Broadband Terms and Information

Residential:

Wisconsin Internet Service (www.wi-net.com) Terms and Conditions. This agreement is by and between the Amherst Telephone Company D/B/A Wisconsin Internet Net Service, duly authorized and existing under the laws of the State of Wisconsin, with its main office at 120 Mill Street, Amherst, WI 54406-0279 (WINS), and the undersigned customer for the provision by WINS or its subcontractors of certain electronic communications services and related items.

  1. The Customer hereby subscribes for and agrees to pay for the Internet connection services described on the reverse side here of on the terms and conditions herein set forth.
  2. Service Warranties: With respect to the services provided, WINS makes no warranties of any kind, express or implied, including any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness of this service for a particular purpose. WINS shall not be responsible for any damages suffered by the customer, including, but not limited to, loss of data from delays, non-deliveries, mis-deliveries, for service interruptions caused by WINS own negligence or customers errors and or omissions. The customer shall provide all telephone and other equipment necessary to access WINS systems. WINS reserves the right to modify the service terms, standard rates and operating procedures to establish usage priorities and to discontinue all or any part of the provided services at any time. The customer is responsible for implementing sufficient procedures and checkpoints to satisfy its requirements for accuracy of data input and output and maintaining a means external to the WINS system for the reconstruction of any lost data. WINS is not responsible for service interruptions beyond its control, including acts of God or service interruptions by its suppliers.
  3. Use: This service may only be used for lawful purposes. Materials and/or transmissions in violation of any local, state or Federal law(s) or regulations are prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, copyrighted material, material legally judged to be threatening or obscene, or material protected by trade secret. If customer shall be determined to have engaged in inappropriate usage of this account, the privilege may be revoked at WINS discretion. The customer agrees to indemnify and hold harmless WINS from any claims resulting from the customers use of the service.
  4. Use of Information: Use of any information obtained via this service is at customers risk. WINS specifically denies any responsibility for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through its services. Use of these services will involve listing the customers participation in the relevant directories. The customer agrees to protect and treat all WINS confidential and proprietary information including access codes and IDs provided by WINS for its system. Sharing of IDs/accounts is expressly forbidden. If a customer believes his access ID/password has be compromised, immediate e-mail or telephone notification must be provided to WINS. The customer may be held responsible for all acts/communications initiated or authorized by that account ID until receipt by WINs of such notice.
  5. Change of Status: WINS may, from time to time, require new registration and account information from the customer to continue this service. In addition, the customer shall notify WINS in writing of any changes in the account information.
  6. WINS exercises no control over the content of the information passing through or temporarily stored in its system. WINS personnel may occasionally be required to examine files or e-mails as part of their duties and to facilitate operation of the system. All customer data shall be treated in a confidential manner, and data access of this nature shall be minimized. Customer data, including account records, on-line files and e-mail, will only be released to those individuals authorized by the customer or upon service of valid court order.
  7. Limitation of Liability: Neither party shall be liable to the other except as set forth in Section 3 hereof for any loss, damage, liability, claim or expense arising out of or in relation to this Agreement or the provision of service or equipment, however, caused, whether grounded in contract, tort (including negligence) or theory of strict liability. The parties agree to work in good faith to implement the purposed of the Agreement, but recognize the network connection and services to be provided by WINS could not be made available under these terms or other similar terms without a substantial increase in cost if the parties were to assume a greater liability to each other.
  8. Payment Terms: All bills for service are due upon receipt. Failure to pay any amount due within 10 days of the due date, whether billed or not, shall constitute sufficient grounds for termination of service without notice.
  9. Terms/Extensions/Termination: This agreement shall extend from the date customers account is activated until the official anniversary date. Service rendered beyond the expiration of the term will be subject to continued relevant fees and monthly payments and will be considered acceptance of the new agreement. This agreement shall be for the term indicated herein. If the term hereof is less than one year, the agreement may be terminated by customer only upon 30 days written notice to WINS. All other accounts may be terminated by customer only with written notice to WINS given no later than 30 days prior to the end of the last subscription period for which payment had been made. Customer shall be liable for all subscription fees through the effective date of termination.
  10. Description of the End-User Services: Unlimited access accounts shall be charged a flat rate per month and an end-user is not to exceed 150 hours usage in one week or consecutive 24-hour continual use. In the event that the user meets these limitations they will be required to upgrade to a dial-up dedicated account. A usage sensitive dial-up account is based on the number of hours a customer uses. Billing will reflect the total of the hours above the published plan limit.
  11. These terms and conditions supersede all previous representations, understandings, or agreements and shall prevail notwithstanding any variance with the terms and conditions of any order submitted. Use of the WINs Network constitutes acceptance of terms and conditions. Both parties agree to accept electronic mail as legally binding documentation for billing and notification purposes. This agreement will be performed in and governed by the laws of the State of Wisconsin. Any claims or caused of action arising out of or related to this agreement must be instituted within one year after the claim or cause of action has arisen or be barred. A claim or cause of action shall arise when the breach, act of omission or cause of action accrues, regardless of the knowledge of such breach, act or omission.

Amherst Telephone Company strives to provide all its customers with the highest quality Internet service available, while adhering to Internet use policies established by the Internet Community and State and Federal Laws.

The Providers Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) covers all of its Internet Products and Services (Services) and is designed to help improve the use of the Internet by preventing unacceptable use. All users of the Services must comply with this AUP.

