Verizon is canceling its plan to slow speeds for some of the heaviest 4G data users on grandfathered unlimited-data plans. The throttling was meant to start Wednesday.
Verizon's about-face comes after the company announced the so-called "network optimization plan" in July, stoking the ire of some users and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, who called the plan "disturbing." The company was planning to throttle speeds for the top 5 percent of data users on 4G unlimited-data plans (which Verizon no longer offers) — only when using data in a place and during a time when that area is experiencing high demand.
"We’ve greatly valued the ongoing dialogue over the past several months concerning network optimization and we’ve decided not to move forward" with the plan, Verizon said in an emailed statement Wednesday. Verizon's move also comes amid increased competition between wireless carriers trying to attract and keep customers. Earlier on Wednesday ,Verizon announced it will double the amount of data offered on higher-tier family plans, shortly after AT&T and Sprint did the same.
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