Legal

SUBSCRIBER AGREEMENT

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The following Terms and Conditions apply to all services offered by Burlington Telecom (“BT”), unless otherwise specifically noted. These Terms and Conditions, the Service Agreement, the Acceptable Use Policy (if applicable) and the Privacy Agreement bind the Customer and constitute a contractual arrangement upon acceptance and use of BT’s service.

1. SERVICE

All applicants must be 18 years of age or older. Anyone under age 18 must have a parent or legal guardian sign the application or have documentation of legal emancipation . Customer understands and agrees to this term.

Every account must have one or more responsible party assigned to place orders and make changes to the account. No addition, termination or changes will be made to the account without the direct consent of the responsible party and verification of the security questions on each account. Customer understands and agrees to this term.

BT reserves the right to require proof of identity before providing service. Customer understands and agrees to this term.

Pricing does not include taxes and surcharges, which are assessed to the applicable portion of the Customer’s bill. Customer understands and agrees to this term.

2. SUBSCRIPTION REQUIREMENTS

Customer understands and agrees that to request telephone service with BT, a signed Letter of Authorization (“LOA”) must be on file before service will be provided.

The LOA gives legal authorization to BT:

i. To act as Customer’s agent to make any and all inquires necessary for the purpose of obtaining customer service records information.

ii. To act as Customer’s agent for the purpose of taking any and all actions required (including the removal of any account protection/freezes) to become Customer’s local service provider and to implement other services described herein for all of the Customer’s physical service locations including changing Customer’s long distance carrier(s) (if applicable).

For Internet service, BT highly recommends all Customers install anti-virus software, anti-spyware software, and personal firewall to protect the Customer’s system. BT shall not be responsible for any loss of service resulting from customer negligence, including loss of service from viruses, spyware, and other malware.

3. ACCESS TO PREMISES

Customer understands and agrees that BT will not enter onto a Customer premise without the presence of an adult 18 years of age or older and that Customer must be present for the duration of the installation.

Customer grants to BT or any duly authorized agent an irrevocable license to enter upon Customers premises at reasonable hours with reasonable notice to install, maintain and remove any equipment necessary for BT’s provision for service to Customer or other Customers. In purchasing service from BT, Customer hereby assumes full responsibility for securing any and all required permissions for the installation of all applicable wiring and equipment. Customer hereby releases, holds harmless and indemnifies BT from any and all liability arising from any failure to secure such permission.

4. USE LIMITATIONS

Customer acknowledges that programming is for non-commercial entertainment viewing in Customer’s private premises only. Customer may not reproduce, rebroadcast or otherwise re-transmit and/or exhibit the programming received from BT in exchange for an admission fee or for any other charge or consideration or in furtherance of a commercial enterprise. Customer may not move the set top box to another location or use it at any time at an address other than Customer’s home or location where service was installed by BT.

Customers with Internet service through BT also agree to follow the policies set forth in the Acceptable Use Policy (“AUP”).

5. PAYMENT

Customer is responsible for payment of all charges for service furnished to or used by Customer, or the Customer’s agents, employees or customers. Customer is also responsible for payment of charges for all other third person use of service to which Customer subscribes. Customer is responsible for all charges to the account even if the charges are incurred by fraud or without the Customer’s knowledge. The Customer is solely responsible for controlling access to, and the use of the equipment and facilities.

All charges due from Customer are payable to BT. Credit cards, personal checks, certified checks and cash are acceptable forms of payment. Charges may be billed to Customer’s credit card, debit card or bank account, as applicable, each month. BT is not responsible for any charges or expenses resulting from charges billed by BT.

Customer is billed from the date services are installed and activated to the date the services are disconnected. Therefore, the first bill a Customer receives or the first bill after an additional service has been installed or activated will include partial monthly charges in addition to his/her advanced monthly charges. This charge will be from the date of installation and activation to the last day of the current billing month. BT’s billing cycle is from the 21st–20th of the following month. When a customer is disconnected, an amount from the date of disconnection to the last day of the billing month billed in advance will be subtracted from the Customer’s bill and any monies owed to the Customer shall be returned within thirty (30) days from the date of disconnect or upon return of the equipment used to provide service to the Customer.

Any objections to billed charges must be reported to BT within forty-five (45) days after the payment due date on the bill. Objections may be filed in person with BT’s Customer Service Department, by telephone or by mail. Any adjustments or additional charges are shown separately on each bill. BT shall make no refund of overpayment by the Customer unless the claim of such overpayment, together with proper evidence, is submitted within two (2) years of the date of alleged payment.

