RTC Communications Corporation (“RTC”), has formulated this Acceptable Use Policy (“Policy”) in order to provide for the responsible use of RTC’s networks, systems, services, websites and products (collectively, “RTC Services”) by our customers and other users of RTC Services (individually “User” and collectively “Users”), and to enable RTC to provide Users with secure, reliable and productive services. This Policy is also designed to help protect RTC Service, subscribers, and the Internet community, from irresponsible or illegal activities. We hope and expect that common sense and good judgment will guide all of our subscribers’ Internet activities. However, RTC may take such action, as it deems appropriate against any subscriber or User for violations of your Service Agreement or of this Policy, including the suspension or termination of the User’s account without notice.
By using the RTC Services, Users consent to be bound by the terms of this Policy. RTC reserves the right to modify this Policy in its discretion at any time. Such modification will be effective when posted to the RTC website https://www.rtc1.com or any successor URL(s). Users of the RTC Services should regularly visit the website and review this Policy to ensure that their activities conform to the most recent version. In the event of a conflict between any subscriber or customer agreement and this Policy, the terms of this Policy shall govern. Any use of the Company Services after such posting shall constitute acceptance of such modification.
General Policy
The provisions of this Policy are not meant to be exhaustive. Generally, conduct that violates law, regulation, or the accepted norms and ethics of the Internet community or the community at large, whether or not expressly mentioned in this Policy, is prohibited. RTC reserves the right at all times to prohibit activities that damage RTC’s commercial reputation and goodwill or affect the quality of RTC Services or RTC’s ability to provide service.
Suspension; Termination
In order to preserve the integrity of RTC’s Services, RTC may take action against a User, including the cancellation of User’s Internet service account, if User, or anyone using User’s Company Services, violates this Policy, the terms and conditions for any agreement, any law governing User’s conduct on the Internet, or the policies of any network accessed through RTC Services. Further, if User, or anyone using User’s Company Services, engages in any conduct that interferes with RTC Services or the use and enjoyment of the Internet by others, User’s Internet service account also may be cancelled. If such conduct results in damages to RTC, User may be required to reimburse the Company for all such damages, subject to a minimum amount of two hundred and fifty dollars ($250.00). User may also be charged an activation fee or further deposits to reconnect a suspended or terminated account.
Limitation of Responsibility
Through the RTC Services User will use networks or access information and other services that RTC does not own or control. RTC is not responsible in any manner for the content or accuracy of information or services from sources that RTC does not control. RTC reserves the right to remove or restrict access to any material that RTC believes is illegal, that may subject RTC to liability, or that violates this Policy or any other RTC policy including, without limitation, RTC’s “Network Management Policy” (which can be viewed at www.rtc1.com). If User has any questions regarding this Policy, User may contact RTC Communications Customer Service at 117 W Eighth Street, Rochester, IN 46975, telephone (574) 223-2191, or email us at copyright@rtcol.com.
Privacy
RTC’s Privacy Statement is posted on the Company’s website at www.rtc1.com. Please refer to this Privacy Statement in connection with the Company’s policies concerning the privacy of customer information.
Prohibited Conduct
A. In General
RTC Services must be used in a manner that is consistent with the intended purposes of RTC Services and may be used only for lawful purposes. Users shall not use RTC Services in order to: (a) transmit, distribute or store material in violation of any applicable law or regulation, including export or encryption laws or regulations; (b) that may adversely affect RTC Services or other RTC customers; or (c) that may expose RTC to criminal or civil liability. Users are prohibited from facilitating the violation of any part of this Policy, including, but not limited to transmitting, distributing, or otherwise making available any product or service that violates this Policy.
B. Inappropriate Content
Users shall not use RTC Services to post, transmit, distribute or store any information or material, as reasonably determined by RTC, that is inappropriate or objectionable, obscene (including child pornography), offensive, indecent, defamatory, libelous, threatening, harassing, abusive, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, excessively violent or otherwise inappropriate, regardless of whether this material or its dissemination is unlawful.
C. Intellectual Property
Material accessible through RTC Services may be subject to protection under privacy, publicity, or other personal rights and intellectual property rights, including but not limited to, copyrights and laws protecting patents, trademarks, trade secrets or other proprietary information. Users shall not use RTC Services in any manner that would infringe, dilute, misappropriate, or otherwise violate any such rights. If User uses a domain name in connection with any of RTC Services, User must not use that domain name in violation of the trademark, service mark, or other rights of any third party.
D. Harmful Content/Use
Users shall not use RTC Services to transmit, distribute or store material that may be harmful to or interfere with RTC Services or any third party’s networks, systems, services, or websites. Such prohibited harmful content includes, but is not limited to, viruses, worms, or Trojan horses. Additionally, RTC Services shall not be used to: (a) access or interfere with any other person's computer or computer system, software, or data without their knowledge and consent; (b) breach the security of another User; or (c) attempt to circumvent the User authentication or security of any host, network, or account (such as, but not limited to, accessing data not intended for User, logging into or making use of a server or account User is not expressly authorized to access, or probing the security of other hosts, networks, or accounts).
E. Fraudulent/Misleading Content
Users shall not use RTC Services to transmit or distribute material containing fraudulent offers for goods or services, or any advertising or promotional materials that contain false, deceptive, or misleading statements, claims, or representations. In addition, Users are prohibited from submitting any false or inaccurate data on any order form, contract or online application, including the fraudulent use of credit cards.
F. E-mail and Unsolicited Messages
Users of RTC Services may not: (a) send a harassing or unwanted solicitation by e-mail; (b) send the same (or substantially similar) unsolicited e-mail message to an excessive number of recipients (“Spamming”); (c) send multiple unwanted e-mail messages to the same address, or send any e-mail that provokes a complaint to RTC from the recipient; (d) continue to send e-mail to a specific address after the recipient or RTC has requested User to stop such transmissions; (e) falsify User’s e-mail address, or any other identification information, while using RTC Services; (f) use e-mail to originate chain e-mails or originate or forward pyramid-type schemes; (g) use a mail server to relay or intercept e-mail without the express permission of the owner, or operate a mail server to relay or intercept e-mail; or (h) place User’s website address, which User has hosted through RTC, on unsolicited commercial messages. RTC, pursuant to its network management practices, reserves the right to cancel e-mail messages and/or restrict the size of e-mail distribution lists.
G. Conduct with a Minor
Users shall not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from a minor or use RTC Services to harm a minor including, but not limited to, using the Service to send pornographic, obscene or profane materials involving a minor. A minor is defined as any person under the age of 18 years.
Third Party Rules
Users may have access through the RTC Services to search engines, subscription Web services, chat areas, bulletin boards, Web pages, or other services that promulgate rules, guidelines or agreements to govern their use. Users must adhere to any such rules, guidelines, or agreements.
Inappropriate Actions
RTC does not tolerate hacking and attacks. “Hacking” is any unauthorized attempt to monitor access or modify computer system information or interfere with normal system operations, whether this involves RTC’s equipment or any computer system or network that is accessed through RTC Services. An “attack” is any interference with Internet service to any User, host or network, including, but not limited to, mail-bombing, ping flooding, broadcast attempts or any attempt to overload a system to interrupt service. Inappropriate activity may result in civil or criminal liability. RTC will investigate such activity, and will, as appropriate, involve law enforcement authorities in prosecuting Users involved in inappropriate actions.
Security
User is responsible for any misuse of RTC Services. Therefore, User must take steps to ensure that others do not use User’s account to gain unauthorized access to RTC Services. In all cases, User is solely responsible for the security of any device User chooses to connect to RTC Services, including any data stored or shared on that device. It is User’s responsibility to implement and maintain security procedures for User’s network or system. RTC is not responsible for any loss or damaged caused by hacking, attacks and other related activities.
Responsibility for Content
RTC takes no responsibility for any material created or accessible on or through RTC Services. RTC is not obligated to monitor or exercise any editorial control over such material, but reserves the right to do so. In the event that RTC becomes aware that any such material may violate this Policy and/or
expose RTC to civil or criminal liability, RTC reserves the right to terminate that User’s RTC Services immediately. RTC further reserves the right to cooperate with legal authorities and third parties in the investigation of alleged wrongdoing, including disclosing the identity of the User that RTC deems responsible for the wrongdoing.
Reporting Violations
Violations of this Policy may be reported to RTC at www.rtc1.com.
Enforcement of Policy
The failure of RTC to enforce this Policy, for whatever reason, shall not be construed as a waiver of any right to do so at any time. User agrees that if any portion of this Policy is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion will be construed consistent with applicable law as nearly as possible, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect.
RTC provides products and services to requesting customers with visual impairments for easier digital content engagement.
Accessibility - RTC offers its customers navigation devices with the requisite accessibility features for customers that are blind or visually impaired. RTC’s video platform provides support for screen readers, keyboard navigation, and audible accessibility for the enjoyment of RTC’s programming on any digital TV in the home and for recording programs in the cloud for playback on linked devices.
To obtain additional information such as user guides in accessible format, or to request support with Accessibility and instrumental products, services, devices and features, including large print documentation, and audible accessibility please call us at 574-223-2191 or visit www.rtc1.com.
For any concerns or complaints, please contact us:
Email: customerservice@rtcol.com
Phone: 574-223-2191
Mail: 117 W 8th St, Rochester, IN 46975
Additional Accessibility Support
Large-Button Remotes – Remote Controls with larger buttons are available for purchase at our Rochester Office.
Bill Reading – If Customer will pay the bill by phone, Customer Service Representatives will read the Customer’s bill over the phone, upon request.
Video Description – Audio-narrated descriptions of the key visual elements of a TV program or movie are available with our Set Top boxes. Ask one of Customer Service Representatives for more details.
Directory Assistance - We can help you find and dial phone numbers. In addition, you may be eligible for discounted directory assistance service.
Closed Captioning - Navigation devices provided by RTC include a mechanism reasonably comparable to a button, key, or icon for easy activation of the embedded closed captioning function. An automatic closed captioning lock is also available, so captions will always be turned on when you want to watch TV.
TTY Dialing - Phone service is compatible with TTY equipment.
RTC Communications Corp
SERVICE AREA
Rochester, Akron
117 W 8th St
Rochester, IN 46975
574-223-2191
OFFICE HOURS
Rochester M-F 8am – 5pm
Policies and Procedures
2020
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING OUR POLICIES AND PRACTICES, INCLUDING COMPLAINT PROCEDURES, ARBITRATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION
This notice is being provided to you, as a new or existing customer of RTC Communications Corp., to inform you of the terms and conditions governing your cable service. In addition, this notice is being provided to you in order to comply with the Company’s obligations under the rules of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which require us to inform our customers at the time of installation and at least annually thereafter of the current terms and conditions governing our service, including with respect to the Company’s billing and complaint procedures, procedures for the resolution of complaints about television signal quality, installation and service maintenance policies and the conditions of subscription to programming and other services. Other information relating to the products and services which we offer, the prices, options and channel positions of programming services we offer and instructions on how to use our cable services are provided to you at installation and/or from time to time during the year under separate cover. You may also access this information via our website www.rtc1.com or request this information by visiting our office at 117 W 8th St, Rochester, IN or by calling 574-223-2191: Please read this document carefully.
For those of our customers receiving service through commercial accounts, bulk rate arrangements with multiple dwelling owners, or similar arrangements, some of the policies, procedures and services herein may not apply. Please refer to the terms and conditions of documents reflecting such separate arrangements. Where such documents are inconsistent with the policies, procedures and information relating to service set forth herein, the terms and conditions of such separate arrangements shall apply.
RTC Communications Policies and Practices
The following Policies and Practices, set for the below, are terms and conditions that apply to you when you accept our cable television and other cable Services. We may change them in the future and will notify you if that occurs. We will continue to review our Policies and Practices as part of our commitment to continually review and improve the quality of Services we provide. We will send you a written, electronic, or other appropriate notice informing you of any changes and the Effective Date. If you find the change unacceptable, you have the right to cancel your Service. However, if you continue to receive Service after the Effective Date of the change, we will consider this your acceptance of the change.
DEFINITIONS
As used in these Policies and Practices:
“We”, “Company”, “us” or “our” means RTC Communications Corp. and all affiliated entities using the brand name “RTC Communications Corp”, including your local cable company, its employees, authorized agents, and its parents, subsidiaries and affiliated companies.
“You”, “your” or “Customer” means the customer identified on the work order that was signed to begin your cable TV service and any other person using the Services provided to you or authorized by you to access or modify your account.
“Home” means the place you live, including a single-family home, apartment, other residence, or any other type of dwelling unit, where your Service is installed.
“Service(s)” means the cable TV programming and any other cable service we provide to you, and cable Internet access.
“Hourly service charge” means the hourly charge you pay us for certain services. The hourly service charge is calculated using the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”). It is designed to recover the costs of servicing, installing and maintaining customer equipment.
