FTI Acceptable Use and Network Management Policy
This Acceptable Use Policy (the "AUP" or "Policy") describes acceptable use of the FTI Broadband service (the "Service"), as well as acceptable and prohibited conduct for using the Service to access the Internet. References in this Policy to “we,” “us,” “our” or “FTI” mean Foundation Telecommunications, Inc. References in this Policy to “you,” “your,” “customer” and “user” mean a FTI account holder or user with us. This Policy is a part of the Subscriber Agreement as referenced in the Standard Terms and Conditions of FTI Service (the "Ts & Cs"). All capitalized terms used in this AUP that are not defined here have the meanings given to them in the Ts and Cs.
In managing its network, FTI adheres to the principles contained in the FCC's Internet Policy Statement (FCC 05-151, adopted August 5, 2005): (i) consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice; (2) consumers are entitled to run applications and use services of their choice, such to the needs of law enforcement; (3) consumers are entitled to connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network; and (4) consumers are entitled to competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers. FTI also will: (i) not favor any lawful Internet applications and content over others; and (ii) display its network management policies in a prominent location on our web page and provide notice to customers of changes to these policies, FTI's network has the ability to identify and prioritize voice packets, whether provided directly by FTI or through a third-party. The network is designed to expedite the delivery of voice packets and adjust traffic patterns dynamically to allow for enhanced quality of service on the network for such applications without materially sacrificing the bandwidth and speeds of other data uses. FTI emphasizes that this approach to voice packets reflects existing network management practices, and that it will not in any way discriminate among packets on the basis of a packet's source, destination or ownership. FTI's network management policies are prominently displayed on its website under the link "Support." 3. What constitutes acceptable use? a. Responsibilities of the user: It is your responsibility to comply with this Policy and all other FTI policies. It is also your responsibility to ensure that anyone that uses your FTI device to access the Services, or uses your account to access the Services, complies with this Policy and all other FTI policies. Failure to comply could result in the suspension or termination of your Service. If you do not agree to comply with this Policy and all other FTI policies, then do not use the Services and notify FTI to close any account you have established. b. Amount of usage: FTI may provide various Service plans with different characteristics, including different speeds and usage limitations. You agree to comply with these limitations. In addition, your use of the Service may not result in an excessive burden of system or network resources, may not weaken network performance, and may not restrict, inhibit, interfere with, or degrade any other user's use of the Service. c. Other Restrictions on using FTI Services: You may not use the Services, or allow others through action or inaction, to use the Services: (a) to undertake or accomplish any unlawful purpose; this could include, but is not limited to, transmitting content/messages that are, or in any manner that is illegal, fraudulent, threatening, harassing, abusive, defamatory, or obscene; (b) in a way that could cause damage or adversely affect our customers, network, property or Services, or other customer’s use of the network or Services; (c) to communicate any unsolicited or unauthorized commercial communication, including, advertising, junk mail, bulk e-mail, commercial e-mail, fax broadcasting, fax blasting, text, SMS, or other message; (d) to infringe on the intellectual property rights of another; (e) to upload or transmit any virus, worm, or malicious code, files or content that may damage, interfere with, secretly intercept or seize any system, program or data; (f) to impersonate any person or entity, use a false identity or misrepresent yourself in order to mislead others, or use deceptive addressing; (g) to violate the rules, regulations or policies of any third-party website, network, server or database that you access; (h) to spider or harvest identifying information of others, to use spyware, or to use another’s mail server without permission; (i) to access, transmit or disseminate images containing child pornography, or (j) in any way prohibited by the terms of this Policy, our Services, the Ts & Cs or any of our other Policies. You may not use techniques to hide or obscure the source of any e-mail or other communication. Unless we identify the Service you have selected as specifically intended for that purpose, you may not use our Services: (1) with server devices or host computer applications, or other systems that drive continuous heavy traffic or data sessions; (2) as a substitute or backup for private lines or frame relay connections; or (3) in any way that adversely impacts our network. You may not reproduce, copy, sell, provision, resell, or lease any portion of the Service without FTI’s prior written consent. The Service is intended for personal, individual and non-commercial use only, and for periodic, ordinary active use. Therefore, FTI reserves the right to suspend or terminate Service accounts where data consumption is not characteristic of a typical residential user of the Service as determined by the company in its sole discretion. FTI has established a monthly data consumption threshold for the Service of 3 Gigabytes (“GB”). Use of the Service in excess of 3 GB per month is excessive use and is a violation of the Policy. Common activities that may cause excessive data consumption in violation of this Policy include, but are not limited to, numerous or continuous bulk transfers of files and other high capacity traffic using (i) file transfer protocol (“FTP”), (ii) peer-to-peer applications, and (iii) newsgroups. You must also ensure that your use of the Service does not restrict, inhibit, interfere with, or degrade any other person's use of the Service, nor represent (as determined by FTI in its sole discretion) an overly large burden on the network. In addition, you must ensure that your use of the Service does not limit or interfere with FTI's ability to deliver and monitor the Service or any part of its network. You may not reproduce, copy, sell, provision, resell, or lease any portion of the Service without FTI’s prior written consent. You may not violate the security of our network in any respect, including by way of hacking, intercepting, breaching authentication measures, testing vulnerability, monitoring traffic, avoiding system restrictions or otherwise. Security violations may result in civil or criminal liability.