6. INTERRUPTION OF SERVICE

BT makes every effort to provide continuous and uninterrupted service. When BT schedules a service interruption for maintenance or repairs, BT will notify the Customer of the cause and expected duration of the interruption at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance, when possible. However, BT may designate a regular maintenance window during which maintenance may be conducted without notifying customers for each event. Such regular maintenance windows will be communicated to Customers.

Credit allowances for interruptions of cable and telephone service which are not due to BT’s testing or maintenance of equipment, to the negligence or other wrongful act or omission of the Customer, or to the failure of equipment provided by the Customer or the Customer’s agents, employees, or customers, are subject to the general liability provisions set forth herein. It shall be the obligation of the Customer to notify BT immediately of any interruption in service for which a credit allowance is desired by the Customer unless there is a system-wide disruption or the Customer’s disruption is otherwise known or should have been known by BT. Before giving such notice, the Customer shall ascertain that the trouble is not within his or her control, or is not in wiring or equipment, if any, furnished by the Customer. Interruptions caused by Customer equipment or inside wiring that was not installed by BT are not deemed an interruption of service. An interruption is measured from the time the Customer notifies BT, personally, by telephone or in writing, or otherwise the interruption is known or should have been known to BT, until the trouble is resolved. Once BT receives notification of the interruption in service, the credit shall be automatic. Each interruption is considered separately for the purposes of establishing credit allowance. Interruptions reported after the fact shall not be eligible for a credit.

For purposes of credit computation, every month shall be considered to have thirty (30) days and every day twenty four (24) hours. No credit shall be allowed for an interruption of continuous duration of less than twenty-four hours. For disruption greater than twenty-four (24) hours, an allowance equal to 1/30 of the regular monthly recurring charges shall be made for each twenty-four (24) hours the service remains disrupted; except that the total allowance may not exceed the regular monthly recurring charges for service.

8. RETURNED CHECKS

BT reserves the right to assess a $25.00 fee, whenever a check presented for payment of service is not accepted by the institution upon which it is written.

9. LATE FEES AND DISCONNECTION

Service is provided and billed in advance on a monthly basis with the exception of long distance calls, Video on Demand and Pay-Per View, which are billed in arrears. Bills are due and payable upon receipt. A late fee equal to 1.5% may apply to any unpaid balances. The late fee begins to accrue no sooner than the 60th day after the due date. In the event that BT incurs fees or expenses, including attorney’s fees, collecting or attempting to collect, any charges owed to BT, BT may charge the Customer, and the Customer shall pay these fees or expenses. Customer understands and agrees to this term.

Service may be disconnected by BT, upon prior written notice to the Customer and in accordance with applicable law, when there is an unpaid balance for service that is more than forty-five (45) days overdue. If service has been canceled for nonpayment and the Customer wishes it continued, service shall be restored when all past due amounts in addition to a reconnection fee of $25.00 are paid or when a reasonable payment plan has been agreed upon between the Company and the Customer for full payment of amounts owed.

10. REPAYMENT PLAN

Any Customer having difficulty paying for service should contact BT to arrange a repayment plan. Any repayment plan entered into between the Customer and BT will apply to delinquent amounts. BT expects new current charges to be paid when due. Customer understands and agrees to this term.

11. DEPOSITS

Each applicant for service may be required to establish credit. Any applicant whose credit has not been duly established may be required to make a deposit at the time of application to be held as a guarantee of payment of charges. In addition, an existing Customer may be required to make a deposit if their service has been disconnected in the past. BT shall pay interest on deposits pursuant to applicable rules and regulations. Customer understands and agrees to this term.

An installment plan that may be billed in three installments is available for payment of deposits if payment in full would constitute a hardship. A deposit shall not exceed the estimated charges for two (2) months service and shall be returned: 1) at the end of twelve (12) consecutive months of a satisfactory credit history (i.e. no disconnections and no more than three disconnection notices); or 3) upon disconnection of service. BT shall apply the deposit against any outstanding balances due. If a credit balance exists after such application, BT shall refund the balance to the Customer in accordance with the rules and regulations.

12. CANCELLATION BY THE CUSTOMER

Customer may have service canceled upon written or verbal notice to the Company. Cancellations by e-mail will not be accepted. BT requires at least a two (2) day notification prior to termination of service. Customer shall pay for service furnished until the disconnection date.

13. CHOICE OF LAW

This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with, governed by, and subject to the domestic laws of the State of Vermont.

14. COMPLAINTS

If Customer has any questions, comments or complaints regarding service, Customer shall first contact BT’s Customer Service Department by telephone at (802) 540-0007 or (866) 304-8434 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8:00am – 4:30pm on Saturday, or at the address below. or at the address below.