“Installed” means either installed or activated.
“Inside Wire” or “Inside Wiring” means the cable that runs inside your home to a point 12 inches outside of your home, and includes any extra outlets, splitters, connections, fittings or wall plates attached to it.
“Equipment” means one or more of the following: cable modem, digital consumer terminal or digital receiver (“DCT”), converter, converter-descrambler, remote control unit, security device, addressable control module, A/B switch, coaxial cable (“Cable”) which is not inside wiring, parental lock-out device, or any other device installed in or around your home, whether or not provided by us, necessary or convenient for you to receive cable TV programming or other Services from us. Inside wiring is not Equipment.
PAYMENT FOR SERVICE
If you are a new customer, we may conduct a customer risk assessment and require a deposit before we install service. RTC Communications Corp shall not discriminate in the application of its local risk assessment and deposit policy on the basis of race, color, sex, creed, religion, nationality, sexual orientation or marital status. Any risk assessments conducted by either RTC Communications Corp. or its third-party credit bureau will be done in conformance with the requirements of all applicable state or federal laws.
We provide Service to you on a month-to-month basis, unless you have otherwise agreed. Charges for Service start within 2 hours after Service is installed. The charges for one month’s Service, any deposits, and any installation or equipment lease fees are payable when Service is installed. After that, we will bill you each month in advance for Service (except for pay-per-view movies or events, which are sometimes billed after they are provided to you).
The bills you receive will show the total amount due and the payment due date. You agree to pay us monthly, in full, by the payment due date for that Service and for any other charges due us, including any administrative late fee(s) and related fees, charges and assessments due to late payments or nonpayment, and any returned check fees, plus other separate and additional charges as described below.
If we do not receive your payment by the due date stated on the bill, you may be charged such fees, charges and assessments, plus the other separate and additional charges.
The administrative fee(s), charges and assessments related to late payment and nonpayment are intended to be reasonable advance ESTIMATES OF COSTS RESULTING FROM LATE PAYMENTS OR NONPAYMENTS OF OUR CUSTOMER. We will tell you the amount of these fees and other separate or additional charges at or before the time you subscribe to and receive our Services, prior to the time we implement or assess new ones, and in our annual mailings to you thereafter. You may avoid these fees and other separate or additional charges relating to late payment and nonpayment by making sure that your payment is received by the due date on the bill, you agree to voluntarily pay these fees and any other separate and additional charges, fees, and assessments as a condition of receiving our Services.
We do not anticipate that you will make partial payments or pay your bill late, and the administrative late fee (s) and other related charges, fees, and assessments related to late payment and nonpayment are set in advance because it would be difficult to know in advance: (a) whether or not you will pay your bill on time, (b) if you do pay late, when you will actually pay your bill, if ever, and (c) what costs we will incur because of your late payment or nonpayment. We do not extend credit to our customers and the administrative fee(s), related fees, charges and assessments are not interest, a credit service charge or a finance charge. Our late fee practices may be revised to comply with applicable law.
Charges for your Service may be billed to you together with other Services that you receive from our affiliated companies or us. Payment of any such bill for multiple Services is due in full on the indicated payment due date. Any failure to pay such bill in its entirety after the due date may result in administrative or late fees and/or disconnection of Service with respect to any or all of the Services billed. Any partial payment of a bill will be allocated by us amount and between such Services and amount charged at our discretion, subject only to applicable law.
If you change the Services you receive, we may charge you a change of service fee such as upgrade or downgrade charge. If you have any questions, please contact by stopping in our office or by calling 574-223-2191.
You may pay your bill by mailing payment to the address specified on your bill. We do not assume the risk of undelivered mail. Payment shall be deemed made on the business day received by us, except that, if payment is received on a day that is not a business day, it shall be deemed received on the next business day. You may deliver your payment to the office, and it will be deemed received when delivered or, if not on a regular business day, on the next such day or by dropping payment into our payment slot. You may also choose to pay online or have an automatic withdrawal set up. You agree to pay all taxes, franchise fees, and other charges, if any, which are not or in the future may be assessed because you receive our Service.
If there are any billing errors or other requests for credit, you must bring those to our attention within six (6) months of the time you receive the bill for which you are seeking correction, unless applicable law provides for a longer period, which cannot be waived or otherwise modified.
Payments received from you will be deemed to be paid voluntarily.
3. COMPANY CHANGES IN SERVICES AND CHARGES
Subject to applicable law, we have the right to change our Service and Equipment and our prices or fees, at any time. We also may rearrange, delete, add to or otherwise change the Service provided on our Basic Service or other levels of Service. If the change affects you, we will provide you notice of the change and Effective Date. The notice may be provided on your monthly bill, as a bill insert, in a newspaper or by other reasonable method of communication. If you find the change unacceptable, you have the right to cancel your Service. However, if you continue to receive Service after the Effective Date of the change, we will consider this your acceptance of the change. Please take the time to read the monthly messages and to review your bill carefully to make sure your name and address are correct. You will generally be billed at the same time each month.
4. TERMINATION OF SERVICE
You may not assign or transfer the service without our written consent.
The provisions of these Policies and Practices, including the dispute resolution process (Section 10) shall survive termination, amendment or expiration of your relationship with the Company, your receipt of Services, or any other relationship between us.
a. Voluntary Termination. Unless you have otherwise agreed (such as where you have agreed in advance to receive Service over a specified period of time), you have the right to cancel your Service for any reason at any time by giving us notice. We will refund any balance due to you approximately thirty (30) days of the later of (i) your notice to us of the discontinuance of Service of (ii) the return of any Equipment you may have.
b. Involuntary Termination/Effect on other RTC Communication Corp Services. Subject to applicable law, if you fail to pay your bill when it is due or fail to comply with any provision contained in these Policies and Practices, we have the right to terminate your Service or any other Service included within your bill. We may also, without limitation, require you to pay all past due charges, an installation charge, a deposit and a minimum of one month’s advance charges before we reconnect your Service. Further, if you do not reconnect, any rental equipment must be returned to us. A handling fee may be charged for returned checks.
In either termination event, you will be charged an early termination fee if service is removed within 6 months of activation date. If you have a payment credit for any reason (including, without limitation, an unreturned security deposit or prepayment) at the time of your termination of service, such payment credit will be set off against any amount, which you owe us before its remittance to you.
5. EQUIPMENT
Except for the Inside Wiring, which we consider your property regardless of who installed it, the Equipment installed by us or provided to you by us belongs to us or other third parties, unless you have purchased it. We may, at our option, supply new or reconditioned Equipment to you.
You must have our prior written consent to sell or give away our Equipment, and our Equipment may only be used in your home.
If you cease to be our customer, you are responsible for returning our Equipment to our designee or us. If you move, do not leave our Equipment in your vacant home or with anyone else. Our Equipment must be returned to us or one of our representatives in working order, normal wear and tear accepted, or you will be charged our replacement costs for such unreturned Equipment.
You are responsible for preventing the loss of or damage to our Equipment within your home. We suggest that our Equipment in your possession be covered by your homeowners, renters, or other insurance. You will be directly responsible for repair, replacement and other costs, damages, fees and charges if you do not return our Equipment to us in an undamaged condition.
If you have us repair or maintain the Inside Wiring, we will charge you additionally, either by the hour or flat fee, for that service. We are not responsible for problems with the operation of your television or television-related equipment (such as VCR’s, home antennas, or cable-compatible equipment) not owned by us, even if it is attached to the cable or Equipment.
None of the Equipment supplied by us nor any of our cable placed outside your home or property in connection with the installation of the Equipment and service shall be deemed fixtures, or in any way part of your real property, unless you purchase our cable to the extent permitted by applicable law when Service ends. We may remove the Equipment supplied by us by us, at our option, at any time during or following the termination of your Service, and you agree to allow us access to your home for such purposes.
We consider Inside Wiring to be your property, regardless of who may have installed it. Unless otherwise agreed upon by Company and you in writing, you will continue to be responsible for the repair and maintenance of the Inside Wire. You may install Inside Wiring, such as additional cable wiring and outlets. Regardless of who does the work, the internal wiring within your home must not interfere with the normal operations of your local cable system. Inside Wire maintenance may not be your responsibility if you rent your home. Contact you landlord or building manager to determine responsibility.
NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF CONVERTERS FOR ADDITIONAL OUTLETS.
Subscribers who install their own additional receiver connections may not be able to receive all stations carried on our cable system without additional equipment. For those televisions sets that are not truly compatible with the cable system, some television stations may not be receivable without additional equipment.
6. ACCESS TO CUSTOMERS’ HOMES
You authorize us or our designees to enter into your home, in your or your representative’s presence, or upon your property during normal business hours or by appointment, to install, inspect, maintain, replace, remove or otherwise deal with the Service and Equipment supplied by us. This authorization includes allowing us or such designee to be on your property outside your home at reasonable times even if you are not at home. You authorize our designee or us to make connections and perform other tasks that are necessary or desirable to enable us to provide Service to you or others, including connecting and making necessary attachments to your Inside Wiring. If you are not the owner of your home, you are responsible of obtaining any necessary approval from the owner to allow us into your home to perform the functions specified above. In additions, you agree to supply our designee, or us if we ask you to, with: (a) the owner’s name, address and phone number; (b) proof that you may give us access on the owner’s behalf or (c) consent from the owner of the home. You can be assured that our employees or designees are easily identified by their I.D. badges and our vehicles are clearly marked so they’re easy to spot.
7. PRIVATE VIEWING OF UNAUTHORIZED SERVICE AND USE OF EQUIPMENT
We provide Service to you for your private home viewing, use and enjoyment. You agree that the programming provided over the cable system will not be viewed in areas open to the public. The programming may not be rebroadcast, transmitted or performed, nor may admission be charged for viewing without first obtaining written consent, in advance, from us and our programming suppliers(s). This consent may be withheld at the sole discretion of either of us.
You may not order or request pay-per-view programming for receipt, exhibition or taping in a commercial establishment. You may neither exhibit nor assist in the exhibition of pay-per-view programming in a commercial establishment unless explicitly authorized to do so, in advance, by us and our program provider(s). You may not move your converter to another location or use it at any time at an address other than your home or location where Service was installed by us without our prior written authorization. If you fail to abide by this restriction, you will be held liable for any claims made against you or Company on account of any unauthorized commercial exhibition.
You agree not to attach any unauthorized device to our Equipment. If you make any unauthorized connection or modification to the Equipment of any other part of the cable TV system, you will be in breach of these Policies and Practices, and we may terminate your Service and recover such damages as may arise as a result of your breach.
Much of the Equipment necessary to receive our Services is available both from us and others. Regardless of whether you purchase such Equipment or lease such Equipment from us, you are responsible for assuring that such Equipment does not interfere with the normal operations of our local cable system and other communications systems and devices. For example, you agree not to install anything to intercept or receive or to assist in interception or receiving, or which is capable of interception or receiving any Service offered over our cable system, unless specifically authorized to do so by us. You are responsible to pay for all Services received or otherwise provided to your household. You also agree that you will not attach anything to the Inside Wire or Equipment, whether installed by you or us, which singly or together results in a degradation of our cable system’s signal quality or strength. You may not attach any device or equipment to your Inside Wiring in a way that impairs the integrity of our local cable system, such as creating signal leakage, which may cause a violation of government regulations, or attaching devices or equipment which, alone or together, result in a degradation of signal quality. Further, Services or signals provided by us which are carried on or transmitted through the Inside Wire or Equipment provided by us may not be commingled with signals or services provided by others.
We can recover damages from you as provided by applicable law for tampering with any of our Equipment or any other part of our cable system or for receiving unauthorized service.
You must return our Equipment when you are no longer a customer. In the future, you may also choose to buy Equipment from on independent store. However, analog converters with descrambling capabilities should only be obtained from us. In fact, should you see advertisement for cable converters that have descramblers in them (so-called “pirate boxes” or “black boxes”), you should understand that these devices may be illegal to sell or use, unless authorized by us. Because of the need to protect our scrambled Service, we will not authorize the use of any analog converter/descrambler purchased at a retail store must be authorized by us through the use of a special security device. People who use illegal converters/descramblers may be stealing cable service. This practice may unfairly result in increased price to our honest customers.