Use of the Services constitutes acceptance of the AUP. Users are solely responsible for any and all acts and omissions that occur while accepting the Services and users agree not violate the AUP or engage in any unacceptable or illegal activities while utilizing any of the Services. The Provider reserves the right to terminate service to any user without notice upon violation of any part of the AUP.

The Provider reserves the right to revise, modify and amend this AUP at any time and in any manner. Notice of any revision, modification or amendment of the AUP will be posted on the Providers website at www.wi-net.com.

The Provider may take action against users for violating these policies; including removing any content that violates the AUP and/or terminating use of the Services. The Provider reserves the right to investigate any violations of this AUP. The Provider may cooperate with legal authorities and/or third parties in the investigation of suspected or alleged criminal or civil violations. The Provider may also cooperate with the System Administrators of the Internet Community to enforce this AUP.

VIOLATIONS OF THE PROVIDERS AUP

  1. Inappropriate ContentUsers may not upload, download, post, email, distribute, publish or otherwise transmit (collectively Transmit) any message, data, information, image, text, song, movie or other material (collectively Content) that is unlawful, libelous, slanderous, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, pornographic, indecent, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, inflammatory or otherwise harmful or offensive to third parties.
  2. Abuse of Electronic Mail.The Providers Services may not be used to send unsolicited bulk or commercial messages. 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.Users are prohibited from sending the same or substantially similar email messages to (50) or more recipients. Users may not send more than 100 emails per hour without written approval from the Provider. If this provision is violated, you may be required to pay the Provider $5,000 per day for deliberate violations.
  3. Network Security / Integrity.Using the Services for any activity which adversely affects the ability of other people or systems to use Services or the Internet is prohibited. This includes Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, Virus Uploading and distribution, and Hacking (intentional unauthorized access into a service or system without express authorization).Users are responsible for ensuring the security of their personal or business network to minimize network abuse. Users are responsible for the configuring and securing of their Service to avoid disruption of network or end user Services. Users may not, through action or inaction, use their network for illegal or inappropriate actions or configure their network in a way that permits third parties to do the same. Examples of unsecured services are, but not limited to, Open SMTP relays, incorrect configuration of Proxy services, and Hosting Server Relays.
  4. Resale, Sharing, Distribution.Users may not resell, share, or otherwise distribute the Services or any portion thereof to any third party without written consent of the Provider. For example, you may not provide Internet access to others through a DSL or dial-up connection (Piggybacking), host shell accounts over the Internet, provide email or news services, or send a news feed.
  5. Illegal Use.Users may not Transmit Content that intentionally or unintentionally violates any applicable, known or unknown local, state, national or international law.
  6. Harm to Minors.Users may not make information available to minors in violation of federal or state law, or use the Service to harm or attempt to harm minors in any way.
  7. Forgery or Impersonation.Users may not impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, an employee or officer of the Provider, forum leader, guide or host, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity. Forging headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any content transmitted through the Provider is prohibited.
  8. Fraudulent Activity.Users may not 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, or chain letters.
  9. Unauthorized Access.Users may not use the Services to access, or attempt to access, the accounts of others, or to penetrate, or attempt to penetrate, security measures of the Service Providers or other entitys computer software or hardware, electronic communications system, or telecommunications system, whether or not the intrusion results in the corruption or loss of data.
  10. Collection of Personal Data.Users may not use the Services to collect, or attempt to collect, personal information about third parties without their knowledge or consent.
  11. Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights.The Provider does not permit users to Transmit any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party as specified by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 or any other applicable law. This includes, but is not limited to, the unauthorized copying of copyrighted materials, the distribution of photographs from magazines, books or other copyrighted sources and the unauthorized transmittal of copyrighted software, music and/or movies.As governed by the DMCA Act of 1998 Section 512, the user will be removed from the Providers network for repeated infringement of copyrighted materials.

REPORTING VIOLATIONS OF AUP

The Service requests that anyone who believes that there is a violation of this AUP send that information to admin@wi-net.com

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Copyright Policy

Amherst Telephone Company, doing business as Amherst Communications, including its divisions and affiliates, complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512 (the “DMCA”). This policy describes the procedures for reporting alleged copyright infringement and the actions Amherst Telephone Company may take in response.

Amherst Telephone Company acts as a service provider and, where applicable, as a conduit for user communications. In accordance with the DMCA, Amherst Telephone Company has adopted and reasonably implements a policy providing for the termination of subscribers who are repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances.

Designated DMCA Agent

Pursuant to the DMCA, Amherst Telephone Company has designated the following agent to receive notifications of claimed copyright infringement:

DMCA Agent

Copyright Manager
Amherst Telephone Company
120 Mill Street
Amherst, WI 54406
Phone: 715-824-5529
Email: copyright@amherstcomm.net

Reporting Alleged Copyright Infringement

A notification of claimed infringement must be a written communication and must include substantially the following information:

  1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed

  2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or a representative list of such works

  3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to permit Amherst Telephone Company to locate the material or identify the subscriber involved

  4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit Amherst Telephone Company to contact the complaining party, including name, address, telephone number, and email address

  5. A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law

  6. A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed

Notices that fail to substantially comply with these requirements may not be processed.