Burlington Telecom
200 Church Street, Suite 101
Burlington, VT 05401

If Customer is not satisfied with the manner in which the concern has been addressed after speaking with the Customer Service Department, the complaint must be submitted in writing to the General Manager at the address listed above.

If after further inquiry to the General Manager at BT, Customer is still not satisfied, complaints must be submitted in writing to the Consumer Affairs and Public Information Division of the Vermont Department of Public Service at the address below; by calling their toll free number: (800) 622-4496, or through the DPS web page: http://publicservice.vermont.gov/consumers.

Consumer Affairs and Public Information Division
Vermont Department of Public Service
112 State Street, Drawer 20
Montpelier, VT 05620-2601

15. EQUIPMENT AND WIRING

Except for the inside wiring, which BT considers the Customer’s property, the equipment installed by BT or provided to the Customer by BT belongs to BT. BT may supply new or reconditioned equipment to the Customer. Customer may not sell or give away BT’s equipment, and BT’s equipment must be used only in the Customer’s home. If the Customer ceases to be a BT customer, the Customer is responsible for returning BT’s equipment to BT or its designee. If the Customer moves, Customer shall not leave BT’s equipment in the vacant home or with anyone else.

BT’s equipment must be returned to BT or one of its representatives in working order, normal wear and tear accepted. IF CUSTOMER FAILS TO RETURN EQUIPMENT, IN A MANNER AS STATED ABOVE, AFTER TERMINATION OF SERVICE, CUSTOMER WILL BE CHARGED FOR THE COST OF REPLACING THE EQUIPMENT INVOLVED.

Customer is responsible for preventing the loss of or damage to BT’s equipment within the home. Customer will be directly responsible for repair, replacement and other costs, damages, fees and charges if the equipment is not returned to BT in an undamaged condition.

Information related to BT’s Wire Maintenance Plan is located on www.burlingtontelecom.net.

Customer may not attach any unauthorized device to BT’s equipment. If Customer makes any unauthorized connection or modification to the equipment or any other part of BT’s network or equipment, Customer will be in breach of this Agreement, and BT may terminate service and recover such damages, as provided by applicable law that may arise as a result of the breach.
None of the equipment supplied by BT, nor any of BT’s cable placed outside the home or property in connection with the installation of the equipment and service, shall be deemed fixtures, or in any way part of Customer’s real property. The equipment supplied by BT may be removed by BT, at BT’s option, at any time during or following the termination of Customer’s service, and Customer shall allow BT access to the home for such purposes.

16. CHANGES IN SERVICES, CHANGES IN TERMS OR CONDITIONS

BT reserves the right to substitute, add or delete specific programming and programming services and to create, dismantle and/or alter tiers of programming at any time. BT will notify Customer of any material change in this Agreement or services, or an increase in rates or charges at least thirty (30) days in advance. Notification of the change in charges may be in the form of a bill insert. Payment of charges or continued use of services after you receive notice will constitute agreement by you to the changes.

For telephone service, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) sets the Federal Universal Service Fund (“USF”) Fee. BT will charge equal or less than this rate. The FCC announces the new rate on a quarterly basis. BT will post the new fee on our website at www.burlingtontelecom.net at least seven (7) days before the new rate goes into effect. Customer may also contact our Customer Service Office at the number on the bill seven (7) days before the start of the quarter to find out what fee BT will assess during the next quarter. In the event the FCC has not announced the Federal Universal Service Fund Contribution factor seven (7) days before the start of the quarter, BT will post the new fee on the website as soon as reasonably possible. The Federal Universal Service Fund Fee is assessed on all interstate and international charges (including usage and non usage) each month.

17. LIMITED WARRANTY

BT warrants that the services will function substantially in accordance with the service descriptions. If the services fail to function in this manner and the failure is not due to: (a) the fault of Customer, or Customer’s agents or (b) a contingency identified in Paragraph 18 of this Agreement, then BT, at our expense, will repair the services so that they function substantially in accordance with the service descriptions.

THIS LIMITED WARRANTY IS EXCLUSIVE AND INSTEAD OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES FOR SERVICES PROVIDED BY BT, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, WRITTEN OR ORAL, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

18. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY

BT’s liability for damages arising out of any failure of service shall not exceed an amount equivalent to the proportionate charge to the Customer for the period during which the faults in transmission occur.

Except as expressly required by applicable law, BT will not be liable for delays, damages, or failures in performance due to BT’s routine maintenance and testing of the services that BT provides to Customer or for causes beyond BT’s reasonable control, including, but not limited to acts of a governmental body, civil commotion, acts of God, acts of third parties, fires, floods, strikes or other labor disputes, or inability to obtain necessary equipment or services.