8. LIMITED 30-DAY WARRANTY AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
EXCEPT AS EXPLICITLY SET FORTH IN THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SPECIFIC SERVICES WE PROVIDE TO YOU, WE WARRANT FOR A PERIOD OF 30 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF OUR INSTALLATION OR REPAIR AT YOUR HOME THAT OUR SERVICE AND THE EQUIPMENT WE HAVE INSTALLED OR REPAIRED WILL MEET ACCEPTED INDUSTRY STANDARDS AND BE FREE FROM DEFECTS IN MATERIALS OR WORKMANSHIP. IF YOU REPORT ANY FAILURE TO CONFORM TO THIS WARRANTY TO US WITHIN THAT 30-DAY-PERIOD, WE WILL REPERFORM THE NONCONFORMING SERVICES AND REPAIR OR REPLACE THE NONCONFORMING EQUIPMENT, SUCH REPERFORMANACE OF WORK OR REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT OF NONCONFORMING EQUIPMENT SHALL CONSTITUTE OUR ENTIRE LIABILITY AND YOUR SOLE REMEDY UNDER THIS WARRANTY, WHETHER CLAIMS OR REMEDIES ARE SOUGHT IN CONTRACT OR TORT (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE).
THE FOREGOING WARRANTIES ARE EXCLUSIVE AND IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, WHETHER WRITTEN OR IMPLIED, IN FACT OR IN LAW. WE, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES OR MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DELAY OR FAILURE TO PERFORM OUR OBLIGATIONS, INCLUDING INTERRUPTIONS IN SERVICE, IF SUCH DELAY OR NONPERFORMANCE ARISES IN CONNECTION WITH ANY ACTS OF GOD, FIRES, EARTHQUAKES, FLOODS, STRIKES OR OTHER LABOR DISPUTES, UNUSALLY SEVERE WEATHER, ACTS OF ANY GOVERNMENTAL BODY, OR ANY OTHER CAUSE BEYOND OUR REASONABLE CONTROL.
THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS, AND YOU MAY ALSO HAVE OTHER RIGHTS.
IN NO EVENT SHALL WE OR OUR EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR PUNITIVE, TREBLE, EXEMPLARY, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM OUR PROVISION OF OR FAILURE TO PROVIDE ANY EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES TO YOU, OR FROM ANY FAULT, FAILURE, DEFICIENCY OR DEFECT IN SERVICE, LABOR, MATERIALS, WORK OR EQUIPMENT FURNISHED TO YOU, OR FROM OUR BILLING, ADVERTISING OR OTHER PRACTICES WHICH ARE IN ANY WAY RELATED TO OUR OFFERING OR PROVISION OF SERVICES OR EQUIPMENT TO YOU. SUCH LIMITATION OF LIABILITY APPLIES IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH DAMAGES MAY BE AVAILABLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, AND THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVE THEIR RIGHTS, IF ANY, TO RECOVER ANY SUCH DAMAGES.
YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDIES UNDER THIS AGREEMENT ARE AS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT, UNLESS APPLICABLE LAW PROVIDES THAT CERTAIN REMEDIES, DAMAGES AND/OR WARRANTIES CANNOT BE WAIVED, LIMITED OR OTHERWISE MODIFIED. IF CERTAIN REMEDIES, DAMAGES AND/OR WARRANTIES CANNOT BE WAIVED, LIMITED OR OTHERWISE MODIFIED, THE LIABILITY OF THE COMPANY AND ITS AFFILIATES IS LIMITED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENET PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.
9. CUSTOMER COMPLAINT PROCEDURES
If you have any complaint regarding the Service, including billing service and quality of the television signals we deliver, you should contact us at the telephone number on your monthly bill or in writing to inform us. If you can see images or hear sound from scrambled premium or adult channels that you do not subscribe to, you may have these channels blocked free of charge. We maintain a local business office that is open weekdays, except holidays, for customer visits. We will promptly try to resolve the problem.
We maintain a toll-free telephone access line that will be available to you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year. When you call about a service problem during regular business hours, a customer support representative (CSR) will attempt to determine the nature of the problem. If possible, the CSR will help you resolve the problem over the telephone. If the problem cannot be resolved during the call, the CSR will schedule a service technician to visit your home. If your workload permits, the service technician will be dispatched the same day. Our CSRs and service technicians are well trained and have authority to attempt to resolve a customer’s problem, including replacement of any non-operating equipment, in order to provide quality service.
We offer an “appointment window” for installation, service, calls, or other installation activities that is either a specific time, or at a maximum, a four-hour time block during normal business hours. We commit to a policy to not cancel our appointment with you after the close of business in the business day prior to a scheduled appointment. If we are running late for an appointment, we will attempt to contact you and will, as necessary, attempt to reschedule to a time that is convenient for you.
Emergencies that affect signal quality, such as fallen utility poles, violent storms or very cold weather, may interfere with reception of cable Service. We are committed to have one of our crew’s promptly correct outages or other service-related problems occurring as a result of an emergency situation. We pledge a prompt response at any time if a large area of the system is experiencing technical difficulties.
We will maintain complaint records for at least a one-year-period. In addition, those records will be available for inspection by the franchise authority or the FCC.
We urge you to call us at the phone number printed on your bill any time you have questions or concerns about your Service.
10. MANDATORY AND BINDING ARBITRATION
IF WE ARE UNABLE TO RESOLVE INFORMALLY ANY CLAIM OR DISPUTE RELATED TO OR ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT OR THE SERVICES PROVIDED, WE HAVE AGREED TO BINDING ARBITRATION EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BELOW. YOU MUST CONTACT US WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR OF THE DATE OF THE OCCURRENCE OF THE EVENT OR FACTS GIVING RISE TO A DISPUTE (EXCEPT FOR BILLING DISPUTES WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO PARAGRAPH 3, RATES AND CHARGES, ABOVE), OR YOU WAIVE THE RIGHT TO PURSUE A CLAIM BASED UPON SUCH EVENT, FACTS OR DISPUTE. THERE SHALL BE NO RIGHT OR AUTHORITY FOR ANY CLAIMS TO BE ARBITRATED ON A CLASS ACTION OR CONSOLIDATED BASIS OR ON BASIS INVOLVING CLAIMS BROUGHT IN A PURPORTED REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY ON BEHALF OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC (SUCH AS A PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL), OTHER SUBSCRIBERS, OR OTHER PERSONS SIMILARLY SITUATED UNLESS YOUR STATES LAWS PROVIDE OTHERWISE.
As the first step in the arbitration process, you may select an arbitration organization from the choices below to preside over your dispute with the Company:
a) American Arbitration Association (“AAA”)
335 Madison Ave., Floor 10
New York, NY 10017-4605
1-800-778-7879
AAA will apply the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer-Related Disputes and the Consumer Dispute Resolution Procedures in arbitrating claims between you and the Company.
b) Judicial Arbitration & Mediation Service (“JAMS”)
1920 Main Street, Suite 300
Irvine, CA 92614
(949) 224-1810
JAMS will arbitrate your dispute with the Company under either the Streamlined Arbitration Rules & Procedures or the Comprehensive Arbitration Rules & Procedures, depending on the amount of the claim in dispute.
c) National Arbitration Forum (“NAF”)
P.O. Box 50191
Minneapolis, MN 55405-0191
1-800-474-2371
NAF will resolve all disputes brought before it using the NAF Code of Procedures.
The arbitration will take place at a location, convenient to you, in the area where you receive service from us. The Company will pay for all reasonable arbitration filing fees and arbitrator’s costs and expenses, except that YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL COSTS THAT YOU INCUR IN THE ARBITRATION, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, YOUR EXPERT WITNESSES OR ATTRORNEYS. We have agreed that a single arbitrator will resolve the dispute. Moreover, participating in arbitration may result in limited discovery.
WE HAVE AGREED THAT THE FOLLOWING WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ARBITRATION: (1) ANY CLAIM FILED BY THE COMPANAY TO COLLECT OUTSTANDING BALANCES FOR UNPAID SERVICE OR THE THEFT OF ANY SERVICE OR EQUIPMENT; (2) ANY DISPUTE OVER VALIDITY OF EITHER PARTY’S INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OR OUR LICENSES TO OPERATE OUR BUSINESS; AND (3) ANY DISPUTE INVOLVING VIOLATIONS OF 47 U.S.C. § 551 (WHICH RELATES TO PROTECTION OF SUBSCRIBER PRIVACY), OR 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521 (WHICH RELATES TO UNLAWFUL INTERCEPTION OF COMMUNICATIONS).
11. NOTICE
Except as provided in paragraph 3 above or otherwise permitted by law, if we send you notice, it will be considered given when deposited in the U.S. mail, addressed to you at your last-known address or hand delivered to you or to your home. We may provide electronic or telephone notice to you, which shall be deemed given when left with you. If you give notice to us, it will be deemed given when received by us.
12. CHANGES TO POLICIES AND PRACTICES
These Policies and Practices are subject to amendment, modification or termination if required by law or regulation. We will notify you of changes to these Policies and Practices. Any changes proposed by you will only be effective when accepted in writing by one of our senior officers, within their sole discretion.
13. ENFORCEABILITY AND SURVIVAL
If any portion of these Policies and Practices is determined to be illegal of unenforceable, then the remainder of such Policies and Practices shall be given full force and effect. The provisions of these Policies and Practices shall service termination, amendment or expiration of the Agreement.
14. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES PRICE LIST
Please note that our Products and Services Price List changes from time to time. The current version of our Products and Services Price List can be obtained by visiting our office at 117 W 8th Street Rochester, IN, calling our office at 574-223-2191 or by visiting our website at www.rtc1.com.
NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT POLICY
This information should not be construed as legal advice to our Customers or Visitors. If you believe that your copyrights have been infringed, or if a notice of copyright infringement has been filed against you, we advise that you seek legal counsel. We provide this information to you for informational purposes only.
Pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the "DMCA"), you may file a Notification of claimed infringement with the Designated Agent of a Service Provider if you believe that a Web page hosted by RTC Communications Corporation, as the Service Provider (hereinafter “Service Provider”), is violating your rights under U.S. copyright law. (See Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(c)(3)). The DMCA provides the following procedure for parties to follow who wish to file a Notification of claimed infringement with a Service Provider.
To serve a Notification on Service Provider, send your Notification to:
Name of Designated Agent to Receive Notification:
John Gray
Address to Which Notification Should be Sent:
117 W Eighth Street
Rochester, IN 46975
Telephone Number of Designated Agent:
(574) 223-2191
Email Address of Designated Agent:
Notification
In order to be effective under the DMCA, the Notification must (i) be in writing, and (ii) be provided to the Designated Agent of a Service Provider.
In order for such a complaint to be effective under the DMCA, Notification must include the following:
A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site is covered by a single Notification, a representative list of such works at that site.
Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the Service Provider to locate the material.
Information reasonably sufficient to permit the Service Provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted.
A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
A statement that the information in the Notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Upon receipt of the written Notification containing the information described in 1 through 6 above, Service Provider will:
Remove or disable access to the material that is alleged to be infringing.
Take reasonable steps to promptly notify the subscriber that it has removed or disabled access to the material.
Counter Notification
If a notice of copyright infringement has been filed against you, you may file a Counter Notification with a Service Provider’s Designated Agent. In order to be effective, a Counter Notification must be written and include substantially the following:
A physical or electronic signature of the subscriber.
Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled.
A statement under penalty of perjury that the subscriber has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled.
The subscriber's name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that the subscriber consents to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the address is located, or if the subscriber's address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which the Service Provider may be found, and that the subscriber will accept service of process from the person who provided Notification or an agent of such person.
Upon receipt of a Counter Notification containing the information as outlined in 1 through 4 above, Service Provider shall:
Promptly provide the complaining party with a copy of the Counter Notification;
Replace the removed material or cease disabling access to the material within 10 to 14 business days following receipt of the Counter Notification, unless the Service Provider's Designated Agent first receives notice from the complaining party that an action has been filed seeking a court order to restrain alleged infringing party from engaging in infringing activity relating to the material on Service Provider's system or network.
NOTE: Under the DCMA, claimants who make misrepresentations concerning copyright infringement may be liable for damages incurred as a result of the removal or blocking of the material, court costs, and attorneys fees. See Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(f).
NOTE: The information on this page is provided to you for informational purposes only, and is not intended as legal advice. If you believe your rights under U.S. Copyright law have been infringed, you should consult an attorney.
Introduction
This Agreement (the "Agreement") sets forth the terms and conditions under which RTC Communications Corporation, together with any affiliate and/or distribution partner (collectively, “RTC"), agrees to provide RTC Internet service (hereinafter the "Service") to you. By completing the registration and using the Service, you (i) agree to abide by, and require others using the Service through your account to abide by the terms of this Agreement, and (ii) represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years of age. If you do not agree with the foregoing, you may not use the Service and must return any installation software, equipment, and all associated materials to RTC. This Agreement takes effect on the date on which you accept this Agreement, and continues until your subscription is terminated.
RTC reserves the right to modify the terms of this Agreement or prices for the Service and may discontinue or revise any or all other aspects of the Service in its sole discretion at any time by posting changes online at RTC’s website – https://www.rtc1.com. Your continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of this Agreement as modified by RTC’s posted changes. The updated, online version of this Agreement shall supersede any prior version of this Agreement that may have been included in any software or related materials provided by RTC. This Agreement should be read in conjunction with our Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP"), Privacy Policy, and other applicable policies.
