After probing Verizon for its data throttling practices, the FCC is now asking all major mobile carriers to justify data throttling. Verizon first announced that it would be slow down speeds for the top 5% of unlimited 4G LTE data customers starting in October, which had the FCC voicing its concern for the new policy.
In its initial response, Verizon noted that it is doing no wrong in throttling customers. Verizon claimed other carriers like AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile have been doing it for years and "This practice has been widely accepted with little or no controversy."
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler was not buying Verizon's response (and neither are we!)
"'All the kids do it' was never something that worked for me when I was growing up," he told reporters Friday.
"My concern in this instance - and it's not just with Verizon, by the way, we've written to all the carriers - is that it (network management) is moving from a technology and engineering issue to the business issues ... such as choosing between different subscribers based on your economic relationship with them."
Wheeler reportedly wrote the other carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint) after receiving Verizon's first response to the matter. AT&T has not immediately comment on the matter, while a Sprint spokeswoman said the company will respond to Wheeler's letter.
T-Mobile said its "network practices are consistent with the Commission’s rules on the open Internet, are innovative and are good for consumers and competition."
Data throttling is a practice all carriers use today to help fight what they claim is a crunch on network spectrum and capacity. However, studies have found that data throttling is actually pointless -- people will still use their data regardless of the speed. In other words, carriers are fine if you pay $400 for 40GB a month, but not if you pay $30 a month with an unlimited plan.
We're not sure why the FCC Chairman has suddenly decided to ask questions now, but don't expect much to come out of these discussions.
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In its initial response, Verizon noted that it is doing no wrong in throttling customers. Verizon claimed other carriers like AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile have been doing it for years and "This practice has been widely accepted with little or no controversy."
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler was not buying Verizon's response (and neither are we!)
"'All the kids do it' was never something that worked for me when I was growing up," he told reporters Friday.
"My concern in this instance - and it's not just with Verizon, by the way, we've written to all the carriers - is that it (network management) is moving from a technology and engineering issue to the business issues ... such as choosing between different subscribers based on your economic relationship with them."
Wheeler reportedly wrote the other carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint) after receiving Verizon's first response to the matter. AT&T has not immediately comment on the matter, while a Sprint spokeswoman said the company will respond to Wheeler's letter.
T-Mobile said its "network practices are consistent with the Commission’s rules on the open Internet, are innovative and are good for consumers and competition."
Data throttling is a practice all carriers use today to help fight what they claim is a crunch on network spectrum and capacity. However, studies have found that data throttling is actually pointless -- people will still use their data regardless of the speed. In other words, carriers are fine if you pay $400 for 40GB a month, but not if you pay $30 a month with an unlimited plan.
We're not sure why the FCC Chairman has suddenly decided to ask questions now, but don't expect much to come out of these discussions.
Read More