BT is not liable for any act or omission of any entity, other than the employees or agents of BT, furnishing facilities or services connected with or provided in conjunction with the BT’s services.
Customer agrees that all information provided on the Services, the Services themselves, and any Equipment are provided “AS IS” and on an “AS AVAILABLE” basis. Customer agrees to indemnify and hold BT harmless against claims for libel, slander or infringement of copyright from material transmitted over its facilities; against claims for infringement of patents arising from, combining with, or using in connection with facilities of BT, apparatus and systems of the customer; against all other claims arising out of any act or omission of the customer in connection with services provided by BT; and against any and all losses from damage to the customer’s facilities or equipment attached or connected to services furnished by BT.

BT disclaims any and all warranties, whether expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or any warranty that the services or any associated software or network transport will be uninterrupted or error free. In no event shall BT be liable for any indirect, special, consequential or incidental damages, including without limitation, lost profits or loss of damage to data arising out of the use, partial use or inability to use the services, even if BT has been advised of the possibility of such damages. BT’s entire liability and the customer’s exclusive remedy under this Agreement, for any claim, whether in contract (including breach of warranty), or in tort (including negligence), shall be limited to the total amount paid by customers to BT for those services upon which the liability is based.

BT is not liable for any defacement or damage to the subscriber’s premises resulting from the existence of BT’s instruments, apparatus and associated wiring thereon, or from the installation or removal thereof, when such defacement or damage is not the result of negligence on the part of BT.

The subscriber’s facilities and equipment shall conform to all applicable laws, regulations or ordinances as may be effective and the conditions of this Agreement. BT does not express, imply or warrant the adequacy, safety or other characteristics of subscriber owned or operated equipment by virtue of any inspection or rejection of facilities. BT shall not be held liable in any way for subscriber owned and maintained equipment which causes or may cause a hazardous, unsafe or dangerous condition, or threatens the health of others, even if such facilities were inspected by BT.

19. LIABILITIES OF THE CUSTOMER

The Customer shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless BT (including the costs of litigation and reasonable attorney’s fees) against:
(i) Claims for libel, slander, invasion of privacy, infringement of copyright or patents or unauthorized use of any trademark, trade name or service mark arising out of the use of material, data, information, or other content transmitted over BT’s services, facilities, or equipment; and (ii) All other claims (including, without limitation, claims for damage to any business or property, or injury to, or death of, any person) arising out of any act or omission of the Customer, or the Customer’s agents, employees, or customers, in connection with any service, facilities or equipment provided by BT.

20. ASSIGNMENT

Without Customer’s consent, BT may assign all or part of this Agreement including BT’s rights to receive monies under this Agreement. Customer shall not assign, subcontract, sublet or transfer this Agreement, in whole or in part, without BT’s written consent. Any assignment, subletting, transfer, or subcontracting in violation of this paragraph shall be void.

21. SEVERABILITY

If any of the terms or conditions in this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable by a government body of competent jurisdiction, the holding shall not affect any other term or condition of this Agreement, and the Agreement shall be construed as if it did not contain the invalid or unenforceable term or condition.

22. ENTIRE AGREEMENT

This Agreement supersedes all prior representations, understandings, or agreements on the subject matter of this Agreement. This Agreement may not be modified or waived except as described in this Agreement. With respect to all matters arising under this Agreement, this Agreement is a contract between the Customer and BT.

Burlington Telecom High-Speed Internet

Acceptable Use Policy

1. INTRODUCTION

Burlington Telecom’s (“BT”) Acceptable Use Policy (“AUP”) is intended to help enhance the use of the Internet by preventing unacceptable use. All users of BT’s Internet service (“Service”)-those who access our Service but do not have accounts (“Visitors”), as well as those who pay a monthly service fee to subscribe to the Service (“Members”)-must comply with this AUP. You are responsible for any misuse of the Service, even if the misuse was committed by a friend, family member, or guest with access to your Service account. Therefore, you must take steps to ensure that others do not use your account to gain unauthorized access to the Service by, for example, strictly maintaining the confidentiality of your Service login and password. In all cases, you are solely responsible for the security of any device you choose to connect to the Service, including any data stored or shared on that device.

BT supports the free flow of information and ideas over the Internet and does not actively monitor use of the Service under normal circumstances. Similarly, BT does not exercise editorial control over the content of any Web site, electronic mail transmission, news group, or other material created or accessed over or through the Service, except for certain proprietary websites. However, in BT’s effort to promote good citizenship within the Internet community, BT will respond appropriately if it becomes aware of inappropriate use of our Service. Although BT has no obligation to monitor the Service and/or the network, BT reserves the right at any time to monitor bandwidth, usage, transmissions, and content from time to time to operate the Service; to identify violations of the AUP; and/or to protect the network, the Service and BT users. BT prefers to advise customers of inappropriate behavior and any necessary corrective action. However, if the Service is used in a way that BT, in their sole discretion, believes violates this AUP, BT may take any responsive actions they deem appropriate. These actions include, but are not limited to, suspension or termination of your account, billing you for administrative costs and/or reactivation charges. Neither BT nor its affiliates, or agents will have any liability for any of these responsive actions. These actions are not BT’s exclusive remedies and BT may take any other legal or technical action it deems appropriate.

