Verizon throttling firefighters may have violated FCC rule, Democrats say

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Senate Democrats yesterday asked the Federal Communications Commission to investigate Verizon’s throttling of firefighters during California’s largest-ever wildfire.

US Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) also sent a letter to Verizon, accusing the carrier of misleading the fire department in its marketing of unlimited data. Additionally, the Democrats sent letters to the other major carriers asking for commitments that they won’t throttle the data of public safety officials while they are responding to emergencies.

Though FCC Chairman Ajit Pai eliminated net neutrality rules, the commission maintains a revised version of a transparency rule that requires carriers to publicly disclose enough information about network management practices and commercial terms of service “to enable consumers to make informed choices regarding the purchase and use of such services.”