Verizon has had a last-minute change of mind about its plans to throttle data for its heaviest 4G LTE users.
In July, the nation's biggest mobile carrier by subscriber count announced that it will implement what it calls a network optimization plan, where it will "manage data connection speeds" for its top 5 percent data users on grandfathered unlimited plans. The plan was supposed to be put into action on Wednesday, Oct. 1, but Verizon instead issued a statement that it is backing off after "ongoing dialogue" with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and consumer advocates.
"We've greatly valued the ongoing dialogue over the past several months concerning network optimizations," says Verizon in its statement. "[A]nd we've decided not to move forward with the planned implementation of network optimization for 4G LTE customers on unlimited plans."
Following Verizon's announcement in July, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler sent a letter to the company questioning its motives to implement network management. In his letter, Wheeler said he was "deeply troubled" because any mobile carrier cannot use "reasonable network management" as a ploy to "enhance revenue streams." Verizon shot back, saying that data throttling is a widely-accepted industry practice and its rivals AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile throttle their customers' data too. Wheeler, however, will not accept Verizon's response.
"'All the kids do it' was never something that worked for me when I was growing up," he said, adding that he sent letters to the other three carriers asking them to justify their data throttling policies.
Verizon also received flak from digital rights group Public Knowledge, which penned separate letters to all four major carriers that say the group plans to file complaints with the FCC for the companies' throttling practices. Michael Weinberg, vice president of Public Knowledge, says [pdf] carriers must "publicly disclose accurate information regarding network management practices... sufficient for consumers to make informed choices regarding use of such services."
Verizon, however, insists that "network intelligence" is not simply a euphemism for throttling. As it pointed out on its FAQ page, throttling includes reduced data speeds throughout the entire cycle, while its plan was to temporarily reduce speeds for those who are causing congestion on a certain site.
"Once you are no longer connected to a site experiencing high demand, your speed will return to normal," says Verizon. "This could mean a matter of seconds or hours, depending on your location and time of day."
The move comes as the competition heats up in the mobile industry. Earlier on Wednesday, Verizon started offering a promo to double the data on higher-end family plans in response to similar promos that AT&T and Sprint offer, while T-Mobile continues to entice new customers with its aggressive Un-carrier pitch.