BT reserves the right to investigate suspected violations of this AUP, including the gathering of information from the user or users involved and the complaining party, if any, and examination of material on BT’s servers and network. You expressly authorize BT to cooperate with (i) law enforcement authorities in the investigation of suspected legal violations, and (ii) system administrators at other Internet service providers or other network or computing facilities in order to enforce this policy. This cooperation may include BT providing available personally identifiable information about you to law enforcement or system administrators, including, but not limited to, username, subscriber name, and other account information. This AUP should be read in conjunction with our other policies.

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless BT and its affiliates, suppliers, and agents against all claims and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) resulting from you engaging in any of the prohibited activities listed in this AUP or resulting from your violation of the AUP or of any other posted BT policy related to the Service. Your indemnification will survive any termination of the Subscriber Agreement.

2. VIOLATIONS OF BURLINGTON TELECOM’S ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

The following constitute violations of this AUP:

a. IILLEGAL USE – Using the Services 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 there under.

b. HARM TO MINORS – Using the Services to harm, or attempt to harm, minors in any way.

c. THREATS – Using the Services to transmit any material (by email, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that threatens or encourages bodily harm or destruction of property.

d. HARASSMENT – Using the Services to transmit any material (by email, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that harasses another.

e. FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY – Using the Services to make fraudulent offers to sell or buy products, items, or services or to advance any type of financial scam.

f. FORGERY OR IMPERSONATION – Adding, removing or modifying identifying network header information in an effort to deceive or mislead is prohibited. Attempting to impersonate any person by using forged headers or other identifying information is prohibited. The use of anonymous remailers or nicknames does not constitute impersonation. Using deliberately misleading headers in news postings in order to avoid spam email address collectors is allowed.

g. UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL EMAIL / UNSOLICITED BULK EMAIL – Using the Services 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.

h. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS – Using the Services to access, or to attempt to access, the accounts of others, or to penetrate, or attempt to penetrate, security measures of BT’s 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.

i. COPYRIGHT OR TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT – Using the Services 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.

j. RESELLING SERVICE – Reselling the Service or otherwise make available to anyone outside the Premises, the ability to use the Service, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, or on a bundled or unbundled basis. The Service is for personal and non-commercial use only and you agree not to use the Service for operation as an Internet service provider or for any business enterprise or purpose, or as an end-point on a non BT local area network or wide area network.

k. NETWORK DISRUPTIONS AND UNFRIENDLY ACTIVITY – Using the Services for any activity which adversely affects the ability of other people or systems to use BT Services or the Internet. This includes “denial of service” (DoS) attacks against another network host or individual user. Interference with or disruption of other network users, network services or network equipment is prohibited. It is the Member’s responsibility to ensure that their network is configured in a secure manner. A Member may not, through action or inaction, allow others to use their network for illegal or inappropriate actions. A Member may not permit their network, through action or inaction, to be configured in such a way that gives a third party the capability to use their network in an illegal or inappropriate manner.

l. NEWS – BT Members should use their best judgment when posting to any news group. Many groups have charters, published guidelines, FAQs, or “community standards” describing what is and is not considered appropriate. Usenet can be a valuable resource if used properly. The continued posting of off-topic articles is prohibited. Commercial advertisements are off-topic in most news groups, especially regional groups not specifically named for such. The presence of such articles in a group is not indicative of the group’s “intended” use. Please familiarize yourself with basic Usenet etiquette before posting to a newsgroup.

m. HIGH VOLUME USE – Using a personal account for high volume or commercial use is prohibited. The Services are intended for periodic, active use of e-mail, news groups, file transfers. Internet chat, games and browsing the World Wide Web. If you require a high volume service, please contact us to purchase commercial service.

3. REVISIONS TO THIS ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

BT reserves the right to revise, amend, or modify this AUP and our other policies and Agreements at any time and in any manner. Notice of any revision, amendment, or modification will be posted at www.burlingtontelecom.net.

Continued use of service constitutes acceptance of the policies set forth in this AUP. If you do not accept these policies please notify BT immediately and we will cancel your service.

