Verizon responds to FCC on network throttling controversy

An August 1st, Verizon finally issued a response to the Federal Communication Commission, in regard to concerns that the company may be singling out unlimited data users by slowing down their connection speeds.

Kathleen Grillo, Verizon’s SVP of Federal Regulatory Affairs, in her August 1st letter to the FCC did not deny the practice, often described as “network optimization”, and claims that such measure is taken in compliance with the law. Grillo goes on saying that throttling will occur in a very small number of cases, in which usage puts a strain on the network.

For most users, throttling will begin in October, and the company says usage that goes over 4.7GB per month is likely to result in slower speeds.

Verizon also states that it’s not the only company enforcing network optimization measures, and names AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, making the case that all carriers have similar policies in place, pointing out that T-Mobile, in particular, reserves the right to slow data speeds down, regardless of the level of network congestion.

Verizon goes even further, explaining that 4G LTE is not meant to replace home internet providers, such as Comcast: "The network's capacity remains a shared and limited resource that we must manage to provide the best experience for all of our consumers".

The company may have a point, as devices become more capable and powerful, allowing for HD video quality and sound, providing them with higher speeds is a losing battle to start with, and users with unlimited data plans will use their plans to the full extent of what the infrastructure allows them to do. The truth of the matter is, there is no such thing as “unlimited data”, and network performance goes only as far as its technical limitations of bandwidth and coverage. As Grillo points out: "Our practice is a measured and fair step to ensure that this small group of customers do not disadvantage all others in the sharing of network resources during times of high demand.".