Verizon Will Slow Speed of Heaviest Data Users

Enjoy that handsome new iPhone, Verizon customers. But not too much: Verizon Wireless put into place a new policy today that allows it to slow the speed of the top 5% of data users, reports BGR.com. The policy applies not just to iPhones but to Androids and Blackberrys as well. "We're guessing that quite a few business travelers will fall within this particular range," writes Darren Murph at Engadget.

The Verizon language: "If you use an extraordinary amount of data and fall within the top 5% of Verizon Wireless data users we may reduce your data throughput speeds periodically for the remainder of your then current and immediately following billing cycle ..." The company hasn't resorted to this so-called throttling before, notes the Wall Street Journal, and a company spokesman say it's unrelated to today's iPhone launch: "This is clearly something we've been looking at for some time and introducing now. There's nothing magic about the timing." Click for more. (More Verizon stories.)