Response to DMCA Notices

Upon receipt of a valid DMCA notice, Amherst Telephone Company may take one or more of the following actions, as appropriate:

  • Notify the affected subscriber of the allegation

  • Disable access to the identified material or take reasonable steps related to the subscriber’s access

  • Maintain records of infringement notices for repeat infringer tracking

First time infringers may be subject to corrective action. Subscribers who are determined to be repeat infringers may have their accounts suspended or terminated in appropriate circumstances.

Counter-Notification Procedure

If a subscriber believes that material was removed or access was disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification, the subscriber may submit a counter-notification. The counter-notification must include the following:

  1. The subscriber’s physical or electronic signature

  2. Identification of the material that was removed or to which access was disabled and the location where the material appeared before it was removed or access was disabled

  3. A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the subscriber has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification

  4. The subscriber’s name, address, telephone number, and email address

  5. A statement that the subscriber consents to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the subscriber’s address is located, or if outside the United States, for any judicial district in which Amherst Telephone Company may be found, and that the subscriber will accept service of process from the person who submitted the original notification or that person’s agent

Counter-notifications should be sent to the Designated DMCA Agent listed above.

Restoration of Material or Access

Upon receipt of a valid counter-notification, Amherst Telephone Company will provide a copy to the original complaining party. Unless the Designated DMCA Agent receives notice that the complaining party has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the subscriber from engaging in infringing activity, the removed material or disabled access may be restored within ten to fourteen business days.

Policy Revisions

Amherst Telephone Company reserves the right to modify this policy at any time to remain compliant with applicable law or operational requirements.

Revised 02/05/2026

Privacy Policy

Amherst Telephone Company’s d/b/a Amherst Communications (hereinafter “Amherst,” “Company,” “our,” “us,” or “we”) is committed to respecting and protecting the privacy of our customers. This Privacy Policy applies to the information we collect when you use or interact with our products, services, and networks (“Services”), including www.amherstcomm.net  (“Website”), but it is not exclusive to it. This Privacy Policy applies to everyone, including, but not limited to, visitors, users, and others who wish to access our Services or Website. By using Amherst’s internet access services, video service, and related services, or by visiting our Website, the subscriber (“Subscriber”) is consenting to Amherst’s information gathering and use practices as in effect from time to time.

Protecting your private information or Personally Identifiable Information is our priority.  This Privacy Policy explains the types of personal information we collect, and how we collect, use, maintain, protect, and share this information. This Privacy Policy also tells you about the rights and choices you may have when it comes to your personal information.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your information.

Definitions

  • Personal Identifiable Information or “personal information” refers to any information that can be used to identify a specific individual. This includes information that is directly linked to a person, such as their name, date of birth, social security number, or email address, as well as information that can be used to identify them indirectly, such as their physical characteristics, biometric data, or online identifiers like IP addresses or device identifiers.
  • Allowable Tracked Information refers to the specific types of data that a website or application is permitted to collect, use, and share with third parties. Examples of allowable tracked information that a website or application may collect and use could include: User behavior data, such as website usage patterns, search history, or clickstream data; location data, such as GPS data or IP address; demographic information, such as age, gender, or occupation; contact information, such as email address or phone number; or financial information, such as credit card numbers or payment information.
  • Third Party refers to any entity that is not directly affiliated with us or our Website that is collecting or processing user data. This can include companies that provide services or products to the Company, analytics providers, or other third-party service providers.  Examples of third parties that may be involved in the collection and processing of user data include: Analytics providers that collect data on user behavior and provide insights to the organization, or payment processors or financial institutions that process transactions and collect payment information, etc.
  • Cookies refer to text files placed on a computer, mobile phone, or other device used to navigate the internet. Cookies transmit information back to the website’s server about the browsing activities of the user and may also be used to collect and store information about your preferences after you visit a website.

Collection of Your Personal Information

We limit the collection, use, retention, and disclosure of personal information to what is reasonably necessary and proportionate to achieve the purposes for which the personal information was collected or processed. We also limit secondary use to that which is compatible with the original purpose of the personal information collection.

When you visit our Website, you may provide us with two types of information: personal information that you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected on an individualized basis, and website use information collected on an aggregate basis as you and others browse our Website.

You may also be required to provide certain personal information to us when you elect to use certain products or services by (a) registering for an account, (b) entering a sweepstake or contest sponsored by us or one of our partners, (c) signing up for special offers from selected third parties, (d) sending us an email message, and (e) submitting your credit card or other payment information when ordering and purchasing products and services.

We will use your information to communicate with you about services and/or products you have requested from us, including, but not limited to, providing them. We use information about customers in defined and responsible ways to manage, provide, and improve our products, services, and operations for our customers. This information will be used for internal purposes only and will not be shared with any third party. It shall not be used for any improper or unlawful purpose.

We retain customer information for such periods of time as required by law or regulation or as reasonably necessary to provide services. 

Links and Other Non-Amherst Sites

This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by Amherst from its provision of internet access, video service, and related services, and from Amherst’s website. Amherst’s website may contain links to other sites. Amherst may also host websites designed and used by others. Amherst is not responsible for the privacy practices of sites other than its own. Amherst encourages Subscribers to be aware when they leave Amherst’s site and to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personally identifiable information. 

Sharing Information with Third Parties

We do not share customer information with third parties, except at the customer’s request, with the customer’s consent, or as described below. We do not sell, rent, or lease its customer lists to third parties.

We may share allowable tracked information with trusted partners to help perform statistical analysis, send you email or postal mail, provide customer support, or arrange for deliveries. This information will not include personal information.  All such third parties are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide these services to the Company, and they are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information.

