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Privacy Policy

We at The North-Eastern Pennsylvania Telephone Company (“NEP”, “we” or “us”) consider the privacy of our customers to be very important, and we are committed to keeping nonpublic personal information about our customers secure and confidential. We follow industry-standard practices and take such actions as are reasonably necessary and prudent to prevent unauthorized access to nonpublic personal information about our customers. We cannot guarantee, however, that these practices and actions will prevent every unauthorized attempt to access, use or disclose such information.

We are providing this Notice to you, our customer (“you” or “customer”), to inform you of our policies and practices regarding personally identifiable information that may be collected in the course of providing various communications services to you over our network, including TV programming services, Internet services and telephone services (collectively, our “Communications Services”). This Notice is being provided in accordance with the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the “Communications Act”), the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 (the “Cable Act”), and the relevant policies and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”). This Notice also refers to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, as amended (“ECPA”), which is applicable if you are a customer to our high-speed data and Internet service (our “Internet Service”) or our telephony services, and to the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act of 1998, as amended (“Copyright Act”), which is applicable if you are a customer to our Internet Service. This notice does not cover information that may be collected through any other products, services or websites, even if accessed through our Communications Services or network.

The following areas are covered by this Notice:

  1. The nature of personally identifiable information we have collected about you and the way we use such information;
  2. The nature, frequency, and purpose of any disclosure that we may make of such information;
  3. The disclosure of such information to governmental entities and in legal proceedings;
  4. The period of time we will maintain your personally identifiable information;
  5. Your communications using our Internet Service;
  6. The times and place where you may have access to your personally identifiable information that we have collected;
  7. Your rights under the Communications Act and related FCC policies and regulations with respect to such information; and,
  8. Your rights under the FCC’s policies and rules governing Customer Proprietary Network Information (“CPNI”).

1. Collection and Use of Personally Identifiable Information

Under federal law we may collect personally identifiable information concerning any customer if it is necessary to provide services to customers or to prevent unauthorized access to our services or customer data. Any personally identifiable information that we collect and retain is subject to the policies described in this Notice and to our obligations under applicable federal and state laws, including the Communications Act and the corresponding regulations and policies of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), and the Copyright Act.

“Personally identifiable information” is information that identifies a particular person; it does not include aggregate data that does not identify a particular person or persons. Personally identifiable information includes information about you that you have furnished to us, or that we have collected, in connection with delivering one or more of our Communications Services to you.

The personally identifiable information that we collect concerning our customers in connection with the provision of our services may include data such as (i) contact information, including your name, postal address; home, business, facsimile and mobile phone numbers as well as email and text messaging addresses; (ii) user name, password and password reminder questions and answers; (iii) age and date of birth; (iv) other demographic information such as gender, job information and postal code; (iv) public information, including profile information you provide to us for publication, such as name, comments, likes, interests, status, pictures, and the address of your website; (v) communications preferences, such as which newsletters you would like to receive; (vi) search queries; (vii) social security numbers; (viii) billing, payment and security deposit records, including credit information and credit card and bank account numbers used to pay for our services; (ix) maintenance, damage, repairs and complaint information, including customer correspondence (via email or otherwise) and communications records; and (x) the service options you have chosen to receive and information about the type, number and location in your home of TV sets, set-top boxes, personal computers (“PC”) and your PC configuration, as well as any other equipment and devices in your home that are connected to our network. If you rent your residence, we may have a record of whether landlord permission was required prior to installing our facilities as well as your landlord’s name, address and telephone number. We may keep records of research concerning customer satisfaction with our services, which are obtained from customer interviews and questionnaires.

The Communications Act authorizes NEP as a cable operator to use the network to collect personally identifiable information concerning any customer for the following purposes:

  • to obtain information necessary to render our TV service or other services to our customers; and,/li>
  • to detect unauthorized reception of cable communications, if applicable.

We also may collect anonymous and/or aggregate viewing information using set-top boxes and other equipment connected to our network. We use this information, for example, to determine which programs are most popular, how many people watch the show to its conclusion, whether people are watching commercials, and which features are used most often. We also may combine the personally identifiable information that we collect about you as part of our regular business records with information about you obtained from third parties for the purpose of creating an enhanced customer database to help us identify other services we or our affiliates provide that might interest you.

If you receive our Internet Service, we may keep records of violations and alleged violations of your Service Agreement and other rules governing your use of our Internet Service, including, but not limited to, our Acceptable Use Policy, all of which can be viewed on our website at www.nep.net. When you use our Internet Services, our system may automatically log information concerning Internet addresses you contact, the duration of your visits to such addresses, your Internet Protocol (IP) address, which is the number automatically assigned to your computer or device whenever you access the Internet and that can sometimes be used to derive your general geographic area; (xii) websites or other services you visited before and after visiting one of our services, information collected through cookies, web beacons and other similar technologies, and standard server log information; however, we do not use or disclose any personally identifiable information that may be derived from these logs for marketing, advertising or similar purposes. In providing our Internet Services to you, we also have access to personally identifiable information about you and your Internet account, including the name and address associated with a given Internet address or, possibly, one or more email accounts. In your Service Agreement, you have consented to the collection of personally identifiable information as described in this paragraph.

