While we brought you word that Verizon has recently introduce an expansion to XLTE in Louisiana, which happens to be positive news, this particular bit will not resonate too well with the suits over at Verizon. Apparently, the German government has decided to cancel their contract with Verizon because of concerns that US authorities might have received data from the mobile carrier without any knowledge on the subscriber’s part.
This would mark a premature end to Verizon’s internet services to select government departments in Germany, as the existing contract is said to come to an end some time in 2015. Verizon has not commented on the situation as at press time, so we do not have any idea on what the folks over at Verizon feel at the moment.
Sparks did fly in Germany when it was revealed that a US agency actually bugged Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone, which is an obvious lack of respect for Germany’s leader, not to mention raising serious issues about privacy concerns. German Interior Ministry spokesman Tobias Plate mentioned, “There are indications that Verizon is legally required to provide certain things to the NSA, and that’s one of the reasons the cooperation with Verizon won’t continue. Furthermore, the ties revealed between foreign intelligence agencies and firms in the wake of the US National Security Agency affair, show that the German government needs a very high level of security for its critical networks,” he said.