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS, YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY STOP THE USE OF THE SERVICE AND NOTIFY RTC’S CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT SO THAT YOUR ACCOUNT CAN BE CLOSED.
1. Your Subscription
Your subscription entitles you to use the Service at address specified on account. You agree not to assign, transfer, resell, allow/use at other addresses via wired or wireless access nor sublicense your rights as a subscriber unless specifically allowed by this Agreement. You agree that you are solely responsible and liable for any and all breaches of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, whether such breach results from your use of the Service or by another person who uses your computer. You agree to contact RTC immediately upon the occurrence of any change in the status of your account (e.g., change in individuals authorized to use your account) for the purpose of updating your account information.
2. Payment Terms
You agree to be responsible for any and all charges, damages and costs that you or anyone using your RTC account may cause. You agree to pay all monthly fees and installation charges associated with the Service including, but not limited to, applicable taxes, customer service fees, late fees and collection fees. Monthly fees for the Service will be billed one month in advance. If payment is not received by the due date, late fees and/or collection charges may be assessed and RTC may terminate your Service.
Separate and apart from the charges for RTC’s Services, you may also incur charges including, without limitation, charges relating to the purchase of "premium" services, such as additional web space, business class services, or access to certain gaming sites in addition to those billed by RTC. All such charges, including all applicable taxes, are your sole responsibility. You may be required to pay a reconnect fee and/or a security deposit in addition to all past due charges before the Service is reconnected.
RTC may apply a late fee to each of your bills not paid by the due date. You are responsible to pay all the RTC's cost of collection, including bank charges and reasonable attorneys' fees. In the event that a check or draft tendered by you is returned, a fee of $25.00 will apply, unless the return is a bank error that is properly documented by you. When billing for RTC’s Services is performed by local exchange telephone companies, credit card companies or others, the payment conditions and regulations of such companies apply, including any applicable interest and/or late payment charges. If you believe you have been billed in error, you must contact RTC within thirty (30) days of the date of the bill which contains the disputed charge. Refunds or adjustments will not be issued for any charge that is more than sixty (30) days old. RTC will notify you of the results of its inquiry, and either adjust the billing, issue a credit, or notify you that your dispute is denied.
3. Software License
To the extent applicable, RTC grants to you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable and non- assignable license to install and use RTC’s access software (including software from third party vendors that RTC distributes, hereinafter referred to as the "Licensed Software"), in order to access and use the Service. RTC may modify the Licensed Software at any time, for any reason, and without providing notice of such modification to you. The Licensed Software constitutes confidential and proprietary information of RTC and RTC’s licensors and contains trade secrets and intellectual property protected under United States copyright laws, international treaty provisions, and other laws. All right, title, and interest in and to the Licensed Software, including associated intellectual property rights, are and shall remain with RTC and its licensors. You agree to comply with the terms and conditions of all end user software license agreements accompanying any software or plug-ins to such software distributed by RTC in connection with the Service. Your right to use the Licensed Software terminates upon termination of this Agreement.
4. Computer and Equipment Requirements
At the time of initial installation of the Service, provided that your computer and other equipment does not harm RTC’s network or infringe upon or allow other users’ use of RTC’s service, you may attach such device to RTC’s network. Should such device harm RTC’s network, allow or infringe other users’ use of the Service, such device must be removed from the network. You will not remove any equipment owned by RTC (the "Equipment") from your premises (“Premises”).
5. Installation
You authorize RTC’s personnel and/or its agents to enter your Premises at mutually agreed upon times in order to install, maintain, inspect, repair and remove the Service. If you are not the owner of the Premises at which the Service is to be installed, you represent that you have obtained the consent of the owner of the Premises for RTC’s personnel and/or its agents to enter the Premises for the purposes described above. You shall indemnify and hold RTC harmless from and against any claims of the owner of the Premises arising out of the performance of this Agreement. You agree that installation of the Service (including the Licensed Software) may require RTC’s personnel and/or its agents to open your computer. You further acknowledge and agree that installation and/or use of the Service (including the Licensed Software) may result in the modification of your computer's systems files and that RTC may periodically update the software in order to provide the Service.
RTC neither represents, warrants, nor covenants that such modifications will not disrupt the normal operations of your computer. RTC shall have no liability whatsoever for any damage resulting from the installation and/or use of the Licensed Software or file modifications. RTC is not responsible for returning your computer to its original configuration prior to installation. RTC or its agents will supply and install certain software and, if required, hardware for a fee determined by RTC. RTC shall use reasonable efforts to install the Service to full operational status, provided that your computer fulfills the minimum computer requirements set forth herein.
6. Acceptable Use Policy
You agree to use the Services strictly in accordance with the Acceptable Use Policy located
at www.rtc1.com, which may be modified by RTC from time to time, and which is incorporated herein by reference and made a part of this Agreement.
7. Posting of Material
You are solely responsible and liable for all material that you upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available via the Service, including, without limitation, material that you post to any RTC website, or any third party vendor's service (e.g., newsgroups) that is used by RTC. RTC does not claim ownership of material you submit or make available for inclusion on the Service. However, with respect to material you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Service, you grant RTC a world-wide, royalty free and non-exclusive license(s) to: use your material in connection with RTC’s businesses including, but not limited to, the rights to copy, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, transmit, publish your name in connection with the material, and to prepare derivative works. No compensation will be paid with respect to the use of your material.
8. Links to Third Party Websites
In your use of the Service and/or RTC’s website, you may encounter various types of links that enable you to visit websites operated or owned by third parties (“Third Party Site”). These links are provided to you as a convenience and are not under the control or ownership of RTC. The inclusion of any link to a Third Party Site is not (i) an endorsement by RTC of the Third Party Site, (ii) an acknowledgement of any affiliation with its operators or owners, or (iii) a warranty of any type regarding any information or offer on the Third Party Site. Your use of any Third Party Site is governed by the various legal agreements and policies posted at that website.
9. Monitoring and Removal of Content
RTC is under no obligation to monitor the Service. However, RTC reserves the right at all times and without notice to remove, restrict access to, or make unavailable, any content on its servers that it considers, in its sole discretion, to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, and to monitor, review, retain and/or disclose any content or other information in RTC’s possession about or related to you, your use of the Services or otherwise as RTC deems necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request. RTC also retains the right to purge your email account or accounts in the event that any such account has not been accessed for at least three (3) months.
10. Privacy
You authorize RTC to make inquiries and to receive information about your credit history from others and to utilize such information in its decision regarding its provision of the Service to you. You agree that RTC may collect and disclose information concerning you and your use of the Service in the manner and for the purposes set forth herein and in RTC’s Privacy Policy.
11. No Spam or Other Unsolicited Bulk Email
RTC may immediately terminate any subscriber account that it determines, in its sole discretion, is transmitting or is otherwise connected with any “spam” or other unsolicited bulk email. You agree to pay RTC’s damages for “spam” or unsolicited bulk email transmitted from or otherwise connected with your account. Provided that such action is required by RTC in order to protect the integrity and customers’ use of RTC’s network and services as provided for in RTC’s Network Management Policy.
RTC reserves the right to, reject or remove what it considers in its sole discretion to be “spam” or other unsolicited bulk email from the Service and RTC shall have no liability for blocking any email considered to be “spam.”
12. Termination and Surviving Obligations
Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time without cause by providing the other party with no less than twenty-four (24) hours written notice of such termination. In the event of termination by you, you must notify RTC by telephone or by a non-electronic written submission. Email submissions shall not constitute effective notice. RTC may notify you of termination by electronic or other means.
You expressly agree that upon termination of this Agreement: (i) you will pay RTC in full for your use of any Equipment and Service up to the later of the effective date of termination of this Agreement or the date on which the Service and any Equipment have been disconnected and returned to RTC; (ii) you will permit RTC to access the Premises at a reasonable time to remove any Equipment and other material provided by RTC; (iii) you will ensure the immediate return of any Equipment to RTC and you will return or destroy all copies of any software provided to you pursuant to this Agreement; and (iv) RTC is authorized to delete any files, programs, data and email messages associated with such account.
13. Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability
You expressly agree that RTC is not responsible or liable for any content, act or omission of any third party including, without limitation, any threatening, defamatory, obscene, offensive, or illegal conduct, or any infringement of another's rights including, without limitation, privacy and intellectual property rights, and you hereby release RTC for any such claims based on the activities of third parties.
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED TO YOU "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. NEITHER RTC, NOR ITS AFFILIATES OR ANY OF ITS SUPPLIERS OR LICENSORS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS WARRANT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OR FREE FROM VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL MALICIOUS AGENTS EVEN IF ANTI-VIRUS MECHANISMS ARE DEPLOYED. RTC DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ANY DATA OR ANY FILES SENT BY OR TO YOU WILL BE TRANSMITTED IN UNCORRUPTED FORM OR WITHIN A REASONABLE PERIOD OF TIME. ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NONINFRINGEMENT, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND MERCHANTABILITY ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED AND DISCLAIMED. RTC AND ITS EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES AND AGENTS ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY COSTS OR DAMAGES, ARISING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, FROM THE INSTALLATION OR USE OF, THE LICENSED SOFTWARE, THE SERVICE (INCLUDING E-MAIL), EQUIPMENT FURNISHED BY RTC, OR RTC'S PROVISION OF TECHNICAL SERVICE AND SUPPORT FOR THE SERVICE, AND YOU AGREE THAT THIS DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY APPLIES EVEN IF SUCH DAMAGE RESULTS FROM THE NEGLIGENCE OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE OF A RTC INSTALLER, TECHNICIAN, OR CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE AND YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT THIS DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY INCLUDES ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR DAMAGES, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT RTC HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN ANY EVENT, RTC'S CUMULATIVE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY AND ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE USE OF THE SERVICE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF SERVICE FEES PAID DURING THE IMMEDIATELY PRECEEDING TWO (2)-MONTH PERIOD. YOU HEREBY RELEASE RTC FROM ANY AND ALL OBLIGATIONS, LIABILITIES, AND CLAIMS IN EXCESS OF THIS LIMITATION. RTC IS ALSO NOT LIABLE FOR ANY COSTS OR DAMAGES ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR BREACH OF THIS
AGREEMENT. Your sole and exclusive remedies under this Agreement are as expressly set forth herein. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of implied warranties, so the above exclusions or limitations may not apply to you.
14. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold RTC, its affiliates, officers, directors and employees, harmless from any claim, demand, or damage, including costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees, asserted by any third party due to or arising out of your use of or conduct on the Service. RTC will notify you within a reasonable period of time of any third party claim for which RTC seeks indemnification and will afford you the opportunity to participate in the defense of such claim, provided that your participation will not be conducted in a manner prejudicial to RTC's interests, as reasonably determined by RTC.
15. Management of Network, Maintenance
RTC reserves the right to manage its network for the greatest benefit of the greatest number of subscribers including, without limitation, the following: rate limiting, rejection or removal of “spam” or otherwise unsolicited bulk email, anti-virus mechanisms, traffic prioritization and protocol filtering as further described in RTC’s Network Management Policy. You expressly accept that such action on the part of RTC may affect the performance of the Service. RTC reserves the right to enforce limits on specific features of the Service including, without limitation, email storage (including deletion of dormant or unchecked email) and web hosting maximums. RTC will endeavor to perform planned service-affecting maintenance between 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. However, if exigent circumstances require maintenance at other time, RTC reserves the right to perform maintenance at such time as may be necessary. RTC will maintain a database of email contacts to be notified for maintenance that may be service affecting.
16. Copyright and Trademark Notices
Materials available on the RTC website are or may be protected by copyright law. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.
17. Intellectual Property Infringement Claims
In accordance with Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(c)(3), if you believe that a web page hosted by RTC is violating your rights under U.S. copyright law, you may file a complaint of such claimed infringement with RTC’s designated agent.
18. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
This Agreement shall be exclusively governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Indiana, without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. All disputes arising out of or related to this Agreement and the Service must be brought in a federal or state court located in the State of Indiana. You consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts located therein. You waive all rights to bring any claim, suit or proceeding more than one (1) year after the date the cause of action arose.
19. Miscellaneous
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement and understanding between the parties with respect to its subject matter and supersedes and replaces any and all prior written or oral agreements. In the event that any portion of this Agreement is held to be unenforceable, the unenforceable portion shall be construed in accordance with applicable law as nearly as possible to reflect the original intentions of the parties and the remainder of its provisions shall remain in full force and effect. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed to limit RTC’s rights and remedies available at law or in equity. RTC's failure to insist upon or enforce strict performance of any provision of this Agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right. Neither the course of conduct between the parties nor trade practice shall act to modify any provision of this Agreement. This Agreement may not be assigned or transferred by you. This Agreement is freely assignable by RTC to third parties.