If you use our telephone services, as a necessary incident of providing that service, our computer systems automatically capture and store information that may include, but is not limited to, the dates, times and length of your calls, as well as the telephone numbers with which you communicate. Please refer to Section 8 of this Notice for more detailed information concerning our collection and use of CPNI.

We collect, maintain and use the information described in this Notice to assist us in providing reliable high-quality Communications Services to you. Our use of this information is for legitimate business activities related to providing you with our services, including: (i) making sure that you receive only the services you have requested and that you are being billed properly for the services you do receive; (ii) identifying you when changes are made to your account or services and answering your questions when you contact us (i.e., for troubleshooting); (iii) maintaining and improving the quality of our services; (iv) protecting against fraud and the unauthorized reception and use of our services; (v) sending you pertinent information about the services you are receiving and marketing our other services or products that we believe may be of interest to you; (vi) ensuring our compliance with relevant law and our contractual obligations; and (vii) for our tax and accounting purposes. We collect and maintain such information during the period of time that you are receiving service and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter.

2. Disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information

We consider our customers’ personally identifiable information contained in our business records to be confidential. Federal law, however, authorizes us to disclose such information without the prior written or electronic consent of a customer if it is: (i) necessary to render, or conduct a legitimate business activity related to, the services that are provided to you; (ii) required by law or legal process as described below; or (iii) for mailing lists as described below. We may also use or disclose personally identifiable information about you without your consent to protect other customers, employees, or property, in emergency situations, to enforce our rights under our terms of service and policies, in court or elsewhere, and as otherwise permitted by law. Federal law prohibits us from disclosing personally identifiable information concerning any customer for any purposes other than those listed above without the customer’s written or electronic consent. The frequency of any disclosure of personally identifiable information by us varies in accordance with our business needs and activities.

The types of persons to whom information about you may be disclosed by us in the course of providing TV service to you include the employees of NEP and its related legal entities, professional advisors and other agents, repair and installation subcontractors, sales representatives, accountants, billing and collection services and credit reporting agencies, consumer and market research firms, marketing companies, software developers and maintenance providers, business merger, acquisition or sale partners, and authorized representatives of governmental bodies, as described below in Section 3. We also may disclose personally identifiable information about you to persons or entities with an equity interest in legal entities related to us when they have a legal right to inspect our books and records. We may contact you ourselves from time to time to let you know about changes to your services, new service offerings, or maintenance work that may temporarily affect your service. We do not share your personally identifiable information with others, such as advertisers and direct mail or telemarketers, without your permission.

The Communications Act authorizes us to disclose limited personally identifiable information about you to other organizations and businesses for TV or non-TV related mailing list purposes. Such disclosures are limited by the Communications Act to customer names and addresses and cannot reveal directly or indirectly (i) your viewing or other use of a TV service or other service provided by us; or (ii) the nature of any transaction made by you over our network. You have the right to prohibit or limit this kind of disclosure by us by sending a written request to the following address: NEP, Attn: General Manager, P.O. Box D, Forest City, PA 18421. The request must state that you want to prohibit the disclosure or limit the disclosure to certain organizations of your name and address for mailing list purposes, include your account number, and be signed by you or someone who is an authorized party for your account.

3. Disclosure of Information to Government Entities and Other Legal Process

We make every reasonable effort to protect our customers’ privacy as described in this Notice. Nevertheless, under certain circumstances, we may be required by federal, state or local law to disclose personally identifiable information about you to a governmental entity or other third party, with or without your consent, and with or without advance notice to you, in compliance with a valid legal process, including a court order, subpoena or search warrant.

The Communications Act requires us to disclose personally identifiable information about you to a private third-party or a governmental entity in response to a court order. If the court order requiring disclosure of your personally identifiable information is sought by a private third party, the Communications Act requires us to notify you of the court order prior to releasing the information to the third party. If the court order is sought by a governmental entity, the Communications Act requires that you be afforded the opportunity to contest in court any claims made in support of the court order sought unless the government obtains a court order blocking us from providing you with notice. At such a proceeding, the Communications Act requires the governmental entity to offer clear and convincing evidence that the subject of the information is reasonably suspected of engaging in criminal activity and that the information sought would be material evidence in the case. In addition, pursuant to an administrative subpoena, state welfare agencies may obtain the names and addresses of individuals as they appear in our customer records with respect to those who owe, or are owed, welfare support. Such information may be obtained without a court order and does not require that a customer be given notice of and the opportunity to contest the disclosure.

If you are a customer to our Internet Service or our telephone services, the Communications Act and relevant FCC regulations, the ECPA and state law may require us to reveal your personal customer information and CPNI to the government and private third parties in certain circumstances. The ECPA addresses both the content of communications as well as customer record information. The ECPA requires us to disclose to governmental authorities the content of communications in response to a criminal warrant or court order without any notice to you and without your consent. In addition, under the ECPA and the Communications Act the government may require us to disclose customer information (but not the content of communications) pursuant to a search warrant, court order or subpoena without any notice to you and without your consent. Federal law also requires us to disclose your personally identifiable information and CPNI to a private third party in response to a court order and to notify you of such a court order unless the order prohibits us from providing the notice to you.