Representative third parties include:

Vendors: We may provide information to our vendors who help us do things like provide service features, monitor Website activity, maintain databases, and assist us in hosting, and where they may observe information about you in the same way as described herein. We also use third-party vendors to provide services related to hosting the Website, providing technical support, updating records in our database, and sending or coordinating marketing communications on our behalf.

Marketing: The information you provide on the Website may also be used by us for marketing purposes, such as when you subscribe to receive marketing communications or newsletters. Your information will not be provided to third parties for any third-party marketing purposes. You may choose to stop receiving our marketing communications at any time by opting out by following the unsubscribed instructions included in those communications, or you can contact us to be removed from future mailings.

Third-Party Support: While not routine, we may provide your information to persons or entities in connection with our own business operations, such as to contractors, our auditors or counsel, or in connection with a major change in our business (such as an acquisition). In these instances, the Company will ensure that such persons or entities are subject to obligations to keep the information confidential and use the information only for the purpose we provided it to them.

We may disclose your personal information, without notice, if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on the Company or the site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of the Company; and/or (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users or the public.

Right to Review and Update Your Personal InformationYou may have a right to correct, update, delete, or request access to the personal information that you have provided to us.

For your protection, we will only implement requests with respect to personal information about you (not anyone else), and we may need to verify your identity before implementing your request. We may need to retain certain information for recordkeeping purposes, as required under applicable legal obligations. And even if you have a right to deletion, some of your information may remain within our systems and other records or archives, in compliance with applicable law.

If your personally identifiable information changes (such as your ZIP Code), or if you no longer desire Amherst’s service, we will endeavor to provide a way to correct, update, or remove the personal data provided to Amherst. This may be done by contacting Customer Support via the following methods:

Email: info@tvalleycom.com

Telephone: 715-824-5529

Postal Mail:

Amherst Communications

Attention: Privacy Policy Request

P.O. Box 279

Amherst, WI 54406

Tracking User Behavior

We may keep track of the websites and pages our users visit to identify trends among our services. We may use this data to deliver customized content and advertising to customers whose behavior indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area.

Automatically Collected Information

As you navigate through and interact with our Website, we may use automatic data collection technologies to collect allowable tracked information about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns, including:

  • Details of your visits to our Website, including traffic data, location data, logs, and other communication data, and the resources that you access and use on the Website.
  • Information about your device and internet connection, including your IP address, operating system, domain names, access times, and browser type.

We use this allowable tracked information to operate the Website, maintain the quality of the Website, and assess Website usage.

Use of Cookies

The Website may use “cookies” to personalize your online experience. Cookies are small pieces of data that are stored by a user’s web browser on the user’s hard drive. One of the primary purposes of cookies is to save you time. The purpose of a cookie is to tell the web server that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you personalize website pages or register with our Website or services, a cookie helps us to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information, such as billing addresses, shipping addresses, etc. When you return to the same website, you can easily retrieve the information you previously provided.

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser settings to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of our services or our Website.

E-mail Communications

From time to time, we may contact you via email for the purpose of providing announcements, promotional offers, alerts, confirmations, surveys, and/or other general communication. To improve our services, we may receive a notification when you open an email from us or click on a link therein.

If you would like to stop receiving marketing or promotional communications via email from us, you may opt out of such communications by clicking the “Unsubscribe” button at the bottom of the email.

If you choose to correspond with us through email, we may retain the content of your email messages along with your email address and our responses. We also may send automated messages to you pertaining to your account, such as billing invoices and other notices. We provide the same protections for these electronic communications that we employ in the maintenance of information received by mail or telephone. We ask that you not provide us with confidential information such as social security or account numbers through unsecured email. You may also contact us by phone, U.S. mail, or by visiting our location.

 

Children

We do not provide services to children, as defined under applicable law. Our Website and information gathering practices do not target or market to children. We respect the privacy of your children, and we comply with the practices established under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. We do not knowingly collect or retain personally identifiable information from children. If you believe that a child has provided their information to us through our Website or Services, please contact us at info@tvalleycom.com so that we can take steps to delete it.

Security of Your Personal Information

All our employees are responsible for safeguarding individual customer communications and information.

  • We take reasonable precautions to protect personal information against unauthorized access. We require all personnel to protect the privacy of all forms of customer communications as well as individual customer records.
  • We secure all customer personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure with Secure Sockets Layers protocol (SSL). This technology encrypts, or scrambles, your information so it’s virtually impossible to read by anyone other than employees at our company. SSL technology secretly encodes information that is being sent over the Internet between your computer and our website, helping to ensure that the information remains confidential.
  • We use SSL protocol to protect your personal information when you interact with a third-party website (such as when making a payment). Once the data is transmitted, the third party’s policies will govern the protection of your personal information.

We strive to take appropriate, commercially acceptable security measures to protect against unauthorized access to or alteration of your personal information. While we strive to protect your personal information, you acknowledge that: (a) there are security and privacy limitations inherent to the Internet that are beyond our control; and (b) security, integrity, and privacy of information and data exchanged between you and us through this Website cannot be guaranteed; and (c) no method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage is one hundred percent secure. Any transmission of information over the internet is at your own risk. We are not responsible for the circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Website by any person or entity.

