Telcoms lobbyists oppose ban on throttling firefighters' internet during wildfires

The CTIA is America's top telcoms lobbying organization, and they're trying to kill AB1699, a proposed California law that would ban carriers from throttling firefighters' internet access, as Verizon did in 2018, then lied about, then launched a charm offensive to defend.

The CTIA sent a letter to state lawmakers warning that the bill would result in "serious unintended consequences, including needless litigation."

The CTIA is the only organization that opposed the bill.

"California is a place where we have multiple disasters on a regular basis," Meston said. "We rely on our cell phones; we rely on Internet data to an extreme degree. When we go to an emergency incident, we need information about the incident action plan, photographs of what happens, mapping, who's available, [and] where they're located, and all these things now are done by cell phones."

The California Professional Firefighters group told legislators that firefighters "cannot afford the added danger-to the safety of the public as well as their own safety-of unnecessary interferences in the technology they rely on to do their jobs and keep civilians and themselves safe."

Wireless carriers fight ban on throttling firefighters during emergencies [Jon Brodkin/Ars Technica]