If you subscribe to our Internet Service, a private party may use a subpoena under the Copyright Act to obtain information about you to maintain a copyright infringement suit against the poster of online material, without any notice to you. In your Service Agreement, you have agreed that we may also disclose any information in our possession to protect our rights, property and/or operations, or where circumstances suggest that individual or public safety is in peril.

Please note that our Internet Service may contain links to other websites and services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites, and we recommend that you review the privacy policies of each website that you visit. When you select a link to a third party website from our Internet Service, you will be leaving the NEP Service. Any information that you disclose on third party websites will be governed by that website’s privacy policy.

4. Time Period That We Retain Personally Identifiable Information

We maintain personally identifiable information about customers for as long as it is necessary for business purposes. This period of time lasts as long as you are a customer and up to 7 additional years thereafter so that we can comply with tax and accounting requirements. When such information is no longer necessary for these purposes, we destroy the information unless there is a legitimate outstanding request or judicial or administrative order to inspect the information.

5. Your Online Communications on Our Internet Service

In addition to the situations described in Section 3, the ECPA provides for other exceptional circumstances under which we may be compelled to disclose information about you or your communications, or are permitted to disclose such information. For example, such information may be disclosed to law enforcement if it appears to be evidence of child pornography, or was inadvertently obtained and appears to pertain to a crime. Such disclosure is also permitted to an addressee or intended recipient (or his or her agent), or to a person involved in forwarding such information to its destination; when it is necessarily incident to providing service or to protect our rights or property; to others with your consent or the consent of an addressee or intended recipient (or his or her agent) of communications sent by you; or as otherwise provided for by law.

6. Access to Records

Under the Communications Act, you may examine your personally identifiable information that is collected and maintained in our regular business records, and you may correct, if necessary, any errors in such information. In most cases the personally identifiable information contained in these records consists solely of billing and account information. You will only be permitted to examine records that contain personally identifiable information about your account and no other account. If you wish to inspect the records containing only your personally identifiable information, please notify us in writing, and an appointment at our business office will be arranged during our regular business hours. We will correct our records if you make a reasonable showing that any of the personally identifiable information we have collected about you is inaccurate.

7. Your Rights Under the Communications Act

A. Opt-In: In order for NEP to use and share sensitive information, we will have to receive affirmative permission from you as our customer, (called “opt-in consent”) to use and share sensitive information. Sensitive information includes:

  • Precise geo-location
  • Children’s information
  • Health information
  • Financial information*
  • Social Security numbers*
  • Web browsing history
  • App usage history
  • The content of communication

*Exceptions to the Consent Requirements Apply to Financial Information and Social Security numbers. Customer consent is inferred for certain purposes, including:

  • To provide the broadband service, and bill and collect for the service.
  • To protect the NEP and its customers from fraudulent, abusive or illegal use of our network.
  • Legal process such as court orders and subpoenas.

B. If you believe that we have violated your privacy rights in connection with the collection, disclosure, and retention of personally identifiable information as described in this Notice, we encourage you to contact us directly as described below in the Section titled “How Do You Contact NEP” to resolve your question or concern. If you are a customer to our TV services, you also may enforce the limitations imposed on us by the Communications with respect to your personally identifiable information through a civil action in Federal District Court that seeks damages, attorneys’ fees and costs should you believe that any of the Cable Act’s limitations on the collection, disclosure, and retention of personally identifiable information have been violated by us.

8. Customer Proprietary Network Information

In the course of providing service to telephone customers, NEP collects information concerning the telephone services you purchase and how you use them. Some of this information is known as “customer proprietary network information” or “CPNI.” CPNI includes any information on the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, location and amount of use of your service that we obtain because we are your telephone carrier. It does not include your name, address and telephone number or information we obtain as a result of providing television or Internet service to you.

We may use CPNI to (i) monitor the quality of the service we provide; (ii) initiate, render, bill and collect for the telecommunications services we provide; (iii) protect our rights and property and protect our users of these services and other carriers from fraudulent, abusive or unlawful use of, or subscription to, these services; and (iv) respond to lawful demands from law enforcement agencies. We also use CPNI to market services and equipment to you and other customers, including telephone service and Internet access as well as to notify you when services may be out for maintenance or when there may be changes made to those services. We share CPNI with companies that are affiliated with us and with companies that provide billing and other services that we use to deliver our telephone service to you. When we share CPNI with unaffiliated companies, we require them to enter into agreements to protect the confidentiality of such information.

You have a right, and we have a duty, under federal law to protect the confidentiality of your CPNI. You have the right to limit our use of your CPNI for marketing services other than those that are related to services you already buy from us and to withdraw access to your CPNI at any time. Withdrawing access to your CPNI will not affect our ability to provide telephone service to you, or the quality of the service we provide. However, if you do withdraw access to your CPNI, it may be more difficult for us to help you if you want to purchase the most cost ¬effective service package. Allowing us to use your CPNI may enhance our ability to offer products and services tailored to your needs. If you do not wish to allow us to use your CPNI for marketing services other than those that are related to services we already provide you, you can notify us at any time by email to cpni@nep.net or in writing at the following address: NEP, Attn: CPNI Opt Out 720 Main Street, Forest City, PA 18421. The request must state that you want to deny access to your CPNI, include your account number, list all of the telephone numbers that you wish to cover with the request and be signed by someone who is an authorized party for your account. A request to deny access to your CPNI is binding on us for the use of your CPNI outside of the services to which you already subscribe until you affirmatively revoke or limit your approval or denial.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices and service offerings. If we modify our Privacy Policy, we will update the “Last Modified Date” and such changes will be effective upon posting. If we make any material changes in the way we use your information, we will notify you in advance by email through the email address you most recently provided to us or by prominently posting a conspicuous notice of the changes on our website.