20. How to Contact Us
For any questions regarding this Subscriber Agreement, billing or other, please contact RTC at one of the following:
Email: customerservice@rtcol.com
Phone: (574) 223-2191
U.S. Mail: RTC Communications 117 W Eighth Street Rochester, IN 46975
DO NOT CALL INFO
Both the Federal Government and the State of Indiana offer “Do-Not-Call Lists”. Registering for these lists adds your name to a list of consumers that do NOT want to be bothered by telemarketing calls. There is some telephone solicitations still allowed, however, and more information appears below.
RTC Communications Corporation (“RTC”) is required by the FCC under 47 C.F.R. 64.1200(g) to inform their customers of the:
INDIANA DO-NOT-CALL INFORMATION
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have created a National Do Not Call Registry where people can register their residential phone number to reduce telemarketing calls. The National list will NOT provide Hoosiers with the same amount of protection that you currently receive under Indiana’s law. You can register for both lists, but the Attorney General’s Office encourages Indiana residents who want to reduce telemarketing calls to their homes to register on Indiana’s list first and foremost.
The National list allows more telemarketers to call you than the Indiana Telephone Privacy List. Therefore, Hoosiers receive more protection from being registered on the Indiana list. Most of the states that have a telephone privacy program will be transferring their registered phone numbers to the federal list. Indiana WILL NOT be transferring Hoosiers’ registered phone numbers to the FTC list at this time.
You may register online 24 hours a day, seven days a week by entering www.in.gov/attorneygeneral in the URL Address Line. Scroll down to the “Telephone Privacy List” section and click on “Register”. Or, you can register by phone by calling toll-free: 1-888-834-9969. You will be asked to give some basic information regarding your home phone number, name, address etc.
FEDERAL DO-NOT-CALL INFORMATION
The FCC and FTC are now sharing responsibility for enforcing the National Do-Not-Call list. The FCC now requires all telecommunication carriers that provide Local Exchange Service to notify their customers of their rights as they relate to the Do-Not-Call rules. You have the right to give or revoke an objection to receiving telephone solicitations. To either register or revoke you registration, please call 1-888-382- 1222 (TTY 1-866-290- 4236) or via the Internet at www.donotcall.gov.
The national registry prevents telephone solicitations made for commercial purposes only, and will not prevent telephone solicitations made by a tax-exempt nonprofit organization, for example for charitable or political purposes. Also, the registry will not prevent calls from companies with whom you may have an established business relationship.
The FCC has defined an established business relationship as one in which the consumer has “a prior or existing relationship” with a company that is formed voluntarily through communications between the company and the consumer on the basis of a purchase or transaction regarding products or services within eighteen (18) months immediately preceding a telephone solicitation, and which has not been previously terminated by either the consumer or the company. Such an established business relationship also exists on the basis of consumer inquiry regarding a company’s products or services within three (3) months immediately preceding the date of a telephone solicitation, and which has not been previously terminated by either the consumer of the company.
RTC Fiber Communications (“RTC” or “Company”) provides this Network Transparency Statement in accordance with the FCC’s Restore Internet Freedom Rules to ensure that you have sufficient information to make informed choices about the purchase of broadband services. Information about RTC’s other policies and practices concerning broadband are available at www.rtc1.com (“RTC Website”). Click below to review the entire statement.
Rochester Telephone Co., Inc. Service Agreement
1. GENERAL APPLICATION.
This Service Agreement (“Agreement”) constitutes your agreement with Rochester Telephone Co., Inc. for any Services, as defined by this Agreement, you subscribe to or receive from us, to the extent not governed by any governmentally-regulated tariffs or other written agreement between us, which tariffs or other agreement will supersede this agreement only concerning provisions that are not consistent with this Agreement. This Agreement is effective now for customers already subscribing to Services, or the date customers subscribe to Services on or after July 1, 2009.
This Agreement incorporates by reference our rates, charges, terms and conditions for Services (“Prices and Rules”) as posted and amended from time to time, and appear on our Internet website www.rtc1.com. If you do not have internet access to our website, you may request a written copy of these Prices and Rules by calling or writing to us at the telephone number and address on our bills.
Your subscription to, use of, or payment for Services constitutes your acceptance of this Agreement and our Prices and Rules. Contact us at 1-888-374-1900 immediately to cancel Services if you do not agree to any part of this Agreement. If you cancel Services, you will be responsible for all usage charges and the pro- rata portion of all monthly recurring charges incurred prior to cancellation.
Changes to this Agreement. We reserve the right to change the terms and prices of the Services at any time, including this Agreement and the Prices and Rules incorporated in this Agreement. You will be provided written notice of changes in pricing and other terms and conditions relative to this Agreement in accordance with Section 9. The change will become effective on the date described in the notice. We will not provide notice to you regarding price decreases or the expiration of promotional pricing, offers, and terms. We will not provide notice of changes to applicable taxes or surcharges, unless required by law or regulation, but we may post such changes to the Prices and Rules page on our Website.
Your continued use of the Services after any change constitutes your acceptance of any such changes in the Prices and Rules. Your sole remedy for any changes made by us is your right to cancel the affected Service or terminate this Agreement.
THIS AGREEMENT REQUIRES THE USE OF ARBITRATION AND WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY TO RESOLVE CERTAIN DISPUTES AND OTHERWISE LIMITS THE REMEDIES AVAILABLE TO YOU IN THE EVENT OF A DISPUTE. You should carefully read all terms in this Agreement, including a Mandatory Arbitration of disputes provision.
2. DEFINITIONS.
“Company,” “we,” and “us” means Rochester Telephone Co., Inc. any successor to or affiliate of the Rochester Telephone Co., Inc. to the extent such successor or affiliate provides Services to you under this Agreement.
“Prices and Rules” means the rates and descriptions, charges, or other terms and conditions applicable to Services in addition to the terms described here, incorporated by reference into this Agreement as posted to the Website or by requesting a copy from us by calling 1-888-374-1900. In the event of conflict between the terms and conditions of this document and the Prices and Rules, the terms and conditions of this Agreement govern. You agree that it is impractical to list in this document all of the Service descriptions, charges, and other terms applicable to all Services governed by this Agreement and that providing this information on our Website is a reasonable method of providing you with notice of the Prices and Rules.
“Service” or “Services” means all telecommunications and ancillary services we provide to you.
“Customer”, “you”, or “your” means any person or entity that requests or uses Services.
3. SERVICE PROVISION AND USE
Provision of Services. In our sole discretion, we may accept or reject your request for Services for any lawful reason. Before activation of any Service, we may check your credit; verify your identity; require a deposit, prepayment or other fee to establish or maintain Services; or require that you execute any authorizations and verifications we believe necessary. You must have and maintain satisfactory credit to receive and continue to receive Services.
Installation. If required, you will provide reasonable cooperation to enable us or our agents to install or repair the Services. You are responsible for damage to our equipment and Services located on your premises, excluding reasonable wear and tear or damage caused by us.
Use of Services. You agree to: (A) ensure compliance with this Agreement by anyone you authorize to use the Services; (B) pay all charges for Services provided or used under this Agreement including, but not limited to, unauthorized charges incurred on calls placed from your premises; (C) ensure that your actions and equipment do not directly or indirectly interfere with our ability to provide Services to others, or the quality of such Services; (D) comply with all applicable laws and regulations when using our Services and not use our Services in an unlawful, fraudulent, destructive, or abusive manner, or allow others to do so, (E) not use Services in such a manner that causes interference with our or another users of our network, and (F) allow us, in our sole discretion and without liability to you, to place restrictions on use of your Services, and immediately (even during a call) disrupt, suspend, or terminate your Services without notice for violations, suspected violations, or to prevent violations of the terms of this Agreement.
Monitoring. You understand that it may be possible for unauthorized third parties to monitor data traffic. If you wish to secure your usage in connection with any Services, you have the obligation to obtain, at your own cost, encryption software or other transmission security protections. You assume full responsibility for the establishment of appropriate security measures to control or limit access to your information.
Acceptable Use Policy. If you purchase Services that connect to or flow over the Internet, you must conform to our acceptable use policy posted on our Website.
Failure to Comply. If you fail to comply with any provision of this Section 3, you release us from all liabilities or obligations in connection with the affected Service, and you will indemnify us for all costs or damages that we incur as a result of your non-compliance as described in Section 7 of this Agreement.
4. CHARGES AND PAYMENT
Charges. We will bill you for Services on a monthly basis based on the current Prices and Rules posted on the Website and listed in any written information we send you. You agree to pay these charges, including all applicable connection charges, usage charges, monthly fees, monthly minimums, other fees, surcharges, taxes and federal, state and local government or quasi-government imposed or permitted charges, including, but not limited to, charges related to E-911, state and federal Universal Service, Telephone Relay Service, payphone providers, Interexchange Carrier Charges and Federal Subscriber Line Charge. Taxes and government surcharges will be in the amounts that federal, state, and local authorities require or permit us to bill you. You agree to pay all taxes, surcharges, assessments, and other fees that are related to the Services and included on your bill or bill, unless you are exempt from these payments and provide us documentary evidence of the exemption.
Billing. Any Recurring Charges for your Service listed in the Prices and Rules begin accruing when the Service to which the Recurring Charges are applicable is available for your use. You may be billed a prorated portion of any Recurring Charges in the initial month of service. Recurring Charges may be billed in arrears or in advance, depending on the Service, while monthly usage charges are generally billed in arrears. If your monthly charges net to $0, you may not be billed. Current billing information may be available in your account information accessible from our Website and will be available by calling our customer service number listed on your bill, and an additional fee may be charged for bill reprints.
Payment. You must pay all charges applicable to your Services, including all applicable taxes, fees, and surcharges, in U.S. currency within 17 days of the bill date. We may charge you late payment fees or interest on those charges equal to the greater of 3.2% per month or the maximum rate allowed by law for all late payments. The interest will be applied to the entire unpaid balance. If we don’t receive your payment before the next billing cycle, you agree to pay any costs and expenses associated with our collections efforts, including attorneys’ fees. We may charge you an insufficient funds or returned check fee, up to the maximum rate allowed by law, if your check, bank draft, electronic funds transfer, or other order for payment is dishonored or returned for insufficient funds or any other reason. Our acceptance of late or partial payment (even those marked “PAID IN FULL”) and late payment charges will not constitute waiver of any of our rights to collect the full amount due under this Agreement.
Any mathematical error made by us or any of our representatives does not constitute an offer and may be corrected by us.
You are responsible for preventing any unauthorized use of the Services, and you are solely responsible for paying us for any charges resulting from unauthorized use of our Services.
Disputed Charges. Except as otherwise provided by applicable law, you must notify us of any disputes concerning any billed charges within 30 days of the date of the bill. You accept all charges not disputed within 30 days. We mutually waive all rights of subrogation against each other in connection with Services. To dispute a charge on your bill, you must follow the procedures in Section 8 of this Agreement.
Credit Check; Deposits; Credit Limits. Our provision of Service to you is subject to our approval of your credit. You give us permission to check and verify your credit as needed in our sole discretion. If we determine you are a credit risk at any time during your Service period with us, we may require you to submit a deposit or make an advance payment to us in a reasonable amount that we determine. If you fail to pay for Services when due, we may, without providing notice to you, apply your deposit or advance payment to the amount owed. If you refuse to make a deposit or advance payment or otherwise establish credit, we reserve the right to refuse to provide you Service subject only to applicable federal or state law. As we determine in our sole discretion and to the extent permitted by applicable law, we may set a credit limit on your account at any time. We may restrict the Services to which you have access if you exceed this credit limit.
5. TERMINATION OF SERVICE
Termination of Service by You. You may cancel Services at any time by calling the toll-free number on your bill; however, your continued subscription to, use of, or payment for Services after the cancellation date you give us will continue this Agreement for those Services. If you cancel a Service prior to the completed installation of that Service, you agree to pay all reasonable costs incurred by us in implementation of the Service before cancellation notice was received, as if the implementation of the order had been completed.
Termination or Suspension of Service by us. To the extent permitted by the Prices and Rules and applicable law or regulation, we may terminate or suspend your Service with or without notice, depending on the circumstances, for any reason including for nonpayment of any amount owed to us, including late payment fees or disputed amounts that we determine was validly billed, and your violation of any limitation listed in Section 3 of this Agreement.
Termination and Payment. It may take up to 3 business days to disconnect your Services. Regardless of the reason for disconnection, you must pay all charges incurred before our disconnection of your Service. You will be charged the full Recurring Charges for your Services for the month in which those Services terminate. Promotional credits or discounts may not be applied to your final bill. If you reinstate Services following cancellation or termination, we may require you to pay a deposit.
