Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead received a letter last week from Tom Wheeler, US Federal Communications Chairman. In the letter, Wheeler expressed that he was "deeply troubled" by the plans of the wireless service provider.
Verizon retaliated through a letter dated August 1. The company explained that its decision to slow data downloads among subscribers of older and unlimited data plans is a "widely accepted and lawful component abided by every network management company."
In July, Verizon announced that high speed wireless subscribers who signed up to the company's legacy unlimited data plans may experience slower speeds beginning October 1. Likewise, customers that are on a slower 3G network are getting a similar policy from the company.
Senior VP Kathleen Grillo of Verizon's federal regulatory affairs, said in the letter: "The type of network optimization policy that we follow has been endorsed by the FCC as a narrowly targeted way to ensure a fair allocation of capacity during times of congestion. In short this practice has been widely accepted with little or no controversy."
Customers will only experience network slowdowns on very limited situations. The slowdown will happen only at certain cell sites where there is an unusually high demand.
Wheeler accused Verizon of throttling unlimited data users for the company to earn more money and perhaps to even encourage users to subscribe to new data plans. "'Reasonable network management' concerns the technical management of your network; it is not a loophole designed to enhance your revenue streams," he wrote. He further argued that Verizon's system of basing its 'network management' according to its customers' data plans instead on network technology is very disturbing. He adds, "I know of no past Commission statement that would treat as 'reasonable network management' a decision to slow traffic to a user who has paid, after all, for 'unlimited service.'"
Wheeler also accused the wireless service provider of violating the terms specified in a spectrum license agreement that the company made with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The agreement requires Verizon to keep the company's 4G LTE network open. Furthermore, the letter asked Verizon to respond to some questions that would justify the new policy.
Verizon's announcement to begin slowing network speeds that would affect heavy data users shall commence in October. The change would cover around five percent of those users that are under the company's 4G LTE network on unlimited data plans. It doesn't apply to government or business subscribers on the same unlimited data plans.
