesday said the fire department's plan shouldn't have mattered. "Regardless of the plan emergency responders choose, we have a practice to remove data speed restrictions when contacted in emergency situations," the spokesperson wrote in an email.
"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."
Just a "customer support mistake," everyone. We're sure California's firefighters feel very reassured.
TopicsNet NeutralityVerizon
(责任编辑：熱點)
How Hyperloop One went off the railsBelieve it or not, these outrageous creations are fully working computers'Minecraft' players on the autism spectrum find a safe space on the Autcraft serverSpaceX's beautiful rocket launch and landing just made history
Felix the cat just raised £5000 for charity because she's the hero we all needSingapore gets world's first driverless taxis
SINGAPORE -- The world's first self-driving taxis started picking up passengers in Singapore on Thur
...[详细]Actual prime ministers trolled President Trump's orb and I am so embarrassed to be alive
Much like a curious infant or panting dog, President Trump couldn't have been more excited to touch
...[详细]Miss C, believed to be one of the world's oldest sloths, dies at Australian zoo
For a sloth, Miss C lived a longer life than most. 。The Hoffmann's two-toed sloth was euthanised at A
...[详细]8 things Trump said about the Paris Climate Agreement that are total BS
President Trump spoke at length on Thursday about his decision to withdraw the United States from th
...[详细]Singapore gets world's first driverless taxis
SINGAPORE -- The world's first self-driving taxis started picking up passengers in Singapore on Thur
...[详细]China debuts driverless train that only needs white painted lines as tracks
China's latest mode of public transportation is a bus, tram and train rolled into one. 。Its maker, Ch
...[详细]Heat scorches eastern U.S. as snow (yes, snow) falls in California
The lower 48 states are split in more ways than just politics on Monday. A jet stream that is coiled
...[详细]Kirsten Dunst has all the shade to throw at 'Spider
Kirsten Dunst does not care about 。 Spider-Man 。movies. 。At least, not any besides the ones she was in;
...[详细]Olympics official on Rio's green diving pool: 'Chemistry is not an exact science'
The diving pool for the Summer Olympics mysteriously turned green this week in Rio de Janeiro, then
...[详细]U.S. could be 'left behind' if Trump exits the Paris Climate Agreement
The head of the United Nations has a clear message for countries and companies dragging their feet o
...[详细]Sound the alarms: Simone Biles finally met Zac Efron
Elizabeth Warren is getting her very own action figure
