Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) will begin throttling the speeds of the heaviest data users on its network, according to a Verizon memo--a function that will take effect just before the carrier begins selling Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone.
In the memo, Verizon states that if subscribers sign up for a data plan on or after Feb. 3 and use an "extraordinary amount of data and fall within the top 5 percent of Verizon Wireless data users," the carrier may throttle throughput speeds periodically for the remainder of the subscriber's billing cycle and into the next cycle. Verizon said the move is to "ensure high-quality network performance for other users at locations and times of peak demand."
Still, it's unclear just what the threshold for throttling is and how long a user might be throttled for, since throttling does not yet exist, according to Broadband Reports.
"The notice yesterday simply reserves the right for new customers or renewing their contracts," Verizon spokesman Jeffrey Nelson told Broadband Reports. "We're reserving the right to actively manage the network in specific ways should that need exist--and only for customers who are under contract that includes that provision," he says. "Because this is down the road--if at all--it's too early to tell what those triggers might be, or what throughput limitations would look like."
For more:
- see this Broadband Reports article
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