PRIVACY AGREEMENT

PROTECTING CUSTOMER PRIVACY AT BURLINGTON TELECOM

Burlington Telecom (“BT”) has strict policies governing employee access or contractors working on behalf of BT, to customer records. We access customer accounts, records or reports for authorized business purposes only. We educate our employees and independent contractors about their obligation to safeguard customer information and telephone calls, and we hold them accountable for their actions.

BT obtains personally identifiable information from customers that help us to provide service, and we use that information for business purposes only. On occasion, BT may use your personally identifiable information for marketing purposes. We understand that you value your privacy and if you do not wish us to use your information for marketing, please visit www.burlingtontelecom.com/legal, complete the Marketing Opt-Out form, and we will remove you from any future mailings.

We collect and maintain personally identifiable information about you such as your name, address, email address and telephone number.

BT keeps all our customers records private including the services you buy, the programs that you purchase and the calls that you make. We do not ordinarily share or permit access to this information without your permission, except as required by law or to protect the safety of customers, employees or property. Examples of when this information might be disclosed include, but are not limited to,

• If you subscribe to telephone service with BT and dial 911, information about your location may be transmitted automatically to a public safety agency. Certain information about your long-distance calls is transmitted to your long-distance company for billing purposes. BT also is required by law to provide directory publishers with listing information for purposes of publishing and delivering directories.
• BT also occasionally uses contractors to do work for the company. These contractors have the same obligations as our regular employees concerning customer information.

BURLINGTON TELECOM DOES NOT SELL INFORMATION TO THIRD PARTIES

SECURITY

We take reasonable security precautions to protect your personally identifiable information that we collect from unauthorized access, use and disclosure. However, we cannot guarantee that our security precautions will, absolutely, without any possible exception, prevent every unauthorized attempt to access, use or disclose your personally identifiable information.

RETENTION OF INFORMATION

We will maintain most, if not all, of the personally identifiable information we have collected during the time you are a subscriber. We generally will destroy the information after a reasonable time following the termination of your account with us, if we no longer need to retain the information for the purpose for which it was collected or retention is no longer required by law or other legitimate business activities.

NOTICES AND CHANGES TO PRIVACY POLICY

We will notify you of our Privacy Policy annually. We reserve the right to modify this policy at anytime. We will notify you of any material changes via written, electronic, or other means permitted by law. If you find the change unacceptable, you have the right to cancel service. Your continued use of service following the notice will be considered an acceptance of the change.

Third Party Website Disclaimer

As a service and convenience to our customers, Burlington Telecom regularly provides links to third party websites. Any website you visit by a link from this site is solely the responsibility of the vendor, merchant, or other party providing the site. Links that may be accessed via this site are for the convenience of browsers only. The content of, including materials and information contained on, any site to which you link from this site is solely the responsibility of the provider of that web site. Any transactions that you enter into with a vendor, merchant or other party listed in this site or linked from this site are solely between you and that vendor, merchant or other party. Burlington Telecom is not responsible for any such third party content that may be accessed via this site, nor the organizations publishing those sites, and hereby disclaims any responsibility for such content.

BURLINGTON TELECOM

BROADBAND INTERNET SERVICE DISCLOSURES

Update November 14, 2011

Consistent with FCC regulations,[1] the City of Burlington d/b/a Burlington Telecom (“BT”) provides this information about our broadband Internet access services. We welcome questions or comments about this information. You may contact us at (802) 540-0007

Network Practices

General description. We provide a variety of broadband Internet access service offerings to our residential and business customers. We provide the services over fiber optic lines connecting to the Internet. We monitor our network and traffic patterns and make changes we deem necessary to manage and improve overall network performance. We use reasonable, nondiscriminatory, network management practices to improve overall network performance to ensure a high-quality online experience for all users. Our network management practices do not target any specific content, application, service, or device. As network management issues arise and as technology develops, we may employ additional or new network management practices. We will update these disclosures as necessary.

Related documents And disclosures. Use of our Internet service is also governed by:

• Burlington Telecom Internet Acceptable Use Policy
• Burlington Telecom Privacy Policy

Congestion Management. We describe in this section network management practices used to address congestion on our network.

Congestion management practices used.

Network monitoring. We monitor our network for utilization trends. We monitor network traffic and congestion on a daily basis. We use this information to plan increases in bandwidth available, port additions, or additional connectivity to the Internet. We place no limitations on data usage.

Types of traffic affected. Our congestion management practices do not target any specific content, application, service, or device.

Purposes of congestion management practices. Our Internet network is a shared network. This means that our customers share upstream and downstream bandwidth. The goal of our congestion management practices is to enable better network availability and speeds for all users. Our congestion management practices serve to:

• Help us adapt and upgrade our network to maintain or improve network performance as demand for our Internet service increases.
• Help us adapt and upgrade our network to maintain or improve network performance as demand for higher bandwidth applications increases. Some examples of higher bandwidth applications are gaming, streaming movies, and streaming high definition video.
• Help us identify potential bandwidth abusers.

