Verizon backs off plan to slow some speeds

Verizon is backing down from its plans to slow data speeds for heavy users, after pressure from the Federal Communications Commission.

The company said in a statement on Wednesday that it is “committed to providing its customers with an unparalleled mobile network experience” and takes seriously its “responsibility to deliver exceptional mobile service to every customer.”

{mosads}“We’ve greatly valued the ongoing dialogue over the past several months concerning network optimization and have decided not to move forward with the planned implementation of network optimization for 4G LTE customers on unlimited plans,” it added.

This summer, the company announced plans to slow data speeds for subscribers with unlimited plans during the busiest times of the day. The practice — known as “throttling” — was necessary to manage its network and make sure that most people would have the data speeds they expected, Verizon said.

But FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said he was “deeply troubled” by that announcement, and put pressure on the company to change course. 

The plan seemed to be giving ammunition to supporters of extending regulations on net neutrality — the concept that Internet service companies should not be able to slow or block traffic to any particular website — to wireless services, a notion that the industry has vocally pushed back against.

Verizon initially pushed back against Wheeler’s warning, arguing that the practice was “widely accepted” and would affect very few subscribers, only when networks were busy. However, it changed its tune on the throttling right as the changes were set to go into effect in October.

“I salute Verizon Wireless’s decision,” Wheeler said in a statement on Wednesday. “This is a responsible action and I commend Verizon’s leadership on this issue.”