Force Majeure. We will not be responsible for any delay, interruption, or other failure to perform under this Agreement due to acts beyond our control. Force majeure events include, but are not limited to natural disasters (e.g. lightning, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods); wars, riots, terrorist activities, and civil commotions; inability to obtain parts or equipment from third party suppliers; cable cuts or other facilities damage by third parties, and acts of third parties; explosions and fires; embargoes, strikes, and labor disputes; governmental decrees; and any other cause beyond our reasonable control.
6. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES. THE COMPANY PROVIDES ALL SERVICES “AS IS” AND DISCLAIMS ALL EXPRESS AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES RELATED TO THE SERVICES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. WE DO NOT PROMISE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE SERVICE AND YOU AGREE TO HOLD US HARMLESS FOR ALL SUCH PROBLEMS. WE DO NOT AUTHORIZE ANYONE TO MAKE A WARRANTY OF ANY KIND ON OUR BEHALF AND YOU AGREE THAT YOU WILL NOT RELY ON ANY SUCH STATEMENT.
7. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
Direct Damages. The Company is not liable for any damages arising out of or in connection with any: (A) act or omission by you, or another person or company; (B) provision or failure to provide Services, including deficiencies or problems with any equipment used in connection with the Services (for example, blocked calls, transmission failures, interruptions in Service, etc.); (C) content or information accessed while using our Services, such as through the Internet; (D) interruption or failure in accessing or attempting to access emergency services, including through 911 or otherwise, or (E) errors or omissions in any directory or database listings, including listings we provide to public safety answering points. IF, FOR ANY REASON, WE ARE FOUND TO BE RESPONSIBLE TO YOU FOR MONETARY DAMAGES RELATING TO ANY SERVICES OBTAINED THROUGH US AND IF THIS LIMITATION IS FOUND TO BE UNENFORCEABLE FOR ANY REASON, YOU AGREE THAT ANY SUCH DAMAGES WILL NOT EXCEED THE PRO-RATED MONTHLY RECURRING CHARGES PAID BY OR OTHERWISE OWED BY YOU FOR THE AFFECTED SERVICES DURING THE AFFECTED PERIOD.
NO CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES IS THE COMPANY LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE OR SPECIAL DAMAGES OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH PROVIDING OR FAILING TO PROVIDE SERVICES OR ANY EQUIPMENT USED IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST PROFITS OR REVENUE, LOSS OF OPPORTUNITY, OR COST OF REPLACEMENT SERVICES.
Indemnification. You will indemnify and defend the Company, its directors, officers, employees, affiliates, subsidiaries, agents, and their successors and assigns from and against all claims, damages, losses, or liabilities, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising from or relating to any Service, or any act or omission by you related to any Service or any person you authorize or permit to use any Service, including incorrect or misleading information, libel, slander, invasion of privacy, identity theft, intellectual property infringement, and any defective Service.
Survival. All provisions of this Section 7 will survive and continue to apply after this Agreement is canceled or terminates.
8. DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Dispute Process. If you have a dispute with the Company relating to any matter, you agree to first notify us at the telephone number or address shown on your bill in an attempt to resolve your dispute. You must describe your dispute with specificity and provide us with any supporting documentation. If we have a dispute with you, we will notify you in writing in an attempt to resolve the dispute. If after following this process, either party is unable to resolve its dispute within 14 days of notifying the other party, either party may take the dispute to small claims court, if appropriate under applicable state or local rules or laws. Alternatively, either party may pursue the dispute only as set forth below.
MANDATORY ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES. INSTEAD OF SUING IN COURT, YOU AGREE TO ARBITRATE ANY AND ALL CLAIMS, CONTROVERSIES OR DISPUTES OF ANY KIND (“CLAIMS”) AGAINST US. THIS INCLUDES BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT, AS WELL AS CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO OUR SERVICES, BILLING OR ADVERTISING, OR ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO EQUIPMENT YOU OR WE MAY USE IN CONNECTION WITH SERVICES. THIS REQUIREMENT TO ARBITRATE APPLIES EVEN IF A CLAIM ARISES AFTER YOUR SERVICES HAVE TERMINATED; AND APPLIES TO ALL CLAIMS YOU MAY BRING AGAINST OUR EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AFFILIATES OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVES;
THE FEDERAL ARBITRATION ACT, NOT STATE LAW, APPLIES TO THIS AGREEMENT AND ITS PROVISIONS AND, GOVERNS ALL QUESTIONS OF WHETHER A CLAIM IS SUBJECT TO ARBITRATION. THIS PROVISION DOES NOT PREVENT EITHER YOU OR US FROM BRINGING APPROPRIATE CLAIMS IN A SMALL CLAIMS COURT HAVING VALID JURISDICTION, OR THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION OR A STATE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION.
WE FURTHER AGREE THAT YOU WILL NOT JOIN ANY CLAIM WITH A CLAIM OR CLAIMS OF ANY OTHER PERSON(S) OR ENTITY(IES), WHETHER IN A LAWSUIT, ARBITRATION, OR ANY OTHER PROCEEDING. YOU AGREE THAT YOU WILL NOT ASSERT ANY CLAIMS AGAINST US IN ANY REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY ON BEHALF OF ANYONE ELSE, THAT NO CLAIMS WILL BE MADE OR RESOLVED ON A CLASS-WIDE OR COLLECTIVE BASIS, THAT NO ARBITRATOR OR ARBITRATION FORUM WILL HAVE AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT OR DETERMINE ANY CLAIMS ON A CLASS-WIDE OR COLLECTIVE BASIS, AND THAT NO RULES FOR CLASSWIDE OR COLLECTIVE ARBITRATION WILL APPLY. THIS PARAGRAPH AND EACH OF ITS PROVISIONS ARE INTEGRAL TO, AND NOT SEVERABLE FROM, THIS SECTION ON MANDATORY ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES.
A single arbitrator engaged in the practice of law will conduct the arbitration. The arbitration will be filed with and the arbitrator will be selected according to the rules of the National Arbitration Forum (“NAF”), or, alternatively, as we may mutually agree.
Except as expressly provided in the preceding paragraph, the arbitration will be conducted by and under the then-applicable rules of NAF unless the parties agree otherwise. NAF rules can be found at http://www.adrforum.com. All expedited procedures prescribed by the applicable rules will apply. We agree to pay our respective arbitration costs, but the arbitrator can apportion these costs as appropriate. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY NAF RULE TO THE CONTRARY, AN ARBITRATION AWARD IS FINAL AND BINDING AND MAY ONLY BE REVIEWED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS OF THE FEDERAL ARBITRATION ACT. JUDGMENT ON THE AWARD MAY BE ENTERED IN ANY COURT WITH JURISDICTION. IF FOR ANY REASON, THE ABOVE PROVISIONS ON ARBITRATION ARE HELD UNENFORCEABLE OR ARE FOUND NOT TO APPLY TO A CLAIM, YOU AGREE TO WAIVE TRIAL BY JURY. If you file a judicial or administrative action asserting a claim that is subject to arbitration and the Company successfully stays such action or compels arbitration, you agree to pay us costs and expenses incurred in seeking such stay or compelling arbitration, including attorneys’ fees.
Except as expressly provided above, if any portion of this Mandatory Arbitration of Disputes section is determined to be invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of the section remains in full force and effect.
9. MISCELLANEOUS
No Waiver of Rights. If either you or we fail to enforce or waives any requirement under this Agreement that does not waive that party’s right to later enforce that requirement in the future.
Limitation on Third Party Beneficiaries. This Agreement does not give any third party a remedy, claim, or right of reimbursement.
Severability. If any provision of the Agreement is found to be unenforceable, the Agreement’s unaffected provisions will remain in effect and the parties will negotiate a mutually acceptable replacement provision consistent with the parties’ original intent.
Assignment. You may not assign this Agreement to any other person or entity without our prior written approval. We reserve the right to assign or transfer all or part of our rights or duties under this Agreement without notifying you.
Notices. You must provide notices to us as described in the applicable sections of this Agreement. When we receive notice from you via telephone, such notice will be effective on the date we received your call, as shown by our records. We may provide you notice as required under this Agreement in at least one of the following ways, postcard or letter mailed to the most recent address on your account, bill messages, bill inserts, email notification to an address provided by you, posting on the Website, call to your billed telephone number and speaking to you or leaving a message, or any other reasonable method of notice.
Governing Law. This Agreement will be governed by the laws of the state of Indiana except that the arbitration provisions in Section 8 will be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act to the extent applicable.
Survivability. The terms and conditions of this Agreement that by their sense and context are intended to survive the expiration of this Agreement will survive.
Conflicts. If a conflict exists between or among provisions within this Agreement, including all referenced documents and the Prices and Rules at the Website, specific terms will control over general provisions.
Entire Agreement. This Agreement, including the Prices and Rules on our Website, the Acceptable Use Policy on our Website, and all other referenced documents, constitutes the entire agreement and understanding between you and the Company. No written or oral statement, advertisement, or Service description not expressly contained or referenced and incorporated into this Agreement will be allowed to contradict, vary, explain, or supplement this Agreement.
RTC Communications Corp (“RTC”) provides this notice of our Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) to our customers regarding our policies with respect to the handling and use of information that we receive from them. As discussed herein, RTC’s policy is to limit the information collected regarding our customers and users of our products and services to that which we need to conduct our business and to offer our products and services that might be of interest to our customers. When we interact with one of our customers, that customer may provide information that individually identifies her or him (such as the individual’s name, address, telephone number or e-mail address) (“Individual Information”) to us. This can occur in a number of ways. For example, the Individual Information can be shared via RTC’s web site or services when, for example, you order a service, send an e-mail, or registering to receive news or public information. As a result, RTC believes that you should know how we will use and do not use the Individual Information as explained below.
RTC does not:
1. Collect Individual Information from our customers via our website unless it is provided to RTC. (Please note, however, RTC does ask for individual information when we are setting up an account for that customer.)
2. Sell Individual Information to unaffiliated parties.
At the same time, RTC does:
1. Use security techniques and methods within our network that are designed to protect our customers’ Individual Information from unauthorized access.
2. Collect, maintain and use a customer’s Individual Information as necessary to provide the most helpful and targeted products and services to meet our customers’ needs.
3. Honor our customers’ requests to remove their names from our telephone or mail solicitation lists using reasonable efforts to delete the information from existing files. (And, should you wish, you may contact RTC to request such removal.)
4. Provides access to Individual Information on an as-needed basis when RTC undertakes projects with business partners. However, we make this disclosure with an understanding from our business partners that they too will also treat the Individual Information in a manner consistent with our respect for privacy concerns.
In addition to Individual Information, RTC may collect information automatically when a visitor enters RTC’s website. This information may include such things as the domain name, browser, the type of computer operating system, information about the web page from which the visitor linked to the site, and time spent on different pages within the site. RTC may use this information to evaluate and improve our website, and may share the information with business partners and other third parties as needed.
Cookies
A “cookie” is a small, encrypted data string that our server writes to your hard drive that contains your unique RTC User ID. Cookies are used to deliver web content that is specific to your interests and to control access to your personal shopping cart after your initial entry. The cookie permits the server to recall information from your previous visit. A cookie is not used to access or otherwise compromise the data on your hard drive. With most browsers, you can choose to change your browser settings to disable cookies. At the same time, however, we note that cookies may be required to complete certain functions on our website as well as other Internet sites. Please also note that tracking technologies may record information such as: Internet domain and host names; Internet protocol (IP) addresses; browser software and operating system types; clickstream patterns; and dates and times that RTC’s website is accessed. Ultimately, RTC’s use of cookies and other tracking technologies allows us to improve our website and services.
Privacy and Customer Proprietary Network Information
When you use our service, that use is your authorization to us to monitor and record communications to RTC regarding your account or the services provided by RTC for purposes of quality assurance. For on-line orders, RTC may implement reasonable procedures, including but not limited to validating information provided by you or restricting the amount of equipment and services purchased on-line by a single customer. RTC reserves the right to cancel or reject on-line orders at any time for security reasons or privacy concerns.
Please note that RTC will not give you notice of any subpoenas or court orders related to your account or use of our services unless required by law.
To provide services to you, we may maintain certain customer proprietary network information, or CPNI, that includes the types of services that you currently have or have purchased, how you use the services, and billing information for the services. When you view your account information or shop for products/services on-line, you agree that we may display your CPNI on-line to fill orders or allow you to make account changes.
Disclosure of Account Information
As a general rule, RTC does not release customer account information to unaffiliated third parties without your permission unless we have a business relationship with those companies where the disclosure is appropriate. Nonetheless, there are exceptions to this general rule. For example, RTC might provide information to regulatory or administrative agencies so that they can accomplish their regulatory tasks (for example, responding to a customer complaint) or provide such information when we determine that such disclosure may maximize the efficiencies of our own processes (such as correcting mailing addresses). At all times, however, RTC will comply with legal requirements, such as a subpoena or court order or other similar demand, associated with either criminal or civil proceedings.