Congestion management criteria. Our network monitoring provides data to help us plan upgrades to our network, equipment, technology, and connectivity to the Internet. As demand for our Internet service increases, and as demand for higher bandwidth applications increases, we monitor effects on network performance and plan upgrades as we deem necessary to meet advertised speeds.

Effects on end user experience. Because our Internet service network is a shared network, periods of high network demand may result in Internet traffic congestion. Our network monitoring practices are continually conducted and adjustments made accordingly to provide end users with the best possible experience.

Typical frequency of congestion. Congestion tends to occur during periods of peak demand for higher bandwidth applications. Generally, the frequency of congestion tends to increase from 7 pm – 11 pm, especially on Friday and Saturday nights as well as holidays.

Application-Specific Practices. We do not manage congestion by restricting or managing any specific protocol ports, fields, or applications. If at any time, Burlington Telecom changes this practice, we will update these disclosures as necessary.

Device Attachment Rules. This section addresses any limitations on attaching lawful devices to our network.

General restrictions on types of devices to connect to network.

While we do not have specific device restrictions, to use our Internet service a customer’s computer must include a Network Interface Card (“NIC”), in order to access the internet. Beyond that, our service works with most types of PCs and laptops including Macs. If a customer or potential customer believes they have an unusual configuration, our help desk help determine if there is an equipment compatibility problem.

Fiber-to-the-Home Internet Service. Our fiber-to-the-home service requires connection of a residential gateway device and Optical Network Terminal (ONT) to our network. We provide and install the ONT, and you can obtain a residential gateway device from us or you may purchase one from most retail electronics sellers.

“Hot Spots” Wireless Service. Our Access Points require a device that is able to receive a radio signal. We install Access Points throughout the City of Burlington, a list of these hot spots can be found at http://www.burlingtontelecom.net/about-us/wi-fi-hotspots-around-burlington/

Network and End User Security. This section provides a general description of the practices we use to maintain security of our network and end users, including triggering conditions.

Practices used to ensure network and end-user security, including triggering conditions. In general, we promptly address any event originated by a customer or customer equipment that negatively affects others’ use of the network. Our practice is to first contact the customer causing the problem, and if we received no response, we terminate that customer’s service until the problem is corrected.

Practices used to ensure network security, including triggering conditions.

Hostile port blocking. We do not currently block ports. If Burlington Telecom changes this current practice, these disclosures will be updated as necessary.

Virus and Spam filtering. We filter all outbound email traffic for viruses and spam. Our inbound virus and spam filtering is performed by a third-party provider. Our contractor performs industry standard virus scanning and prevention techniques on our email platform for mail inbound from the public network. Should an email message be found to contain a virus or other harmful content, the message will be deleted without notification given either to the sender or the intended recipient(s).

Misuse of System Resources. To protect and maintain high availability of all its servers, activities designed to cause harm to or monopolize the resources of any server in our network are strictly prohibited.

Performance Characteristics

General Service Description. Our fiber-to-the-home Internet service product includes wiring, an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) and a residential gateway device. Our Access Points include external and internal rated equipment to service locations inside and outside. Through our Internet service products, we serve as a local Internet service provider. Our Internet service products enable residential and commercial subscribers to access all lawful content, applications, and services of their choice available on the Internet

Fiber-to-the-Home Internet service technology. We deliver our fiber-to-the-home service over our fiber optical network. Customers access our network using a residential gateway device. To connect from our network to the Internet, we use equipment called an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) and a residential gateway device that acts as a gateway to the Internet for our customers’ personal computer or routers. This is a shared network, which means that our customers share upstream and downstream bandwidth.

Hot Spots Wireless Internet service technology. We deploy our access points through our internet network via fiber with some using ONT’s and some using point to point fiber connections, all connecting through our internet switch.

Expected and Actual Speeds and Latency. We offer customers a variety of Internet service levels. We provide a description of the expected maximum transfer speeds associated with each residential service level. We test our network routinely to address any issues concerning network congestion. Our goal is provide the customer with the speeds they have subscribed to.

Speed. The speeds we identify for each Internet access service level are the maximum upload and download speeds that customers are likely to experience. We provision and engineer our network to deliver the speeds to which our customers subscribe. However, we do not guarantee that a customer will actually achieve those speeds at all times. A variety of factors can affect upload and download speeds, including customer equipment, network equipment, congestion in our network, congestion beyond our network, performance issues with an Internet application, content, or service, and more.

