Chairman Pai's Response Regarding the Mendocino Complex Fire

On Nov 26, 2018, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai responded to an Aug 31 letter from Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and to a Sept 6 letter from Sens Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) regarding the problems the Santa Clara County Fire Department had using Verizon's network as they battled the Mendocino Complex Fire. The lawmakers were concerend about Verizon's throtttling of the first responders' communication. Chairman Pai wrote, "As you know, Verizon’s actions here did not apparently violate the Commission’s Title II Order or the 2015 net neutrality rules—as Santa Clara County acknowledged in a recent court filing. Indeed, the Title II Order referred to the type of data plan Santa Clara purchased from Verizon (i.e., one where speeds are slowed after a subscriber uses a specified amount of data) as the industry norm. So I was glad to hear that Verizon offer a new plan with no speed restrictions on public safety customers in a declared emergency, even though this would mean treating some users differently from others."