 

CPNI Notice

Customer Proprietary Network Information (“CPNI”) is created by our relationship with you as your telecommunications service provider. In the course of providing service to telephone customers, we collect information concerning the telephone services you purchase and how you use them. From time to time, we change our service offerings and make available additional features and services, which may enhance and augment the services to which you are already subscribed. In order for us to determine which customers may benefit from the new services and enhancements, we will use information about your account that is within our database, legally referred to as CPNI, unless you restrict that use in the manner described below.

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. CPNI includes the type and quantity of certain telecommunications services you subscribe to and details about your calling activities, including call detail information such as the date and time of a call, the duration of a call, and call-originating and call-terminating phone numbers.

CPNI does not include the names, addresses, and telephone numbers published in telephone directories or information we obtain as a result of providing your cable or Internet service.

We may use your CPNI to provision your services, generate, bill, and collect for your services, respond to your requests, enforce our Terms of Service, and protect against fraudulent use of our network. We may use CPNI to recommend other products and services to you. We also may share your CPNI with our affiliates and third parties to market our services on our behalf. The CPNI rules permit our use of this information for these purposes, provided that we safeguard it from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. We employ reasonable security measures to help protect your CPNI from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. Use of CPNI is subject to federal laws and regulations.

Use of this data will allow us to tailor our service offerings to your individual needs. For this purpose, CPNI data will be used by us, our subsidiaries and our affiliates only. This data will not be shared by us with any other outside source except as necessary and required to provide the service(s) to which you are already subscribed unless we are legally compelled to.

We are committed to ensuring that only properly authorized individuals are able to access CPNI for legitimate purposes. This includes ensuring that any request by a “customer” to access CPNI is valid and properly authenticated, in accordance with applicable law and industry best practices.

You have a right under federal law to protect the confidentiality of your account information and restrict the use of CPNI data, and we have a responsibility to protect your data. To restrict the use of your CPNI data, please contact us at info@tvalleycom.com to request that we not utilize your CPNI data. Your denial of approval for us to use this data will not affect the provision of any services to which you subscribe. Your approval or denial of approval for the use of CPNI outside of the service to which you already subscribe will remain valid until you revoke or limit the approval or denial.

We are vigilant in our efforts to protect your CPNI. However, should we become aware that your CPNI has been accessed without proper authority, we will take swift action to fully document and address such unauthorized access and provide appropriate notice. In particular, we will (i) notify law enforcement (including the United States Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation) within seven business days; and (ii) notify you and any other affected customers within seven business days thereafter, unless earlier notification is necessary to avoid immediate and irreparable harm, or we are instructed by law enforcement personnel to refrain from providing such notice.

 

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to change, modify, or update this Privacy Policy at any time without notice. In the event of any modification, we will post the changes in this Privacy Policy so that you will always know what information we are gathering and how we might use that information. Accordingly, you should periodically visit this page to determine the current Privacy Policy to which you are bound.

Contact Information

If you have a question or comment about this Privacy Policy, please call our business office at 715-824-5529 between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm Monday through Friday or email info@tvalleycom.com.

Network Management Policy

Amherst Telephone Company d/b/a Amherst Communications (hereinafter “we,” “our,” “us”) provides this Network Management Policy (“Policy”) in accordance with Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) requirements to disclose certain network management practices, performance characteristics, and commercial terms. Additional information about our broadband policies and practices is available at https://amherstcomm.net/terms/ (“Website”).

Network Practices

We manage our network with the goal of providing the best practicable broadband Internet experience to all of our customers. Within the scope of our resources, we attempt to deploy and maintain adequate capacity and facilities within our own network, and to acquire sufficient Middle Mile capacity or facilities outside our service area to connect with the Internet. We and our staff use our best efforts to monitor, address, and minimize (but do not guarantee that we can prevent) the effects of spam, viruses, security attacks, network congestion, and other phenomena that can degrade the service of affected customers.

Our goal is to ensure that all our customers experience a safe and secure broadband Internet environment that is fast, reliable, and affordable. We want our customers to experience all the Internet offers, whether it is social networking, streaming videos, listening to music, or communicating through email and videoconferencing.

We manage our network using various tools and industry-standard techniques to ensure fast, secure, and reliable Internet service.

  1. Blocking: We do not block or discriminate against lawful Internet content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices. We conduct only reasonable network management.
  2. Throttling: We do not throttle, impair, or degrade lawful Internet traffic based on content, application, service, user, or use of a non-harmful device. We engage in only reasonable network management practices.
  3. Affiliated Prioritization: We do not favor any Internet traffic over others, including through the use of techniques such as traffic shaping, prioritization, or resource reservation, to benefit an affiliate, and we have no plans to do so.
  4. Paid Prioritization: We have never engaged in paid prioritization. We do not favor or prioritize any Internet traffic over others, and we do not prioritize Internet websites over others in exchange for any consideration to benefit any content, applications, services, or devices.

 

Network Management Practices

 

Our network management practices are intended to ensure that we provide our customers with the best possible Internet access. We do not inspect traffic for any other purposes other than to keep track at the network level, where traffic flows ensuring that the network is adequate for the demands of customers. To achieve this goal, we employ network management techniques such as identifying spam and preventing its delivery to customer email accounts, detecting malicious Internet traffic, and preventing the distribution of, or inadvertent access to, malware, phishing, viruses, or other harmful code or content.