Latency. Latency is another measurement of Internet performance. Latency is the time delay in transmitting or receiving packets on a network. Latency is primarily a function of the distance between two points of transmission, but also can be affected by the quality of the network or networks used in transmission. Latency is typically measured in milliseconds, and generally has no significant impact on typical everyday Internet usage. As latency varies based on any number of factors, most importantly the distance between a customer’s computer and the ultimate Internet destination (as well as the number and variety of networks your packets cross), it is not possible to provide customers with a single figure that will define latency as part of a user experience.

Actual speed and latency performance. Actual speed and latency performance for our service follows.

Fiber-to-the-Home service. The FCC has reported that customers of fiber-to-the-home based broadband Internet services receive mean download speeds that are within 114% of advertised speeds during non-peak hours, and 113.5% of advertised speeds during peak hours.[2] In addition, the FCC has reported that these same customers experience average latency [3] delays of 17 milliseconds, increasing by an average of 18 milliseconds during peak hours. Our data indicates our fiber-to-the-home service latency ranges from 1to 3 milliseconds.

Hot Spots Wireless service. Burlington Telecom’s Hot Spots receive mean download speeds that are within 95% of advertised speeds during non-peak hours, and 93% of advertised speeds during peak hours.

Customer Speed Test. We provide a customer speed test for our customers, available at http://speedtest.burlingtontelecom.net/. Should a customer experience a problem, we will dispatch a service technician within a 24 hour period.

Suitability of the Service for Real-time Applications. Each of our Internet services are suitable for typical real-time applications including messaging, voice applications, video chat applications, gaming, and Internet video. If users or developers have questions about particular real-time applications, please contact us at (802) 540-0007

Commercial Terms

Prices. Monthly prices for our Internet access services are available at http://www.burlingtontelecom.net/business/

Privacy Policies. From time to time, we may need to disclose anonymized network traffic information to third parties solely for purposes of providing and maintaining our Internet service product or if required by law. We reserve the right to do so. For further information on our privacy policies, see our Internet Acceptable Use Policy and Privacy Policy located at http://www.burlingtontelecom.net/legal/.

Illegal or Indecent Content. Use of any Burlington Telecom service to make any illegal, indecent or obscene content available via transmission, storage, or display of such material is prohibited. Accounts maintaining such content are subject to suspension or termination without notice.

Inspection of network traffic. We routinely monitor network and traffic patterns.

Virus and Spam filtering. We filter all outbound email traffic for viruses and spam. Our inbound virus and spam filtering is performed by a third-party provider. Our contractor performs industry standard virus scanning and prevention techniques on our email platform for mail inbound from the public network. Should an email message be found to contain a virus or other harmful content, the message will be deleted without notification given either to the sender or the intended recipient(s).

Storage of network traffic information. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) information is a code included in all network traffic that associates that traffic with a particular cable modem or customer equipment sending or receiving the traffic. We store DHCP information for at least 6 months.

Provision of network traffic information to third parties. We may disclose network traffic information to third parties solely for purposes of providing and maintaining our Internet service product or if required by law in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Use of network traffic information for non-network management purposes. Burlington Telecom does not currently use network traffic information for non-network management purposes. In the event this practice changes, Burlington Telecom will update these disclosures as applicable.

Redress Options; end-user complains and questions. End users or edge providers with complaints or questions relating to these disclosures should contact our help desk at (802) 540-0007 or use our website customer care link, available at http://www.burlingtontelecom.net/current-customers/support/, to submit complaints or questions. We will endeavor to answer questions promptly via email or voice. For complaints, we will provide an initial response in writing within 15 business days of receipt. We will attempt to resolve complaints informally, escalating the matter to senior management if needed.

[1] 47 CFR 8.3 and In re: Preserving the Open Internet, Broadband Industry Practices, Report and Order, 22 FCC Rcd 17905 (2010).
[2] The FCC has defined peak hours measured during “busy hour” as weeknights between 7:00 pm and 11:00 pm local time.
[3] The FCC has defined latency is the total length of time it takes a signal to travel from an origination point to the nearest server, plus the time for an acknowledgement of receipt to travel back to the origination point. The nearest server is the server providing the minimum round trip time.

Closed Captioning

For questions regarding closed captioning please contact the following:

Technical Support Team

Telephone No: (802) 540-0007
Fax No: (802) 652-4220
E-mail: [email protected]

If you would like to submit a written complaint regarding closed captioning, you may do so by sending your complaint to:

Burlington Telecom

Attn: Jeremy Patrie – Division Manager of Technical Operations and Commercial Sales
200 Church Street
Burlington, VT 05401

Telephone No: (802) 540-0007
Fax No: (802) 652-4220
E-mail: [email protected]