How to Contact NEP

If you have comments, suggestions or questions about our privacy policy or this Notice, or wish to contact us about your personal information, you can reach us in the following ways:Please remember to include your account number and to have the correspondence signed by you or someone who is an authorized party for your account

  • Email us at webmaster@nep.net
  • Send us U.S. mail at NEP, P. O. Box D, Forest City, PA 18421

Please remember to include your account number and to have the correspondence signed by you or someone who is an authorized party for your account.

DMCA Policy

Copyright and Digital Millennium Copyright Act Requirements

What is The North-Eastern Pennsylvania Telephone (NEP) Company’s DMCA policy?

NEP is committed to complying with U.S. copyright and related laws, and requires all customers and users of the Service to comply with these laws. Accordingly, you may not store any material or content on, or disseminate any material or content over, the Service (or any part of the Service) in any manner that constitutes an infringement of third party intellectual property rights, including rights granted by U.S. copyright law. Owners of copyrighted works who believe that their rights under U.S. copyright law have been infringed may take advantage of certain provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the “DMCA”) to report alleged infringements. It is NEP's policy, in accordance with the DMCA and other applicable laws, to reserve the right to terminate the Service provided to any customer or user who is either found to infringe third party copyright or other intellectual property rights, including repeat infringers, or who NEP, in its sole discretion, believes is infringing on these rights. NEP may terminate the Service at any time with or without notice for any affected customer or user.

How do copyright owners report alleged infringements to NEP?

Copyright owners may report alleged infringements of their works by sending NEP's authorized agent a notification of claimed infringement that satisfies the requirements of the DMCA. Upon NEP's receipt of a satisfactory notice of claimed infringement for these works, NEP will respond expeditiously to, either directly or indirectly, disable access to the work(s). NEP will also notify the affected customer or user of the Service of the disabling of access to the work(s).

Copyright owners may send NEP a notification of claimed infringement to report alleged infringements of their works to:

NEP
720 Main St.
Forest City, PA 18421

or electronically file to the authorized agent via the DMCA website.

Copyright owners may use their own notification of claimed infringement form that satisfies the requirements of Section 512(c)(3) of the U.S. Copyright Act. Under the DMCA, anyone who knowingly makes misrepresentations regarding alleged copyright infringement may be liable to NEP, the alleged infringer, and the affected copyright owner for any damages incurred in connection with the removal, blocking, or replacement of allegedly infringing material.

What can customers do if they receive a notification of alleged infringement?

If you receive a notification of alleged infringement as described above, and you believe in good faith that the allegedly infringing works have been removed or blocked by mistake or misidentification, then you may send a counter notification to NEP. Upon NEP's receipt of a counter notification that satisfies the requirements of DMCA, NEP will provide a copy of the counter notification to the person who sent the original notification of claimed infringement and will follow the DMCA's procedures with respect to a received counter notification. In all events, you expressly agree that NEP will not be a party to any disputes or lawsuits regarding alleged copyright infringement. If a notification of claimed infringement has been filed against you, you can file a counter notification with NEP's designated agent using the contact information shown above. All counter notifications must satisfy the requirements of Section 512(g)(3) of the U.S. Copyright Act.

Open Internet Policy


NEP INTERNET’s Open Internet disclosure provides important information about NEP INTERNET’s Internet service including Network Management Practices, Performance Characteristics, and Commercial Terms as outlined in the FCC’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order (RIF Order).

 

Performance Characteristics

 

  • Service Description: NEP INTERNET provides fixed broadband Internet services to the public in accordance with the Federal Communications Commission’s “RIF Order” requirements. NEP INTERNET provides Internet service over an all fiber optic cable network. The following is a table that illustrates NEP INTERNET’s Internet offerings including downstream and upstream speed, expected results based on internal testing to the company’s speed test server and latency measurements:

Downstream Speed

Downstream Speed

Upstream Speed

Upstream Speed

Average Latency

(Provisioned)

(Test Result)

(Provisioned)

(Test Result)

 

50 Mbps
 

50 Mbps

25 Mbps

25 Mbps

1-2 ms

100 Mbps

100 Mbps

50 Mbps

50 Mbps

1-2 ms

200 Mbps

200 Mbps

100 Mbps

100 Mbps

1-2 ms

400 Mbps

400 Mbps

200 Mbps

200 Mbps

1-2 ms

700 Mbps

700 Mbps

350 Mbps

350 Mbps

1-2 ms

1000 Mbps

940 Mbps

500 Mbps

500 Mbps

1-2 ms


Note: NEP INTERNET’s Internet speeds are not guaranteed and the customer experience can be affected by many factors including the type of computer hardware and software used by the customer, the type and capabilities of the wireless router if one is used, the number of active devices within the home or business, the specific website being accessed and the type of data transfer being performed. The above data results from internal company testing by NEP INTERNET technicians using specific testing criteria and methodology and using the company speed test server for testing purposes.

