A California fire department that’s repeatedly had its mobile data speeds throttled by Verizon while responding to wildfires, rendering devices virtually unusable, has submitted its experience as evidence in support of a lawsuit to restore net neutrality at the federal level. “The department Verizon device is experiencing speeds of 0.2Mbps/0.6Mbps, meaning it has no meaningful functionality.” “Remove any data throttling on effective immediately,” one email implores, sent to a Verizon representative on July 29, two days after the Mendocino Fire started. Email sent from Santa Clara County Fire Department to VerizonVerizon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. “Regardless of the plan emergency responders choose, we have a practice to remove data speed restrictions when contacted in emergency situations,” Verizon’s statement said. This customer purchased a government contract plan for a high-speed wireless data allotment at a set monthly cost.

Source: Huffington Post August 22, 2018 20:03 UTC