Please note that we will only disclose account information to the customer whose name appears on the account. However, you may alter this policy by instructing us in writing to release your account information to someone. Once that written release from you is received by us, we will honor your request and provide that information to the third party that you have noted until the release which you have sent is cancelled in writing by you. At times, we have found that our customers need to have other individuals to have access and control of that customer’s account. We will honor our customer’s request in this regard but only where such request is made in writing to us by the original customer and where the original customer agrees that such individual(s) shall be jointly listed or identified as such on the account by the customer whose name appears on the account.
RTC may provide one of our customer’s account information to third party in the process of providing services to you. RTC typically has a business relationship with these companies. For example, another company may be hired by us for the process of billing your account. Likewise, RTC may provide account information to collection agencies when our customers do not pay their bills. When this occurs, the use that can be made of this information is limited to collection activities for our charges and for the charges RTC bills for others.
Value Added Offerings
Because RTC appreciates the trust you have placed in us, we continually look for ways to enhance our business relationship. From time to time, RTC may inform you about a product or service. Using the information you have provided, RTC strives to limit our offers to those offers that RTC reasonably believes you would appreciate receiving. RTC’s goal is to have every contact by you with us to be a positive experience. Consequently, if you would prefer not to receive these value-added services, offers and opportunities, please feel free to contact us.
Children
While the Internet is, in our view, a valuable tool, the Internet does offer open access to a wide range of information. Therefore, in our view, it is important that parents supervise and prevent access to inappropriate content, email or chat sessions or inappropriate disclosure of Individual Information by their children. Therefore, children should consult with their parents or guardian before furnishing any data to RTC and we suggest parents to supervise their child's on-line activities. RTC does not intend to obtain personal information from children under the age of 13. RTC recommends that parents use one of a number of available parental control tools that provide a more child-friendly on-line environment and can reduce the possibility of children disclosing individually identifiable information without parental consent.
Links to Other Websites
RTC is not responsible for content or privacy policies of other websites. Therefore, you should keep this in mind when accessing sites through links on the RTC website.
Updates
Our goal is to strive to improve the services we offer. In doing so, we may update this Policy from time to time. Accordingly, RTC reserves the right to expand our capabilities for information collection and use, and may change our policies including this Policy at any time.
Should you have any questions or comments relating to this Policy or RTC’s privacy practices, please contact RTC Communications Customer Service at 117 W Eighth Street, Rochester, IN 46975, telephone (574) 223-2191, or email us at customerservice@rtc1.com.
Apps
How RTC Collects Your Information
RTC collects, and processes information provided directly by you when you install the App and register for an account to use the App. Specifically, this information includes:
· Your name, email address, location, phone number.
· Browser information and session cookies related to your access and use of the App.
· Data insights RTC. attains based on correlation and analytics of your information collected in providing the App, which may be used in aggregated and dis-aggregated formats or to obtain trend analytics, to provide the App; and
· Use of the above-described collected information in aggregated and dis-aggregated formats to enhance our current App or to provide App features.
How RTC. Uses the Information
RTC. uses the information collected as described in this Privacy Policy, including personal information, to:
· Provide you with the App as described in the Agreement.
· Implement, improve and/or enhance the App, including to make future releases available to you.
· Carry out RTC. obligations as described or authorized in the Service Agreement and this Privacy Policy.
· Enforce RTC rights arising from the Agreement between you and RTC; and
· Fulfill any other purpose authorized by you and reasonably required for the App.
Managing your Personal Information
· You may have a right to correct, update, delete, or request access to the Personal Information that you have provided to us. You may submit a request by emailing support@rtc1.com. These rights are limited and may not be available to you depending on where you are located.
· For your protection, we will only implement requests with respect to Personal Information about you (not anyone else), and we may need to verify your identity before implementing your request. We may need to retain certain information for recordkeeping purposes, as required under applicable legal obligations. And even if you have a right to deletion, some of your information may remain within our systems and other records or archives, in compliance with applicable law.
STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR BUSINESS DATA SERVICES
Customer acknowledges that the Services provided by RTC Communications Corp. (“RTC”) under these Terms and Conditions may have been previously provided under Tariff. Customer understands that, as of the Effective Date of these Terms and Conditions, such Services are no longer under Tariff and are provided pursuant to these Terms and Conditions and any accompanying Customer Agreement, Service Orders, GUIDEBOOKS and SERVICE GUIDES PROVIDED ON RTC’S WEBSITE (“SERVICE DOCUMENTATION”), AS MODIFIED FROM TIME-TO-TIME. THE SERVICE DOCUEMENTATION ARE INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE HEREIN TO THE EXTENT EACH IS APPLICABLE TO THE SERVICE(S) PROVIDED UNDER THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
These Standard Terms and Conditions for Business Data Services (“BDS”) constitute a legal document that details your rights and obligations as a purchaser of RTC’s Services. PLEASE READ THESE STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY TO ENSURE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND EACH PROVISION. You must accept these Standard Terms and Conditions as a condition of receiving the Services.
These Standard Terms and Conditions may be updated or changed from time to time. You may find the most up to date version of these Standard Terms and Conditions at any time on RTC’s website. If RTC makes changes to these Standard Terms and Conditions and that change has a material impact on the Services, RTC will provide you with notice of that change consistent with the Notice provisions of these Standard Terms and Conditions. Your continued use of the Services following such notice constitutes your acceptance of those changes.
1. SERVICES AND FACILITIES
1.1 RTC agrees to provide Customer with a broadband Internet connection, as provided in the accompanying Customer Service Order that is attached to the Customer Master Service Agreement.
2. CUSTOMER RESPONSIBILITIES
2.1 Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). With the purchase of Services that connect to the Internet, Customer must conform to RTC’s Acceptable Use Policy, as reasonably amended from time to time.
2.2 Abuse and Fraud. Customer will not use Services: (1) for fraudulent, abusive, unlawful or destructive purposes, including unauthorized or attempted unauthorized access to, or alteration, abuse or destruction of, information; or (2) in any manner that causes interference with RTC’s or another’s use of the RTC- provided network. Customer will cooperate promptly with RTC to prevent third parties from gaining unauthorized access to the Services via Customer’s facilities.
2.3 Reseller. Customer represents that it is not a reseller of any telecommunication services provided under these Terms and Conditions as described in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended, or applicable state law and acknowledges it is not entitled to any reseller discounts under any laws.
2.4 Security. RTC has adopted and implemented, and will maintain, a corporate information security program designed to protect Customer information, materials and data accessed and possessed by RTC from loss, misuse and unauthorized access or disclosure. Such program includes formal information security policies and procedures. The RTC information security program is subject to reasonable changes by RTC from time to time. RTC’s standard service offerings do not include managed security services such as encryption, intrusion detection, monitoring or managed firewall. Customer is responsible for selecting and using the level of security protection needed for all Customer data stored or transmitted via the Service and using reasonable information security practices, including those relating to the encryption of data.
3. PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
3.1 Privacy. RTC’s Privacy Policy, as amended from time to time, includes information about RTC’s customer information practices and applies to the provisioning of Services.
3.2 HIPAA. By providing Services, RTC does not require or intend to access Customer data, including any confidential health related information of Customer’s clients, which may include group health plans, that constitutes Protected Health Information (“PHI”), as defined in 45 C.F.R. §160.103 under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA Rules”).
3.3 Nondisclosure Requirements. If the parties have not executed a mutual nondisclosure agreement, this provision will govern their exchange of information. Neither Party will disclose any Confidential Information (defined below) received from the other party, or otherwise discovered by the receiving party, to any third party, except as expressly permitted in the Customer Master Service Agreement. This obligation will continue until two years after the Agreement expires or terminates. Confidential Information includes, but is not limited to, pricing and terms of the Agreement, and information relating to the disclosing party's technology, business affairs, trade secrets, development and research information, and marketing or sales plans (collectively the "Confidential Information"). The receiving party may disclose Confidential Information to its subsidiaries, Affiliates, agents and consultants with a need to know, if they are not competitors of the disclosing party and are subject to a confidentiality agreement at least as protective of the disclosing party’s rights as this provision.
3.4 The parties will use Confidential Information only for the purpose of performing under the Customer Master Service Agreement or for the provision of other RTC services. The foregoing restrictions on use and disclosure of Confidential Information do not apply to information that: (A) is in the possession of the receiving party at the time of its disclosure and is not otherwise subject to obligations of confidentiality; (B) is or becomes publicly known, through no wrongful act or omission of the receiving party; (C) is received without restriction from a third party free to disclose it without obligation to the disclosing party; (D) is developed independently by the receiving party without reference to the Confidential Information, or (E) is required to be disclosed by law, regulation, or court or governmental order. The parties acknowledge that the receiving party’s unauthorized disclosure or use of Confidential Information may result in irreparable harm. If there is a breach or threatened breach of the Agreement, the disclosing party may seek a temporary restraining order and injunction to protect its Confidential Information. This provision does not limit any other remedies available to either party. The party who breached or threatened to breach its nondisclosure obligation under the Agreement will not raise the defense of an adequate remedy at law. RTC will not be deemed to have accessed, received, or be in the possession of Customer Confidential Information solely by virtue of the fact that Customer transmits, receives, accesses or stores such information through its use of RTC's Services.
4. EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES
4.1 Customer-Provided Equipment. RTC shall not be responsible for the installation, operation, or maintenance of any Customer-provided communications equipment. Where such equipment is connected to the facilities furnished pursuant to these Terms and Conditions, the responsibility of RTC shall be limited to the furnishing of facilities offered under these Terms and Conditions and to the maintenance and operation of such facilities. Notwithstanding the above, RTC shall not be responsible for:
(a) the transmission of signals by Customer-provided equipment or for the quality of, or defects in, such transmission;
(b) the reception of signals by Customer-provided equipment; or
(c) network control signaling where such signaling is performed by Customer-provided network control signaling equipment.
4.1 Installation. Customer will reasonably cooperate with RTC or its agents to install the Services. Customer is responsible for damage to RTC-owned facilities located on Customer premises, excluding reasonable wear and tear or damage caused by RTC. RTC may refuse to install Services or may discontinue and disconnect Services without notice, if any condition on Customer’s premises is unsafe or likely to cause injury to any person using Services.
5 PAYMENT AND CHARGES
5.1 Rates and Charges. Customer will pay RTC the rates and charges for the Services as set forth in the Customer Master Service Agreement and any Order under that Agreement, including all charges associated with establishing Customer’s Services or related to RTC’s installation or provisioning costs.
5.2 Rate Adjustments. RTC may impose additional fees, charges or surcharges on Customer to recover amounts that RTC is required or permitted to collect, or pay to others in support of, or to comply with, statutory or regulatory programs, plus a commercially reasonable amount to recover the administrative costs associated with such charges or programs.
5.3 Taxes. RTC’s rates and charges for the Services do not include taxes. Notwithstanding any other provision of these Terms and Conditions, if Customer is required by law to make a deduction or withholding from any amount due to RTC, Customer must notify RTC in writing. RTC will then increase the gross amount of Customer’s invoice so that, after Customer’s deduction or withholding for taxes, the net amount paid to RTC will not be less than the amount RTC would have received without the required deduction or withholding.
5.4 Invoicing. Unless otherwise set forth in a Service Order, any and all invoicing for Services shall be submitted to Customer for payment within thirty (30) days of the Service being provided. Customer is responsible for all charges, no matter the interval at which they are billed. Any objection to billed charges must be reported to RTC within sixty (60) days of the invoice date.
5.5 Billing. Unless otherwise set forth in a Service Order, RTC shall invoice Customer in advance at Customer’s notice address specified in the Customer Master Service Agreement (or at such other address of which Customer may advise RTC in writing) for all Services and additional services provided during each calendar month or other mutually agreeable billing cycle. Customer shall pay RTC for all Charges upon receipt of the invoice. Account is/will be considered past due thirty (30) days after invoice date and late fees will be assessed on the last business day of the month at 1.5% per month. Service is subject to interruption if the account remains unpaid for a period of sixty (60) days or more from the date of billing. Customer agrees to reimburse RTC for all reasonable expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees, for collection of past due accounts.
5.6 Disputed Invoice Charges. If Customer disputes a charge in good faith, Customer may withhold payment of that charge if Customer makes timely payment of all undisputed charges within the payment period, as described in Section 2.5, and provides RTC with a written explanation of the reasons for Customer’s dispute of the charge. Customer must cooperate with RTC to promptly resolve any disputed charge. If RTC determines, in good faith, that the disputed charge is invalid, RTC will notify Customer and, within five business days of receiving notice, Customer must pay the charge.