  1. Congestion Management

Congestion is an Internet access service problem that can slow web browsing, downloading, and other activities of customers during certain peak usage periods. Congestion may be caused by capacity limits and bottlenecks in a service provider’s own network, or by limitations in the capacity of the Middle Mile transport facilities and services that many rural service providers must purchase from unrelated entities to carry the traffic of their customers between their service areas and the closest Internet nodes.

We may take appropriate measures to relieve undue congestion on the network if it occurs. If significant congestion problems arise in the future, our approach is to determine the source of the problem and increase the capacity of the affected portions of our network and/or of our Middle Mile routes where warranted. In the event of congestion, all traffic is classified as best effort.

Our network and congestion management practices do not discriminate based on the type of application being used, nor are they based on any particular customer’s aggregate monthly data usage. We examine only current network conditions, not our customers’ online activities.

We also check for abnormal traffic flows, network security breaches, malware, loss, and damage to the network. If a breach is detected or high-volume users are brought to light by complaint, we provide notification to the customer.

Customer conduct that abuses or threatens our network or violates our Acceptable Use Policy, Internet service Terms and Conditions, or Internet Service Agreement will be asked to stop immediately. If a customer fails to respond or cease such conduct, we may suspend service or terminate the user’s account.

If we take any congestion management actions, the vast majority of our customers’ Internet activities will be unaffected. Some customers may, however, experience more extended download or upload times or slower surf speeds.

  1. Application-Specific Behavior

Except as may be provided elsewhere herein, we do not engage in any application-specific network management activities on our network. Customers may use any lawful and commercially available application that they desire on our network. We do not inhibit or favor applications or classes of applications over our High-Speed Internet/broadband data network. All traffic is treated in a “protocol-agnostic” manner, which means management is not based on applications and is also content neutral. We do not block or rate-control specific protocols or protocol ports, modify protocol fields, or otherwise inhibit or favor certain applications or classes of applications.

We do not normally monitor the contents of the traffic or applications of our customers. We undertake no obligation to monitor or investigate the lawfulness of the applications used by our customers. If any party contacts us with a substantial allegation that an application being used by a customer is unlawful, we will investigate the matter (including consultation, as it deems appropriate, with attorneys, consultants, federal or state regulators, and/or federal, state or local law enforcement agencies), and will take appropriate actions to deal with the use of applications that are demonstrated to be unlawful.

Customers may occasionally develop their own applications or modify commercially available applications. We will not prohibit the use of customer-developed or modified applications unless we reasonably believe that such applications will harm our network.

  1. Device Attachment Rules

We do not have any approval procedures that must be satisfied before a device can be connected to our network. Customers may use any lawful, compatible, type-accepted (if necessary), and commercially available device they desire on our network as long as such device does not harm the network.

We do not normally monitor the devices used by our customers. We warn customers that some types of devices (for example, Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (‘DOCSIS’) devices intended for use on cable broadband networks) may not be compatible with our fiber optic and/or digital subscriber line (“DSL”) network.

Customers are responsible for ensuring that their equipment does not harm our network or impair other customers’ service. We are not responsible for the functionality or compatibility of any equipment provided by our customers. Customers are responsible for securing their own equipment to prevent third parties from unauthorized access to our broadband network and will be held responsible for the actions of such third parties who gain unauthorized access through unsecured customer equipment. If we discover a customer device is harmful to our network, we have the right to request that the customer remove such device.

We undertake no obligation to monitor or investigate the lawfulness of the devices used by our customers. If any party contacts us with a substantial allegation that a device being used by a customer is unlawful, we will investigate the matter (including consultation, as it deems appropriate, with attorneys, consultants, federal or state regulators, and/or federal, state or local law enforcement agencies), and will take appropriate actions to deal with the use of a device that is demonstrated to be unlawful.

Customers may occasionally develop their own devices or modify commercially available devices. We will not prohibit the use of lawful customer-developed or modified devices unless there is a reasonable belief that such devices will harm our network.

  1. Security

We do not normally monitor our customers’ traffic. We undertake no obligation to monitor or protect such customer traffic from spam, viruses, denial-of-service attacks, or other malicious, unlawful, or unwanted activities.

We recognize that customers can purchase spam filtering and anti-virus software from commercial vendors to meet their needs. We may, from time to time, offer anti-spam and/or anti-virus software or services to customers who desire to purchase them from us. When offered, these software or services will be described and priced in other sections of our website. Customers are free to obtain anti-spam and/or anti-virus software or services from any source they desire, as long as such software or services do not disrupt or degrade the traffic of our other customers or harm the network.

We urge customers who are subjected to a denial-of-service attack or similar malicious, unlawful, or unwanted activity to notify us as soon as possible. We will work with the customer, other service providers, federal and state regulators, and/or law enforcement to determine the source of such activity and to take appropriate, technically, and economically reasonable efforts to address the matter.

We employ commercially appropriate security procedures to protect our network and customer records from unauthorized access by third parties. However, we do not guarantee that we can protect customers from any and/or all security breaches.

We also deploy spam filters for our email service to divert spam from an online customer’s email inbox into a quarantine file while allowing the customer to control which emails are identified as spam. Customers may access spam files through the email program. Spam files are automatically deleted if not accessed within 30 days.

These tools and practices may change from time to time to keep up with changing network technologies and new and innovative ways our customers use the network.