 

 

Commercial Terms of Service
 

  • Price:NEP INTERNET provides various speed offerings at competitive pricing. At this time, NEP INTERNET does not apply usage-based fees or early termination fees. In addition, contracts are not offered or required to subscribe to the service. The following provides pricing information related to NEP INTERNET’s internet service:

 

Speed Tier

(Downstream / Upstream)

Monthly Rate

50Mbps / 25Mbps

$50.00

100Mbps / 50Mbps

$65.00

200Mbps / 100Mbps

$85.00

400Mbps / 200Mbps

$110.00

700Mbps / 350Mbps

$135.00

1000 Mbps / 500Mbps

$160.00

 

Note: Discounts on the monthly rate for internet service may be applied if bundled with other NEP INTERNET services.

  • Privacy Policies: In the course of normal business operations, NEP INTERNET does not engage in the inspection of network traffic or store any customer usage information. However, during installation, troubleshooting and repair, it may be necessary to analyze network information, but this information is only used for this specific purpose and is limiting to packet source, destination and port number. The information is not stored, provided to a third party or utilized for any other purpose.
  • Redress Options:If the user of NEP INTERNET’s internet service has a question about the service, trouble or problems using the service or suspects the service is not working properly, the user can contact NEP INTERNET for problem resolution at 877-826-7111 or e-mail at helpdesk@nep.net. Customer complaints can be addressed by calling 866-785-3131 or made in writing and addressed to:

NEP INTERNET
720 Main Street
Forest City, PA 18421

 

Network Management Practices

 

The following are specific company Network Management disclosures:

 

  • Congestion Management: NEP INTERNET does not perform any congestion management or prioritization of one traffic type over another.
  • Application-Specific Behavior: NEP INTERNET does not perform any application specific rate throttling or traffic blocking based on a specific application, type of data or protocol.
  • Device Attachment Rules: NEP INTERNET does not have any restrictions regarding the type of end user devices that can be connected to the network. NEP INTERNET employs practices that allow the customer’s ability to lawfully use the service.
  • Security: NEP INTERNET does employ network management practices to ensure the security of customers, other users, and the network. For example, NEP INTERNET utilizes programs and protocols to detect and inhibit the distribution of malicious and harmful viruses and content, and employs SPAM filtering devices that prevent the delivery or transmission of SPAM. In addition, NEP INTERNET will investigate complaints that a broadband Internet customer’s device or devices may be producing SPAM or other harmful network traffic, or accessing content illegally. Such reports will result in NEP INTERNET contacting the customer and working with interested parties to resolve the security or access concerns.
  • Blocking: NEP INTERNET does not currently employ network management practices that interfere with a broadband Internet customer’s lawful access to Internet sites or a customer’s ability to access specific lawful applications. Currently, no congestion management or usage limitations apply, although pricing does vary by speed offering. NEP INTERNET does not block or rate-control traffic based upon source, destination or lawful content, and does not inhibit, restrict or favor any application or class of applications. Specifically, NEP INTERNET will not:
    • prevent customers from sending and receiving lawful content,
    • prevent customers from connecting their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network, or,
    • discriminate against any lawful content, application or service.
  • Throttling: NEP INTERNET does not throttle, restrict, manipulate or otherwise modify the user data transfer or otherwise artificially impact the performance of the end user’s service.
  • Affiliated Prioritization: NEP INTERNET does not prioritize any data, application, user, or service and does not employ techniques such as traffic shaping or resource reservation. Further, NEP INTERNET does not prioritize any traffic over other traffic for the benefit of an affiliate or another other entity, person or application.
  • Paid Prioritization: NEP INTERNET does not directly or indirectly favor or prioritize some traffic over other traffic in exchange for either monetary or other consideration.

For additional information on terms, conditions, and online use policies related to NEP INTERNET broadband services, please review NEP INTERNET’s Internet Acceptable Use Policy and Privacy Policies. Additional information can be obtained by contacting NEP INTERNET at 866-785-3131.

Download Open Internet Policy

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Acceptable Use Policy

This Acceptable Use Policy (“AUP”) is attached to and is an integral part of the Service Agreement which governs your use of the Internet services (“Service”) provided by The North-Eastern Pennsylvania Telephone Company (“NEP”, the “Company”, “we”, “us” or “our”), whether you subscribe to the Service or not, and use of the Company’s Internet Service constitutes the Customer’s agreement to all the terms set forth herein, as well as the NEP Service Agreement.

Generally, the Company does not monitor or edit the content posted by Customers of the Service or other Internet services that may be available on or through the Service (e.g., newsgroups, chat rooms, message boards, etc.). However, NEP and its agents reserve the right at their sole discretion to remove any content that, in our judgment, does not comply with the AUP or is otherwise harmful, objectionable, or inaccurate. The Company is not responsible for any failure or delay in removing such content.

