SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The California firefighters' union endorsed a state-level net neutrality bill after Verizon throttled a fire department's data speeds while first responders were battling historic wildfires in the state. (Photo: Nick Perla/Flickr/cc)
1,000 First Responders Urge Congress to Restore Net Neutrality After Verizon Throttles California Firefighters During Wildfires
"It is unconscionable for corporations to endanger public safety for the sake of profit."
Aug 28, 2018
More than 1,000 first responders from across the country threw their support behind net neutrality protections on Tuesday, with a letter demanding that lawmakers in Congress pass the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to reverse the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s repeal of net neutrality.
"We are joining with millions of businesses, veterans, and Internet users in asking Congress to use their Congressional Review Act (CRA) powers to restore the strong net neutrality rules and other consumer protections that were lost when the FCC voted to repeal its 2015 Open Internet Order," reads an letter endorsed by the internet freedom advocacy group Fight for the Future.
\u201cWe saw the true danger of the @FCC's #NetNeutrality repeal when @Verizon was caught throttling California fire fighters. If you're a first responder who relies on the open Internet to do your job, please sign our open letter: https://t.co/TCkDvp3p2x\u201d— @team@fightforthefuture.org on Mastodon (@@team@fightforthefuture.org on Mastodon) 1535484490
The letter comes days after Californians got a first-hand look at how their lives are already being affected by internet service providers (ISPs) that are unencumbered by net neutrality rules, which prohibit companies like Verizon and Comcast from slowing down internet speeds and creating paid "fast lanes" for wealthy internet companies.
As Common Dreams reported last week, Verizon throttled, or slowed down, data speeds for the Santa Clara County fire department and suggested it should pay an extra fee for faster service--while fire fighters were battling some of California's biggest wildfires ever earlier this summer.
Verizon's move "had a significant impact on our ability to provide emergency services," according to fire chief Tony Bowden, and the throttling resulted in a loud endorsement of California's state-level net neutrality bill (SB 822), which the state Assembly could vote on as early as Tuesday, by the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) union.
The incident provoked emergency workers from California as well as other states to urge the passage of the CRA.
"Our call paging system relies on private ISPs to relay information from 911 dispatchers to ambulances--it is unconscionable for corporations to endanger public safety for the sake of profit," said Corey, a paramedic in San Diego, in a personal note added to the open letter.
"EMTs rely on data to receive pages, vital paperwork necessary for patient care, and to help locate calls outside of our service area," added Larry, an EMT based in Little Rock, Arkansas. "Throttling speeds can delay care and cost lives."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
californiacomcastfccfight for the futurenet neutralityopen internetpeople powertechnologyverizonwildfires
More than 1,000 first responders from across the country threw their support behind net neutrality protections on Tuesday, with a letter demanding that lawmakers in Congress pass the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to reverse the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s repeal of net neutrality.
"We are joining with millions of businesses, veterans, and Internet users in asking Congress to use their Congressional Review Act (CRA) powers to restore the strong net neutrality rules and other consumer protections that were lost when the FCC voted to repeal its 2015 Open Internet Order," reads an letter endorsed by the internet freedom advocacy group Fight for the Future.
\u201cWe saw the true danger of the @FCC's #NetNeutrality repeal when @Verizon was caught throttling California fire fighters. If you're a first responder who relies on the open Internet to do your job, please sign our open letter: https://t.co/TCkDvp3p2x\u201d— @team@fightforthefuture.org on Mastodon (@@team@fightforthefuture.org on Mastodon) 1535484490
The letter comes days after Californians got a first-hand look at how their lives are already being affected by internet service providers (ISPs) that are unencumbered by net neutrality rules, which prohibit companies like Verizon and Comcast from slowing down internet speeds and creating paid "fast lanes" for wealthy internet companies.
As Common Dreams reported last week, Verizon throttled, or slowed down, data speeds for the Santa Clara County fire department and suggested it should pay an extra fee for faster service--while fire fighters were battling some of California's biggest wildfires ever earlier this summer.
Verizon's move "had a significant impact on our ability to provide emergency services," according to fire chief Tony Bowden, and the throttling resulted in a loud endorsement of California's state-level net neutrality bill (SB 822), which the state Assembly could vote on as early as Tuesday, by the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) union.
The incident provoked emergency workers from California as well as other states to urge the passage of the CRA.
"Our call paging system relies on private ISPs to relay information from 911 dispatchers to ambulances--it is unconscionable for corporations to endanger public safety for the sake of profit," said Corey, a paramedic in San Diego, in a personal note added to the open letter.
"EMTs rely on data to receive pages, vital paperwork necessary for patient care, and to help locate calls outside of our service area," added Larry, an EMT based in Little Rock, Arkansas. "Throttling speeds can delay care and cost lives."
More than 1,000 first responders from across the country threw their support behind net neutrality protections on Tuesday, with a letter demanding that lawmakers in Congress pass the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to reverse the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s repeal of net neutrality.
"We are joining with millions of businesses, veterans, and Internet users in asking Congress to use their Congressional Review Act (CRA) powers to restore the strong net neutrality rules and other consumer protections that were lost when the FCC voted to repeal its 2015 Open Internet Order," reads an letter endorsed by the internet freedom advocacy group Fight for the Future.
\u201cWe saw the true danger of the @FCC's #NetNeutrality repeal when @Verizon was caught throttling California fire fighters. If you're a first responder who relies on the open Internet to do your job, please sign our open letter: https://t.co/TCkDvp3p2x\u201d— @team@fightforthefuture.org on Mastodon (@@team@fightforthefuture.org on Mastodon) 1535484490
The letter comes days after Californians got a first-hand look at how their lives are already being affected by internet service providers (ISPs) that are unencumbered by net neutrality rules, which prohibit companies like Verizon and Comcast from slowing down internet speeds and creating paid "fast lanes" for wealthy internet companies.
As Common Dreams reported last week, Verizon throttled, or slowed down, data speeds for the Santa Clara County fire department and suggested it should pay an extra fee for faster service--while fire fighters were battling some of California's biggest wildfires ever earlier this summer.
Verizon's move "had a significant impact on our ability to provide emergency services," according to fire chief Tony Bowden, and the throttling resulted in a loud endorsement of California's state-level net neutrality bill (SB 822), which the state Assembly could vote on as early as Tuesday, by the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) union.
The incident provoked emergency workers from California as well as other states to urge the passage of the CRA.
"Our call paging system relies on private ISPs to relay information from 911 dispatchers to ambulances--it is unconscionable for corporations to endanger public safety for the sake of profit," said Corey, a paramedic in San Diego, in a personal note added to the open letter.
"EMTs rely on data to receive pages, vital paperwork necessary for patient care, and to help locate calls outside of our service area," added Larry, an EMT based in Little Rock, Arkansas. "Throttling speeds can delay care and cost lives."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.