Performance Characteristics

  1. Service Description

We offer Internet service over Digital Subscriber Line (“DSL”) and Fiber-to-the-Home (“FTTH”). Information about our different service offerings can be found at https://amherstcomm.net/. All our broadband services are best effort and can support real-time applications. The speed tier a customer subscribes to will impact the efficiency of the real-time applications.

  1. Network Performance

We make every effort to support advertised speeds and will dispatch repair technicians to customer sites to perform speed tests as needed to troubleshoot and resolve speed and application performance caused by our network.

The FCC requires that we disclose information regarding the expected and actual speed and latency of our Internet access service offerings. Latency measures the average time it takes for a data packet to travel from one point on a network to another. It is typically measured by round-trip time utilizing milliseconds. While latency generally does not significantly impact day-to-day Internet usage, certain applications, such as high-definition multiplayer online games, may be particularly affected by it.

Our advertised speeds are estimates that we target to achieve for our customers. We cannot guarantee that a customer will achieve those speeds at all times. The actual speeds achieved by customers may vary based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: (a) the performance and capabilities of the customer’s computer; (b) the connection between a customer’s computer and service demarcation, such as the use of wireless routers; (c) variances in network usage; (d) the distance a packet of information must travel from the customer’s computer to its final destination on the Internet; (e) congestion or variable performance at a particular website or destination; or (f) performance characteristics of transmissions over the Internet that are outside of our control. Accordingly, customers should consider the capabilities of their own equipment when choosing broadband service. Customers may need to upgrade their computers and other networks in their homes or offices to take full advantage of the chosen broadband plan.

There are a number of available tools online that customers may utilize to measure Internet performance. Please note that all speed tests have biases and flaws and should be considered a guide rather than a conclusive measurement of performance.

Customers may test their actual speeds using the speed test located at https://speedtest.net and choosing Amherst Communications as the test servers. Customers may request assistance by calling us at 715-824-5529.

The following table shows our internal testing results.

Residential and Business Speeds

           

Advertised Download/Upload Speed (Mbps) Technology Typical Median Download/Upload Speed (Mbps) Typical Median Latency (ms)
300/300 Fiber to the Premise 300/300 3
500/500 Fiber to the Premise 500/500 3
700/700Fiber to the Premise Fiber to the Premise 700/700 3
1000/1000 Fiber to the Premise 930/930 3
10/1 Copper/Asymmetric DSL 10/0.768 22.5
  1. Impact of Non-BIAS Data Services

The FCC defines Non-Broadband Internet Access Services (“Non-BIAS”) to include services offered by broadband providers that share capacity with Broadband Internet Access Services (“BIAS”) (previously known as “Specialized Services”) also offered by the provider over the last-mile facilities. At this time, we are not offering any non-BIAS data services.

Commercial Terms

  1. Pricing

We offer multiple levels of internet service, all with no monthly data cap. The current pricing and other terms and conditions of the various tiers can be found at https://amherstcomm.net or at https://amherstcomm.net/mr-bbl. Prices do not include applicable federal, state, or local taxes and regulatory fees. Prices and packages are subject to change.

We do not impose usage-based fees upon certain tiers or levels of service. We are willing to consider and negotiate prices for customized additional network services requested by specific customers or edge service providers if such services can be designed, developed, and furnished in a commercially reasonable manner. If and when such customized services are developed and furnished, we reserve the right to adapt and provide them to other customers on a non-discriminatory basis so long as such subsequent provision does not entail disclosure of proprietary or confidential information of the initial customer.

  1. Privacy Policies

We value the privacy of our internet service customers. Like most companies, we collect certain information about our customers and use it to provide our services. We collect information when our customers interact with us, when our customers use our internet service, and when our customers visit our website. This information is used to deliver, provide, and repair our services and establish and maintain customer records and billing accounts. We protect the information we have about our customers and require those we share it with to protect it. We do not sell, license, or share information that individually identifies our customers with others without your consent, except as necessary when working with vendors and partners for business purposes and when necessary for them to do work on our behalf. Additional details about our Privacy Policy can be found at https://amherstcomm.net/privacy-policy.

  1. Redress Options

We strive to provide excellent customer service and resolve any issues promptly. If you have questions, complaints, or need additional information, please call 715-824-5529 or visit https://amherstcomm.net/contact/.

Telephone Terms and Information

Residential Customer Fair Use

Amherst Telephone Company believes free direct-dialed long distance and ECC calling will be used responsibly.  If we determine your usage has become excessive, we will bring this to your attention and remind you that long distance network access is a shared community resource, available equally to all subscribers.  If your usage, in our sole opinion, exceeds a reasonable level for a residential account, we reserve the right to move you to an alternate plan   If we do this, we will first make attempts to reach you by phone before any billing begins.  It’s our initial belief that no customer will make unfair use of the long distance calling portion of their service.

Residential customers may not make direct-dialed long distance or ECC calls for non-residential purposes, including mechanized uses which include, but are not limited to, use of auto-dialers for telemarketing, multi-party conferencing/chat services, fax broadcasting or fax blasting.  Other non-residential uses include, but are not limited to, operating a business, a call center, telemarketing, or reselling these calls to others.

Business Customers

Business customers may make up to 500 minutes of ECC calls per monthly billing cycle, per local service line.  Partial minutes are rounded up, as they always have been for ECC calls.  Unused minutes one monthly billing cycle cannot be added to the following monthly billing cycle.