In addition, NEP may cooperate with legal authorities and/or third parties in the investigation of any suspected or alleged criminal or civil wrongdoing. Any violation of this AUP may result in the suspension or termination of either the Customer’s access to the Service and/or the Customer’s account. The Customer agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold the Company harmless from any claims resulting from the use of this Service, which damages the Customer or another party. At NEP’s sole discretion, we may revoke Service access for inappropriate usage. ACCESS TO AND USE OF ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED VIA THE SERVICE IS AT THE CUSTOMER’S OWN RISK. The Company is not responsible for the accuracy, quality, or content of information obtained through the Service. This AUP should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Service Agreement and other Policy Statements.

1. VIOLATIONS

The following constitute violations of the Company’s AUP:

  • (A) Using the Service to gain unauthorized access to any computer systems.
  • (B) Using the Service to transmit any material (by email, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that, intentionally or unintentionally, violates any applicable local, state, national or international law, or any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder.
  • (C) Using the Service to interfere with access to the Internet by other parties or disrupt the network used by NEP.
  • (D) Using the Service to harm, harass, degrade, or intimidate an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, race, ethnicity, age, or disability.
  • (E) Using the Service to transmit any material (by email, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that threatens or encourages bodily harm or destruction of property.
  • (F) Using the Service to defame, harass, threaten, embarrass or cause distress, unwanted attention or discomfort upon another.
  • (G) Using the Service to make fraudulent offers to sell or buy products, items, or services or to advance any type of financial scam such as “pyramid schemes,” “ponzi schemes,” and “chain letters.”
  • (H) Adding, removing or modifying identifying network header information in an effort to deceive or mislead.
  • (I) Using the Service to transmit any unsolicited commercial email or unsolicited bulk email. Activities that have the effect of facilitating unsolicited commercial email or unsolicited bulk email, whether or not that email is commercial in nature, are prohibited.
  • (J) Using the Service to access, or to attempt to access, the accounts of others, or to penetrate, or attempt to penetrate, security measures of the Company or another entity’s computer software or hardware, electronic communications system, or telecommunications system, whether or not the intrusion results in the corruption or loss of data.
  • (K) Using the Service to transmit any material (by email, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that infringes any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other proprietary rights of any third party, including, but not limited to, the unauthorized copying of copyrighted material, the digitization and distribution of photographs from magazines, books, or other copyrighted sources, and the unauthorized transmittal of copyrighted software.
  • (L) Using the Service to collect, or attempt to collect, personal information about third parties without their knowledge or consent.
  • (M) Using the Service to harm minors in anyway.
  • (N) Reselling the Service without the Company’s authorization.

2. Copyright and Other Rights

  • (A) The Service provides access to information, communications, software, photos, video, graphics, music, sounds and other material and services location both on the Company’s computer servers and on the Internet (“Content”) that may be protected by copyrights or trademarks registrations, or other intellectual property or proprietary rights (“Rights”) of third parties who make such Content available on the Internet, and/or through the Service.
  • (B) You agree that your use of Content shall be governed by all applicable laws and regulations, and by the specific restrictions placed on such Content by the owner(s) or licensor of the Rights in such content.
  • (C) You agree not to post or transmit Content that violates another party’s Rights, on or through the Service, without that party’s express permission. Posting or transmitting Content without the right to so do (1) may result in termination of the Service Agreement; and (2) may result in civil or criminal liability. The Company is not responsible for Content that you post or transmit on or through the Service, and shall not be liable for your use(s) of Content in violation of any applicable law, or the Rights of a third party.
  • (D) REPEAT COPYRIGHT INFRINGER POLICY.  NEP complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “Act”).  For more information, please see our DCMA Policy on our website at http://www.nep.net/index.php/policies_and_agreements#tab-dmca-policy
  • As required by the Act, we have adopted a policy to terminate services to account holders or Customers who repeatedly infringe copyrights.  In the event that we receive a determination that any customer or account holder has infringed another’s copyright through the use of our system or network, we reserve the right to terminate service to that customer or account holder after receiving notice of any further copyright infringement by that customer or account holder.

    • Our repeat infringer policy is as follows:

    • (i) For the first notice received of a copyright infringement on an Internet account, the account owner will be contacted via browser message, email, and/or telephone call with notice of the copyright infringement and a warning that future violations will result in the suspension or termination of Service on that account.
    • (ii) If we receive a second copyright infringement notice regarding that same Internet account within a six-month period, we will send a final warning to the account owner via browser message, email, and/or telephone call that future violations will result in suspension of Service on that account.
    • (iii) If we receive a third copyright infringement notice regarding that same Internet account within a six-month period, we will suspend that Internet account’s Service, including email access on any usernames provided by the Company, for 24 hours. Billing continues during the suspension period.
    • (iv) If we receive a fourth copyright infringement notice regarding that same Internet account within a six-month period, we will suspend that Internet account’s Service for 30 days, including email access on any usernames provided by the Company. Billing continues during the suspension period.
    • (v) For the fifth notice received of a copyright infringement on that same Internet account within a six-month period, we will permanently terminate Service to that account, including email access. Billing will also terminate at that time.
  • (E) Business customers providing legal redistribution of the Internet access service allowed under qualifying service plans (such as hotels, libraries, restaurants, etc. providing their customers with Internet or Wi-Fi services through approved redistribution agreements) are classified as “Service Providers” for copyright purposes and therefore have their own infringement obligations under the Act. NEP will forward copyright infringement notices that we receive for these customers’ connections to the business for action under their own infringement policies.
  • (F) NEP reserves the right to terminate Internet Service for copyright infringement at any time and may do so on an expedited basis when warranted by the volume and/or nature of the infringement incident(s). NEP accommodates and does not interfere with standard technical measures to identify and protect copyrighted works, subject to the limitations of the Act.

