Verizon crouches in the back after strangling California firefighters



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Screenshot: Verizon

The first rule of 2018 is to hail any accusation of foul play by saying exactly the opposite. Verizon certainly received the memo. In August, the company was criticized for limiting the "unlimited" firefighter data plan in California and launched a new thorny advertising campaign on all aspects, Actually, help first responders.

This summer, it took firefighters two months to master the biggest forest fire in California's history. The disaster cost lives, homes and property as it burned hundreds of thousands of acres of land. Anthony Bowden, Santa Clara County Fire Chief, revealed in late August that Verizon had strangled a SIM card connecting one of his mobile command vehicles.

Bowden made his request in an addendum to a multi-state legal brief calling on Congress to overturn the FCC's decision to protect net neutrality. He added that Verizon had slowed the data transmission speeds of the account to 1 / 200th of their standard rate under the "unlimited data" plan. In order for things to work properly again, the telecommunications giant asked the ministry to upgrade its plan at twice the cost because it had exceeded its data limit. Because the world was literally on fire, the ministry gave in to the request. For its part, Verizon told Ars Technica that it was a "customer service error" rather than a network neutrality issue.

On Friday, Verizon published a 60-second commercial entitled "Enabling Heroes" in which she describes her role as vital in the lives of first responders. The ad commentary mentions wheeled cell towers and flying drones that maintain communications. "In times of crisis, their calls are routed and they can do their job," says Nicki Palmer, Verizon Network Manager, with confidence.

According to Ars Technica, users flooded the comment section of the video with vitriol and negative votes, prompting Verizon to disable comments. You can still see the comments left by the editors over the weekend.

In a blog article introducing the introduction of advertising, Verizon wrote, "Our innovations and technology allow first responders to do their work. What we do saves lives. "Of course, it is quite obvious that Verizon is making a statement in court to send the message that first responders would be lost without Verizon after spoiling the work of real firefighters in California.

When a company advertises unlimited data plans and does not offer unlimited data, you wonder about the veracity of everything it says. For example, at some point in advertising, a text appears on the screen, claiming: "US first responders rely on Verizon more than on any other network." wireless voice provider. Does this small additional text imply that the first claim is simply a hypothesis based on the second claim?

Also, why does not the ad identify the services of firefighters who give testimonials in the announcement? He gives their names and a quick search shows they are real firemen. Verizon did not immediately answer our questions about advertising, and that's a relatively unimportant thing to note. Nevertheless, this reminds that this advertisement includes only two firefighters who say that Verizon is good. In August, Motherboard announced that more than 1,000 firefighters, paramedics, paramedics and other first responders had signed an open letter supporting the neutrality of the Internet in response to Verizon's greed.

More importantly, what's going on with the new unlimited plan for first responders promised by Verizon in August? The company said eligible applicants would benefit from the plan at no additional cost, that "mobile solutions would not be limited" and that "priority access" would automatically be included. Verizon did not immediately respond to our request to update the deployment of this plan. .

Verizon should focus on delivering on its promises rather than claiming to offer innovations other than redefining the word unlimited.

[Ars Technica, Verizon, YouTube]
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