Wisconsin Relay System (WRS)   The Wisconsin Relay System allows a text telephone user who may be deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-impaired to call or be called by virtually anyone using a voice telephone. Calls may be placed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Calls are confidential. Learn more at the Wisconsin Relay Website.

Robocall Mitigation

To help reduce the number of illegal robocalls that may originate on our network, effective June 30, 2021, Amherst Telephone Company has implemented robocall mitigation efforts to monitor our network and verify that calls originating over our network are from legitimate numbers belonging to a valid Amherst Telephone Company customer.

In line with FCC rules, users of Amherst Telephone Company’s voice service are prohibited from originating illegal and spoofed robocalls with the intent to defraud, cause harm or wrongly obtain anything of value from the recipient of the call. Violation of these terms can result in suspension or termination of the user’s voice telephone service.

For more information on Amherst Telephone Company’s robocall mitigation efforts, contact: info@tvalleycom.com

Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009

To further help reduce the number of telephone-based scams, Amherst Telephone Company prohibits the origination of phone calls that violate the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009. Such calls include any calls that utilize caller ID spoofing with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value from another individual, group, business, or other entity.

Any attempt to violate the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009 may result in suspension or termination of the user’s voice telephone service. Amherst Telephone Company further will respond to and comply with all requests or subpoenas for information by law enforcement pertaining to violations of the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009.

For more information on the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009, please visit: The Truth in Caller ID Act

Television Terms and Information

Privacy Policies

The following is a description of Amherst Telephone Company’s d/b/a Amherst Communications (“Amherst”) Privacy Policy for its internet access, video service, related services and for Amherst’s website. By using Amherst’s internet access services, video service, related services or by visiting its website, the subscriber (“Subscriber”) is consenting to Amherst’s information gathering and use practices as in effect from time to time. If the Subscriber has any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy as it applies to Amherst’s services, please do not hesitate to contact Amherst via telephone at 715-824-5529 or by email at info@tvalleycom.com

Information Collection
Amherst collects information from Subscribers at several different points as it provides internet access, video service, and related services, including information on when and with what kind of devices Subscribers access our services. Amherst and its service providers are the sole owner of the information Amherst collects in the course of providing internet access services, video service, and related services.

Amherst’s website uses “cookie” technology. “Cookies” are strings of text that a website stores on a Subscriber’s computer. Cookies enable a website to keep track of a Subscriber’s preferences and activities relating to that website. Amherst’s website creates and uses temporary cookies. These temporary cookies expire at the end of a Subscriber’s visit to the website. If Subscriber chooses to create a personal profile and selects the option to have Subscriber’s name and password automatically remembered, a permanent cookie will be placed on Subscriber’s computer. This permanent cookie does not expire unless Subscriber deactivates Subscriber’s personal profile.

Use of Information
Amherst uses information it obtains in the course of providing its services and from its website for the following purposes:

  • Marketing Amherst products and services to Subscribers who have consented to Amherst offering those products and services to them;
  • Internal analysis of how Amherst’s services and website are used;
  • Order processing;
  • Collection of amounts owed to Amherst;
  • To administer and maintain the services it provides; and
  • To satisfy legal requirements, including but not limited to responding to legal demands for information and enforcing Amherst’s use policies; and
  • as appropriate in situations Amherst reasonably considers to be emergencies involving personal safety.

Amherst will not sell, share, or rent Subscriber’s information to others in ways other than as described in this Privacy Policy. Amherst may share aggregated demographic information with Amherst’s service providers. This information is not linked to any personal information that can identify any individual person or entity.

Links and Other Non-Amherst Sites
This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by Amherst from its provision of internet access, video service, related services and from Amherst’s website. Amherst’s website may contain links to other sites. Amherst may also host websites designed and used by others. Amherst is not responsible for the privacy practices of sites other than its own. Amherst encourages Subscribers to be aware when they leave Amherst’s site, and to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personally identifiable information.

Minors
Amherst’s website and its information gathering in connection with Amherst’s other services are not intended to collect information about minors. Persons under age 18 should use Amherst’s website, internet access, video service, and related services, only with the supervision of a parent or guardian.

Security
Amherst takes commercially reasonable precautions to protect its Subscriber’s information. When Subscribers submit personal information via the Internet or via Amherst’s website, the information is protected both online and offline. All of Amherst’s Subscriber’s information is restricted in Amherst’s offices. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, a customer service representative) are granted access to personally identifiable information. All employees are kept up to date on Amherst’s security and privacy practices. The servers that Amherst stores personally identifiable information on are kept in a secure environment. If Subscriber has any questions about security related to Amherst’s services, Subscriber can send an email to info@tvalleycom.com

Correcting/Updating Personal Information
If a Subscriber’s personally identifiable information changes (such as Subscriber’s ZIP Code), or if a Subscriber no longer desires Amherst’s service, Amherst will endeavor to provide a way to correct, update or remove that Subscriber’s personal data provided to Amherst. This may be done by contacting Customer Support via the following methods:

Email: info@tvalleycom.com

Telephone: 715-824-5529

Postal Mail:

Amherst Communications

Attention: Privacy Policy Request

P.O. Box 279

Amherst, WI 54406

Notification of Changes
If Amherst decides to change this Privacy Policy, Amherst may post those changes on Amherst’s website, so Subscribers are always aware of what information Amherst collects, how Amherst uses the information, and under what circumstances, if any, Amherst discloses the information. If at any point Amherst decides to use personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time it was collected, Amherst will notify Subscribers by way of an email. