USA COMPANIES, LLC, AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES (ISP) HAVE ADOPTED THIS ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY, WHICH IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TO ENSURE THE INTEGRITY OF USE OF THE SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE ISP. THIS AGREEMENT IS BETWEEN THE ISP AND YOU, THE (CONSUMER). ALL USERS OF SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE ISP ARE REQUIRED TO ADHERE TO THIS POLICY. THIS POLICY IS INTENDED TO COVER, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO E-MAIL, HIGH-SPEED OR DIAL-UP INTERNET SERVICES. USE OF THESE SERVICES INDICATES CONSUMER AGREEMENT TO THE POLICIES SET HEREIN. THE ISP, AT ITS SOLE DISCRETION, RESERVES THE RIGHT TO IMMEDIATELY TERMINATE SERVICES PROVIDED TO THE CONSUMER IF THIS POLICY IS VIOLATED IN PART OR IN WHOLE BY EITHER THE CONSUMER OR OTHERS PARTIES ALLOWED BY THE CONSUMER TO USE THE SERVICES PROVIDE BY THE ISP. FURTHERMORE, THE ISP RESERVES THE RIGHT, AT ITS SOLE DISCRETION, TO REMOVE ANY MATERIAL OR INFORMATION WHICH VIOLATES THIS POLICY FOR ANY REASON, AND WITHOUT NOTICE TO THE CONSUMER.

SERVICE RESTRICTIONS

NO COMMERCIAL USE OR RESELLING

Services provided by the ISP are designed for normal Internet activities, such as web browsing, e-mail, news, chat, etc. The CONSUMER agrees they will not use, nor allow others to use services provided by the ISP to operate any type of commercial enterprise and furthermore will not redistribute services provided by the ISP to any other entity (individual or otherwise) whether for free or for profit. If the CONSUMER wishes to resell services provided by the ISP, they may contact the ISP to determine whether an external agreement can be made to condone such activity.

If CONSUMER wishes to use ISP services for commercial purposes, ISP can provide a package rate in these instances. If CONSUMER is unsure of their status, or would like to change their status, they must contact customer service at billing@connectwithusa.com

NO ILLEGAL OR FRAUDULENT USE

The CONSUMER agrees not to use the services provided by the ISP to violate any applicable federal, state, local or international laws. Furthermore, the CONSUMER agrees not to use services provided by the ISP to plan to or commit a crime or fraud, or to encourage or help others to commit a crime or fraud, including but not limited to engaging in a pyramid scheme, a ponzi scheme or sending chain letters.

NO COPYRIGHT OR TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT

The CONSUMER agrees not to use the services provided by the ISP to send or receive any information that infringes upon the patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, or proprietary rights of any other person or entity. This includes, but is not limited to illegal digitization and/or distribution of music, movies, photographs or other copyrighted materials or software. USA Companies, LLC and its subsidiaries are registered under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 and will cooperate with law enforcement agencies concerning investigations regarding copyright or trademark infringement.

NO THREATS OR HARASSMENT

The CONSUMER agrees not to use the services provided by the ISP to transmit any material that threatens or encourages bodily harm, destruction of property or which harasses, abuses, defames, or invades the privacy of any other person or entity.

NO HARM TO MINORS

The CONSUMER agrees not to use the services provided by the ISP to harm or attempt to harm a minor, including but not limited to using the services to distribute pornographic, obscene, or profane materials.

NO UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL/BULK E-MAIL (SPAMMING)

The CONSUMER agrees not to use the services provided by the ISP to send unsolicited advertising (including but not limited to mass or bulk e-mail), promotional materials or other forms of solicitation (SPAMMING) whether the intent is to solicit or to annoy the recipient. The ISP reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to determine whether such posting or transmission constitutes an annoyance, advertisement, promotional material, or any other form of solicitation.

NO UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS (CRACKING)

The CONSUMER agrees not to use the services provided by the ISP to access the accounts of others or to attempt to penetrate security measures of the ISP or of any other entity to computer systems without authorization, or to cause a disruption in service to other on-line users. Furthermore, the CONSUMER agrees not to use tools designed for compromising network security, such as password guessing programs, cracking tools, packet-sniffers, or network probing tools to gain or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the aforementioned systems.

NO SYSTEM DISRUPTION

The CONSUMER agrees not to use the services provided by the ISP to disrupt either the network or equipment owned by the ISP or equipment owned by other customers of the ISP. Furthermore, the CONSUMER agrees not to use the services provided by the ISP to disrupt other Internet Service Providers, including but not limited to e-mail bombing or the use of mass-mailing programs.

NO IMPERSONATION OR FORGERY

The CONSUMER agrees not to use the services provided by the ISP to impersonate another user, falsify one’s user name, age, or identity in e-mail or in any post or transmission to any newsgroup or mailing list or similar groups or lists. This includes but is not limited to the gathering of personal information on a third party without the consent of the party that could be used to impersonate or commit forgery. Furthermore, the CONSUMER agrees not to forge any message header of any electronic transmission, originating or passing through the network owned by the ISP.

NO ABUSE OF NEWSGROUPS

The CONSUMER agrees not to post a similar item to more than three (3) newsgroups or mailing lists. Furthermore, the CONSUMER agrees not to post or transmit any private, third party e-mail to any newsgroup or mailing list without the explicit approval of the sender.

NO EXCESSIVE USE OF BANDWIDTH

If the ISP, at its sole discretion, determines the CONSUMER is using an excessive amount of bandwidth, or using the service in a manner that is uncharacteristic of standard Internet usage, the ISP may terminate services provided to the CONSUMER at any time without notice, or require the CONSUMER to upgrade service levels and/or pay additional fees in accordance with our Pricing Schedules to ensure continued availability of the services provided.

NO VIRUSES

The CONSUMER agrees not to use services provided by the ISP to intentionally transmit computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other harmful software programs and that the CONSUMER will use best efforts to prevent unintentional transmission of such viruses or other harmful software through the Internet or networks provided by the ISP.

USA CONNECTIONS DMCA REPEAT INFRINGEMENT POLICY

“DMCA” stands for Digital Millennium Copyright Act. 

The DMCA provides copyright owners with a process for communicating notifications of alleged copyright infringement to service providers that store or host customer content, such as websites and hosting services, as well as Internet service providers, regarding their users. In turn, these service providers are required in most cases to act on valid notifications and to terminate in appropriate circumstances subscribers and account holders who are repeat infringers. Copyright infringement takes a variety of forms, but frequently consists of the unauthorized copying or sharing of files containing music, movies, television shows or computer games.

We are committed to complying with U.S. copyright laws and we require all USA Connections Internet customers to comply with them, too. Therefore, our customers and users may not store any material or content, or access, share or distribute any material or content using USA Connections Internet services, in any manner that constitutes an infringement of third party copyright rights.

What is USA Communication’s DMCA Repeat Infringer Policy?

As part of our DMCA Policy, we place accounts of customers for whom we receive multiple DMCA notifications of alleged infringement into a multi-step DMCA Repeat Infringer Policy. Upon receipt of repeated DMCA notifications in a calendar month, the customer account will progress from one policy step to the next one.

Actions that we may take under the DMCA Repeat Infringer Policy include sending alerts of increased visibility to the account’s customer of record. We also reserve the right to suspend or terminate, as well as apply other interim measures to, the USA Connections Internet service of any customer for whom we have continued to receive DMCA notifications of alleged infringement even after we have sent repeat infringer alerts. In addition, we may terminate in our sole discretion other USA Connections services provided to these customers when we terminate the USA Connections Internet service under this policy.

Who is a Repeat Infringer under your policy?

Any infringement of third party copyright rights violates the law. We reserve the right to treat any customer account for whom we receive multiple DMCA notifications from content owners as a repeat infringer.

How many DMCA notifications trigger the next step in the Repeat Infringer Policy?

Any infringement of third party copyright rights violates the law. We reserve the right to move a customer account to the next step of the policy upon receiving any number of DMCA notifications from content owners in a given month.

How will I be notified about the DMCA Repeat Infringer Policy?

You may receive an email alert to the preferred email address on your account or a letter to your home address. You may also receive a phone call or a recorded message to your telephone number on file, a text message to your mobile telephone number on file, or another form of communication.

Does Your DMCA Policy respect my privacy?

Yes. As an Internet service provider, we typically receive notifications of alleged infringement from content owners that include a non-personally identifying set of numbers (known as an Internet protocol or IP address). This IP address is visible to third parties on the Internet and is associated with activity that the copyright owner alleges is infringing. If we are able to match the IP address on the date and time listed in the content owner’s notification with our records, then we may generate a DMCA notification to our customer whose account was assigned that IP address, as well as a repeat infringer alert (if applicable). We do not disclose any information about your identity to content owners under the DMCA (unless there is a valid court order requiring us or one of our affiliates to do so).

Can my USA Connections services be impacted by the DMCA Repeat Infringer Policy?

Yes. Triggering steps under this policy may result in the following: a temporary suspension of, or other interim measures applied to, your service; or the termination of your USA Connections Internet service as well as your other USA Connections services.

For issues related to service impact due to the DMCA Repeat Infringer Policy, please contact us at 877-773-8989. The hours of our Customer Service Department are 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM central time, Monday through Friday.

What happens if my USA Connections Internet service is suspended under the DMCA Repeat Infringer Policy?

If your USA Connections Internet account is suspended, you will have no Internet access or service during suspension. This means any services and devices that use the Internet (e.g., your computer, a tablet, or a gaming console) will not properly work or will not work at all.

To end the suspension of your USA Connections Internet service, you must call us at 877-773-8989. Your regular service charges apply during suspension.

What happens if my USA Connections Internet service is terminated under the DMCA Repeat Infringer Policy?

If you reach the point of service termination, we will terminate your USA Connections Internet service and related add-ons. Unreturned equipment charges will still apply. If you also have USA Connections TV and/or USA Connections Voice services, they may also be terminated.

How long does the termination of USA Connections Internet under the DMCA Repeat Infringer Policy last?

Termination of USA Connections Internet will be in effect for the period of time communicated to you, typically no less than 120 days.

When can I reactivate my USA Connections Internet service?

During the termination period your USA Connections Internet service will not be restored for any reason. After this period, if you wish to restore your USA Connections Internet service, you must call us to apply, as we will not automatically restore services to you.

REPORTING VIOLATIONS OF THIS ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

The ISP requests any party who believes a violation of this Acceptable Use Policy has occurred to direct the relevant information to our Technical Support Department via e-mail at the address contactus@connectwithusa.com.

REVISIONS TO POLICY

The ISP reserves the right to revise, amend, or modify this Acceptable Use Policy, the Internet Service Agreement, and other policies and agreements at any time and in any manner. Notice of any revision, amendment, or modification will be posted in accordance with the Internet service.