3. Online Goods and Services.

The Company does not control, provide, operate, or take responsibility for any Content, goods, or services available on or through the Service. YOU ACCESS AND USE INTERNET CONTENT, GOODS AND SERVICES AT YOUR OWN RISK. You may receive blind opportunity advertisements, pyramid schemes, and other “get rich quick” schemes on or through the Access Service. These should be avoided or approached with ample skepticism.

All such Content, goods, and services are made available by independent third parties and are not part of the Company or controlled by the Company. Please remember that the Company does not endorse, warrant, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, usefulness, quality, or availability of any Content, goods, or services available on or through the Access Service, and your use thereof is solely at your own risk.

You should use your best judgment and exercise caution when purchasing a product through the Service. The Company is not a party to, or in any way be responsible for, monitoring any purchases or other transactions between you and any other persons providing Content, goods, or services on or through the Service. The Company assumes no responsibility for any such transactions and will not mediate disputes relating to such transactions. The Company disclaims any responsibility for any such transactions even where the Service features or displays a link with a particular World Wide Web site.

By using the Service you agree that neither the Company nor its affiliates, officers or directors may be held responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any loss, liability of any nature, or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused by your use of, or reliance on, any Content, goods, or services available on or through the Service.

4. Complaint Response Procedures.

The Company’s dedication to customer service means that the Company takes seriously and responds to all complaints about its customers’ use of the Internet. This means complaints by both the Company’s customers and complaints by other Internet users. The Company believes that its customers should be able to enjoy full use of the Internet without interference by persons who use the Internet in an improper or unlawful manner.

The Company will respond to any complaint that involves online activities that are violations of this AUP. The Company will follow the Complaint Response Procedures described below to respond to complaints from customers and others about the Company’s customers. The Company may issue warnings to its customers, suspend customers’ accounts and even cancel accounts when it learns of continuing improper activities.

If you have any questions regarding these policies, you can call the Company’s Customer Service Department at 1-866-785-3131.

5. REVISIONS BY COMPANY OF THIS AUP

Company reserves the right to revise, amend, or modify this AUP, its Service Agreement and/or any other policies at any time and in any manner. Any revision, amendment, or modification will be posted in accordance with the terms of the Service Agreement.

NEP Service Agreement

Please click the link below to download the NEP Service Agreement.

Download NEP Service Agreement

CVAA Compliance

History

The Twenty‐First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA) was signed into law on October 8, 2010 by President Obama. The CVAA updates federal communications law to increase the access of persons with disabilities to modern communications. It follows a string of laws, passed in the 1980s and 1990s that were designed to ensure that telephone and television services would be accessible to all Americans with disabilities. These laws were not able to keep up with the fast-paced technological changes over the past decade. The CVAA contains protections to enable people with disabilities to access broadband, digital and mobile innovations.

Title I requires advanced communication services (ACS) and products to be accessible by people with disabilities. These services are defined as (1) interconnected voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service; (2) non‐interconnected VoIP service; (3) electronic messaging service; and (4) interoperable video conferencing service. Title I of the CVAA creates industry recordkeeping obligations.

Title II Section 255 requires manufacturers and service providers to ensure that their equipment and services are accessible to individuals with disabilities, if such compatibility is readily achievable. These rules were further extended to interconnected voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service providers and equipment manufacturers.

Section 716 requires providers of ACS and manufactures of equipment used for those services to be accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, unless doing so is not achievable.

Section 718 requires manufacturers of telephones used with public mobile services and providers of mobile service to ensure that the functions of the Internet browser they include or arrange to be included in such telephones are accessible to and usable by individuals who are blind or have a visual impairment, unless doing so is not achievable.

The “readily achievable” standard requires companies to incorporate features that are easily accomplishable without much difficulty or expense. Companies must balance the costs and nature of the access required with their available resources when determining what is readily achievable.

The following statement details the compliance of the Innovative Systems products subject to the CVAA.

CVAA Compliance Statement

InnoStream Platform IPTV Middleware
This section describes the compliance of the InnoStream Platform IPTV Middleware service to The Twenty‐First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA).

Requires video programming that is closed captioned on TV to be closed captioned when distributed on the Internet
Compliance: Not Applicable.

Title II – Video Programming

Requires video programming distributors, providers, and owners to convey emergency information in a manner that is accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired.
Compliance: Yes – Our current configuration of the EAS alerts provides both visual and audio messaging, and our middleware provides for a force‐tune feature.

Requires video programming equipment to be capable of displaying closed captions, to devices with screens smaller than 13 inches, and requires these devices to be able to pass through video descriptions and emergency information that is accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired, if technical feasible and achievable.
Compliance: Yes – Our middleware provides a system overlay that removes TV size requirements.

Requires devices designed to record TV programs to pass through closed captions, video descriptions, and emergency information so viewers are able to turn on/off the closed captions and make video descriptions and emergency information audible.
Compliance: Yes – Closed caption information is saved with all recordings.

