Get a New Verizon iPhone and They May Slow Down Your Service

I don't really care about Verizon or iPhones (I'm an AT&T+Motorola Flipside guy), but my blogger friend Laura just ordered her Verizon iPhone so I thought I'd run this item:

On the same day it started taking pre-orders for the iPhone, Verizon Wireless started reserving the right to slow down data service for subscribers who consume far more than others.

A document on the company's website said that, starting Thursday, subscribers who sign a new contract for an unlimited data plan—a requirement to buy a Verizon  iPhone—are agreeing that the carrier may throttle their data speeds if they use so much data that it slows down service for other users.

Heavy data use from iPhone users has caused congestion and poor service in some places on AT&T's network, but Verizon Wireless spokesman Jeffrey Nelson says Verizon's move isn't related to the launch of the iPhone. The growth in smart phone use in general prompted it, he said.

"This is looking ahead and making sure that our customers get the experience that they expect from us," Nelson said. "We all have seen what happens when a company doesn't manage its network."

Good luck with all that, Laura! (Actually, I'm guessing you'll love your new phone and all the cool stuff it can do, unless you start running all those old movies on it and then they may slow you down.)