6 CREDIT APPROVAL
6.1 RTC’s provision of Services is subject to the credit approval of Customer. As part of the credit approval process, RTC may require Customer to provide a deposit or other security. Additionally, during the Agreement Term, if Customer’s financial circumstances or payment history becomes reasonably unacceptable to RTC, RTC may require adequate assurances of future payment as a condition of continuing provision of the Services. Customer’s failure to provide adequate assurances required by RTC is a material breach of the Agreement. RTC may provide Customer’s payment history or other billing information to any credit reporting agency or industry clearinghouse.
7 ORDERS
7.1 Orders are binding only upon acceptance in writing by RTC. RTC will notify Customer of rejected orders.
7.2 Cancellation. Customer may cancel an Order at any time before RTC delivers the Services listed in the Order or begins its performance, but Customer must pay any actual costs RTC incurs due to Customer’s cancellation.
8 WARRANTIES
8.1 THE SERVICES PROVIDED BY RTC UNDER THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ARE PROVIDED WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER STATUTORY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, COMPATIBILITY OF SOFTWARE OR EQUIPMENT, OR ANY RESULTS TO BE ACHIEVED THEREFROM. RTC MAKES NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS THAT ANY SERVICE OR PRODUCT WILL BE FREE FROM LOSS OR LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF HACKING OR SIMILAR MALICIOUS ACTIVITY, OR ANY ACT OR OMISSION OF THE CUSTOMER.
9. LIABILITY
9.1 Direct Damages. Each party’s maximum liability for damages caused by its failure(s) to perform its obligations under the Agreement is limited to: (A) proven direct damages for claims arising out of personal injury or death, or damage to real or personal property, caused by the party’s negligent or willful misconduct; and (B) proven direct damages for all other claims arising out of the Agreement, not to exceed in the aggregate, in any 12-month period, an amount equal to Customer’s total net payments for the affected Services purchased in the month preceding the month in which the injury occurred. Customer’s payment obligations, Customer’s liability for early termination charges, and the parties’ indemnification obligations under the Agreement are excluded from this provision.
9.2 Consequential Damages. NEITHER PARTY WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR INDIRECT DAMAGES FOR ANY CAUSE OF ACTION, WHETHER IN CONTRACT OR TORT. CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, AND INDIRECT DAMAGES INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUES, AND LOSS OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, WHETHER OR NOT THE OTHER PARTY WAS AWARE OR SHOULD HAVE BEEN AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THESE DAMAGES.
9.3 Unauthorized Access and Hacking. Except for physical damage to Customer’s transmission facilities or Customer premise equipment directly caused by RTC’s negligence or willful misconduct, RTC is not responsible for unauthorized access to, or alteration, theft, or destruction of, Customer’s data, programs or other information through accident, wrongful means or any other cause while such information is stored on or transmitted across RTC-provided network facilities or Customer premise equipment.
10. INDEMNIFICATION
10.1 Mutual Indemnification for Personal Injury, Death or Damage to Personal Property. Each party will indemnify and defend the other party, its directors, officers, employees, agents and their successors from and against all third-party claims for damages, losses, liabilities, or expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising directly from performance of the Agreement and relating to personal injury, death, or damage to tangible personal property that is alleged to have resulted, in whole or in part, from the negligence or willful misconduct of the indemnifying party or its subcontractors, directors, officers, employees or authorized agents.
10.2 Customer Indemnification. Customer will indemnify and defend RTC, RTC’s officers, directors, agents, and employees and their successors, against all third-party claims for damages, losses, liabilities or expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of:
A. Customer’s failure to obtain required permits, licenses, or consents necessary to enable RTC to provide the Services (e.g., landlord permissions or local construction licenses). This provision does not include permits, licenses, or consents related to RTC’s general qualification to conduct business;
B. Customer’s transmissions, or transmissions by parties authorized by Customer, of, information, data, or messages over the RTC-provided network leading directly or indirectly to third-party claims: (1) for libel, slander, invasion of privacy, infringement of copyright, and invasion or alteration of private records or data; (2) for infringement of patents arising from the use of equipment, hardware or software not provided by RTC; and (3) based on transmission and uploading of information that contains viruses, worms, other destructive media or other unlawful content;
C. RTC’s failure to pay any tax to the extent that RTC relied on Customer’s claimed legitimate exemption under applicable law.
10.3 RTC Indemnification. RTC will indemnify and defend Customer, Customer’s officers, directors, agents, and employees and their successors against third-party claims enforceable in the United States alleging that Services as provided infringe any third-party United States patent or copyright or contain misappropriated third-party trade secrets. But RTC’s obligations under this Section will not apply if the infringement or violation is caused by Customer’s modification to RTC-provided software, equipment or Services; combination of RTC-provided services or products with other services or products; functional or other specifications that were provided by or requested by Customer; or Customer’s continued use of infringing Services after RTC provides reasonable notice to Customer of the infringement. For any third-party claim that RTC receives, or to minimize the potential for a claim, RTC may, at its sole option, either:
A. procure the right for Customer to continue using the Services;
B. replace or modify the Services with comparable Services; or
C. terminate the Services.
10.4 Rights of Indemnified Party. To be indemnified, the party seeking indemnification must promptly notify the other party in writing of the claim (unless the other party already has notice of the claim); give the indemnifying party full and complete authority, information and assistance for the claim’s defense and settlement; and not, by any act, admission, or acknowledgement, materially prejudice the indemnifying party’s ability to satisfactorily defend or settle the claim. The indemnifying party will retain the right, at its option, to settle or defend the claim, at its own expense and with its own counsel. The indemnified party will have the right, at its option, to participate in the settlement or defense of the claim, with its own counsel and at its own expense, but the indemnifying party will retain sole control of the claim’s settlement or defense.
10.5 Remedies. The foregoing provisions of this Section state the entire liability and obligations of the indemnifying party and any of its Affiliates or licensors, and the exclusive remedy of the indemnified party, with respect to the claims described in this Section.
11 TERM AND TERMINATION
11.1 If you signed up for Services for a specified term, you agree that if you cancel your plan before the end of the term, you will pay any applicable Early Termination Fee. At the conclusion of your term, RTC will automatically begin charging the applicable month-to-month rate. If you purchased Services as part of a discount, your discount may cease and you may be billed the standard monthly rate for the Services. RTC may, upon notice required by applicable law, at any time change the amount of or basis for determining any fee or charge or institute new fees or charges.
12 FORCE MAJEURE
12.1 Neither Party shall be liable to the other, nor shall any remedy be extended, for any failure of performance under the Customer Master Service Agreement proximately due to causes beyond that party’s reasonable control, including but not limited to: acts of God, fire, explosion, flood, earthquake, tornado, storms, any law, order, regulation, action or request of any government or regulatory entity or agency, or any civil or military authority; emergencies; civil unrest, insurrections, riots, wars; power failure, equipment failure, industrial or labor dispute, inability to obtain necessary supplies and the like. Upon the occurrence of any such events, RTC and Customer shall use its reasonable efforts to notify the other Party of the nature and extent of any such condition.
13 GOVERNING LAW; ALTERNATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
13.1 Governing Law. These Terms and Conditions and performance hereunder shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Indiana, without regard to its choice of law provisions.
13.2 Waiver of Jury Trial and Class Action. Each Party, to the extent permitted by law, knowingly, voluntarily, and intentionally waives its right to a jury trial and any right to pursue any claim or action relating to these Terms and Conditions on a class or consolidated basis or in a representative capacity.
13.3 Alternate Dispute Resolution. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms and Conditions, including the alleged breach, termination, validity, interpretation and performance thereof (“Dispute”) shall be resolved with the following procedures:
13.3.1 Negotiation
13.3.1.1 Upon written notice of any Dispute, the parties shall attempt to resolve it promptly by negotiation between executives who have authority to settle the Dispute and this process should be completed within 30 days (the “Negotiation”).
13.3.2 Mediation
13.3.2.1 If the dispute has not been resolved by negotiation in accordance with paragraph A, then the parties shall proceed to mediation unless the parties at the time of the dispute agree to a different timeframe. A “Notice of Mediation” shall be served, signifying that the Negotiation was not successful and to commence the mediation process. The parties shall agree on a mediator; however, if they cannot agree within 14 days then a local mediation service provider shall appoint a mediator. The mediation session shall be held within 45 days of the retention of the mediator, and last for at least one full mediation day, before any party has the option to withdraw from the process. The parties may agree to continue the mediation process beyond one day, until there is a settlement agreement, or one party [or the mediator] states that there is no reason to continue because of an impasse that cannot be overcome and sends a “notice of termination of mediation.” All reasonable efforts will be made to complete the mediation within 30 days of the first mediation session. During the course of the mediation, no party can assert the failure to fully comply with paragraph A, as a reason not to proceed or to delay the mediation. The service of the Notice of Mediation shall stay the running of any applicable statute of limitations regarding the Dispute until 30 days after the parties agree that the mediation is concluded or the mediator issues a Notice of Impasse. Each side shall bear an equal share of the mediation costs unless the parties agree otherwise. All communications, both written and oral, during Phases A and B are confidential and shall be treated as settlement negotiations for purposes of applicable rules of evidence; however, documents generated in the ordinary course of business prior to the Dispute, that would otherwise be discoverable, do not become confidential simply because they are used in the Negotiation and/or Mediation process. The process shall be confidential based on terms acceptable to the mediator and/or mediation service provider.
13.3.3 Arbitration
13.3.3.1 Any Dispute not resolved through negotiation or mediation in accordance with paragraphs A and B shall be resolved by arbitration in accordance with the United States Arbitration Act (and other applicable federal law) and/or Arbitration rules of the State of Indiana. The arbitration will be held Indiana using one arbitrator, unless the Dispute exceeds one million dollars (USA) in which case there shall be three neutral arbitrators, as a panel. The arbitrators may award costs and/or attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party.
13.3.3.2 The Parties further agree that the arbitrator shall-have no authority to award non-monetary or equitable relief, and any monetary award shall not include punitive damages. Nothing contained in this section will limit either Party's ability to seek injunctive relief in any court. The Parties will mediate and arbitrate disputes in confidence. Each Party shall bear its own costs incurred in connection with the arbitration. Other costs will be allocated as the arbitrator directs. THE PARTIES HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVE ALL RIGHTS TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY COURT IN ANY ACTION FOR THE ADJUDICATION OF SUCH CLAIM OR DISPUTE.
14 ASSIGNMENT
14.1 Customer may not assign any rights or obligations under these Terms and Conditions or an Order without RTC’s prior written consent, except that Customer may assign the Agreement, after 30 days prior written notice, to an Affiliate or an entity that has purchased all or substantially all of Customer’s assets. Following written notice to Customer, RTC may assign the Agreement or an Order, in whole or in part, without Customer’s prior written consent.
15 NOTICES
15.1 Notices required under these Terms and Conditions shall be submitted in accordance with the Notices section of the Master Service Agreement.
16 DEFINITIONS
16.1 “Effective Date” of these Terms and Conditions with respect to a particular customer means the later of: a) the date on which the withdrawal of a Tariff governing the Service becomes effective; or b) the date on which the Customer subscribes to or uses the Service.
16.2 “Order” means a written, electronic or verbal order, or purchase order governed by the terms and conditions of the Customer Master Service Agreement, submitted or confirmed by Customer and accepted by RTC, which identifies specific Services; quantity ordered; RTC’s Agreement number, title, and execution date; billing address; ship to address; and/or service/installation address, as applicable. Verbal Orders are deemed confirmed upon Customer’s written acknowledgement, or Customer’s use, of Service.
16.3 “Services” means wireline or wireless business communications services not governed by Tariffs, including basic or telecommunications services, information or other enhanced services, and non-regulated professional services provided by RTC to Customer under these Terms and Conditions.
We follow the best practices for vetting caller identity described by the NANC Call Authentication Trust Anchor Working Group. (https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-367133A1.pdf)
Traceback
We respond to all traceback requests from the Commission, law enforcement, and the registered traceback consortium and cooperate with such entities in investigating and stopping any illegal robocallers that use our service to originate calls.
STIR/SHAKEN Extensions
We are eligible for STIR/SHAKEN implementation extension received under 47 CFR § 64.6304 because we have fewer than 100,000 voice subscriber lines. We have
Some of the voice traffic we originate on our voice network is authenticated with STIR/SHAKEN. The remainder of the voice traffic that originates on our network is subject to the robocall mitigation program described below.
Robocall Mitigation Program
We use software provided by TransNexus to monitor our outbound voice traffic in real time to prevent the origination of illegal robocalls. The software provides detailed reporting identifying suspected illegal robocalls and alerts us if we originate any calls where the calling number is invalid, unallocated, on a Do Not Originate list, in the FCC consumer complaint database or has a poor reputation. We investigate any identified calls to determine if the caller was attempting to originate unlawful robocalls. If we determine that the caller was attempting to originate unlawful robocalls, then we either warn them to stop or terminate their service as appropriate.