Requires interconnection mechanisms to carry the information necessary to permit the display of closed captions and make video description and emergency information audible.
Compliance: Yes – Closed caption and emergency information is maintained through all of our equipment.

Requires user controls for TVs and other video programming devices to be accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired, and requires TVs and other video programming devices to have a button, key, icon, or comparable mechanism designated for activating closed captioning and video description.
Compliance: Yes – The Potenza Remote Control has the pound button (#) that allows users to toggle CC on or off on both live and recorded programs, and the Royal Remote Control provides a CC button for users to toggle CC on or off on both live and recorded programs.
This is applicable to Innovative Systems provided remote controls.

Requires on-screen text menus and program guides displayed on TV by set-top boxes to be accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired, and requires set-top boxes to have a button, key, icon, or comparable mechanism designated for activating closed captioning (when built-in to the set-top box).
Compliance: Yes – The Potenza Remote Control has the pound (#) button that allows users to toggle CC on or off on both live and recorded programs, and the Royal Remote Control provides a CC button for users to toggle CC on or off on both live and recorded programs. This is applicable to Innovative Systems provided remote controls.

Accessibility requirements for televisions, set-top boxes, and similar devices that receive or play back video programming and are manufactured, leased, or requested after December 20, 2016.
Compliance: Yes – The ManageMyTVs application with Android and iOS devices provides Audible Accessibility reading.

Requires covered devices to enable consumers to adjust closed captions in a variety of ways, including their color (both text and background color), size, fonts, opacity, edge attributes and language selection. This applies to equipment manufactured on or after January 1, 2014.
Compliance: Yes – The current IPTV STBs developed and manufactured after January 1, 2014 will meet the Enhanced Closed Captioning requirements. This includes the following IPTV STBs ‐
Older STBs might support some enhanced features but not all, and might require a replacement if requested from the end customer.

Usability

Full Function

Compliance: Partial – As stated above there are some accessibility restrictions using older STBs that could be deployed.

  • Amino: x4x, x5x, Live (5050), Entone4, Entone5, and Amino 6
  • Innovative Systems: IS‐5112W

Documentation
Compliance: Compliant - The InnoStream User’s Guide and other material are provided to the service provider (NEP). The service provider (NEP) may modify this material as needed and provide it or additional documentation to the end user.

Documentation – Product Information
Compliance: Not Applicable – The InnoStream User’s Guide and other material are provided to the service provider (NEP). The service provider (NEP) may modify this material as needed and provide it or additional documentation to the end user.

Documentation Support
Compliance: Not Applicable – Documentation support is provided to the service provider (NEP). End user documentation support provided by the service provider (NEP).

Technical Support
Compliance: Compliant – Technical support is provided to the service provider (NEP). End user technical support is provided by the service provider (NEP).

If you have any questions or need further information regarding this compliance statement please contact our business office at 570-785-3131

FCC Leased Access

The following is intended to provide information regarding the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) rules for obtaining leased access on NEP’s video network.

Requests

For all information inquiries regarding leased access in compliance with the FCC’s rules, please use the contact information listed below. All requests for leased access rates and
channel availability must be made in writing and will be responded to within fifteen (15) days from the date the written request was made.

NEP Datavision, Inc
720 Main Street
Forest City, PA 18421

Attn: General Manager
E-mail: nep@nep.net

Phone: 1-888-785-3131

All written requests submitted should include the following:

The company (programmer’s) name, address, e-mail address and telephone number, and also include the location or community for which the lease access is requested.

Leased Access Statute and FCC Rules

The Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 established the statutory framework for commercial leased access by adding Section 612 to the Communications Act of 1934. Section 612 was amended by Congress in the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992. Section 612 outlines the requirements for cable operators to designate a percentage of their channel capacity for commercial use and allows cable operators to use that designated capacity until leased access use is obtained by an unaffiliated person pursuant to a written agreement.

The statute directs the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) to adopt rules for cable operators to establish the price, terms, and conditions for use of the operator’s
designated leased access channel capacity. The federal law directs that the FCC assures that such prices, terms, and conditions will not adversely affect the operation, financial condition, or market development of the cable system.

A brief explanation of FCC rules follows:

  • § 76.970 Outlines the rules related to commercial leased access rates including the methodology for rate calculation, depending on the programming category.

  • § 76.971 Outlines the commercial leased access terms and conditions including the following:

    Provides that leased access programming can be placed on any tier with subscriber penetration of over 50%.

    • Provides that cable operators can make reasonable channel selections for leased channels and set out requirements for part-time (no less than 1/2 hour) leased access requests.
    • Provides requirements for programming production standards, technical support, security deposits, insurance, billing and collection, length of contracts and resale of leased access capacity are also specified in this rule.
  • § 76.975 Outlines commercial leased access dispute resolution including various procedural requirements that direct any person aggrieved by the failure or refusal of a cable operator to make channel capacity available may bring an action in U.S. District Court or may file a petition with the FCC.
  • § 76.977 Outlines minority and educational programming rules where the FCC provides guidelines under what circumstances a cable operator may use leased access channel capacity for “qualified” minority and educational programming.
Download FCC Leased Access

Public Inspection Files

Please click the link below to view our Public Inspection Files.

View Public Inspection Files