To the extent these policies change, FTI will first notify its customers by posting a notice on the Company's Web site at www.ftionline.com (or any successor URL(s)), no later than 30 days prior to effecting such change Your acceptance of the newly posted Policy is provided by your continued use of the Services. You should review the Policy regularly to ensure that your uses of the Services comply with the current version of this Policy. If you do not agree with the modified Policy, then immediately stop using the Services and notify FTI to close any account you have established.
We have the right, but are not obligated, to enforce this Policy through self-help, active investigation, litigation and prosecution. Our enforcement of this Policy can include any actions we deem necessary, up to and including termination of your Services. INDIRECT OR ATTEMPTED BREACHES OF THIS POLICY, AND ACTUAL OR ATTEMPTED BREACHES BY A THIRD PARTY ON BEHALF OF A USER, MAY BE CONSIDERED BREACHES OF THIS POLICY BY SUCH USER. FTI does not routinely monitor the activity of individual Service accounts for violations of this Policy and has no obligation to monitor the Service and/or the network. However, in the company's efforts to promote good citizenship within the Internet community, it will respond appropriately if it becomes aware of inappropriate use of the Service. FTI reserve the right at any time to monitor bandwidth, usage, transmissions, and content in order to, among other things, operate the Service; identify violations of this Policy; and/or protect the network, the Service and FTI users. If the Service is used in a way that FTI, in its sole discretion, believes violates this Policy, FTI may take any responsive actions it deems appropriate under the circumstances with or without notice. These actions include, but are not limited to, temporary or permanent removal of content, cancellation of newsgroup posts, filtering of Internet transmissions, and the immediate suspension or termination of all or any portion of the Service. Neither FTI nor its affiliates, suppliers, or agents will have any liability for any of these responsive actions. These actions are not FTI's exclusive remedies and FTI may take any other legal or technical actions it deems appropriate with or without notice. FTI reserves the right to investigate suspected violations of this Policy, including the gathering of information from the user or users involved and the complaining party, if any, and examination of material on FTI's servers and network. During an investigation, FTI may suspend the account or accounts involved and/or remove or block material that potentially violates this Policy. You expressly authorize and consent to FTI and its suppliers cooperating with (i) law enforcement authorities in the investigation of suspected legal violations, and (ii) and system administrators at other Internet service providers or other network or computing facilities in order to enforce this Policy. Upon termination of your Service account, FTI is authorized to delete any files, programs, data, e-mail and other messages associated with your account (and any secondary accounts). The failure of
FTI or its suppliers to enforce this Policy,
for whatever reason, shall not be construed as a waiver
of any right to do so at any time. You agree 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.
Like other providers of internet service, we have adopted a policy pursuant to which we engage in reasonable network management activities to ensure that you, and all of our customers, enjoy the best possible Service at all times. If we did not adopt such a policy, you and our other customers could be subjected to the negative effects of spam, network congestion, viruses, security attacks, and other activities that could impair your user experience. We use a variety of techniques to manage our network and ensure that your user experience is the best possible. The techniques utilized by us are based, among other things, on network activity, change often, and are consistent with the techniques used by others in the industry. Examples of some of the network management activities that may be employed by us include, but are not limited to: (a) detecting malicious internet traffic to prevent the distribution of harmful viruses, code or content, (b) preventing the delivery of spam to our customers’ accounts, (c) optimizing the delivery of voice services, whether provided by FTI or by VoIP providers that rely on delivering calls over the public internet, (d) limiting, or otherwise restricting uplink and downlink speeds and transfer rates (e) using other reasonable techniques to ensure we deliver the best possible service to all of our customers. Because managing our network traffic is a dynamic process, it is not possible for us to give you, or any of our customers, notice of when we engage in any particular network management activities. Our goal, however, is to ensure that our network management activities are always reasonable, unobtrusive, and seamless to our customers.
If you want to report any violations of this Policy other than those concerning child pornography, please email us at admin@ftionline.com. To make a report concerning child pornography, please email us admin@ftionline.com. We invite you to send in your questions or comments about us and our Services, or to bring to our attention any material you believe to be inaccurate. Please send such comments, including a copy of any material you wish to discuss, to Customer Care by emailing the comment to admin@ftionline.com. We hope you enjoy using our Services and we welcome suggestions for improvements. |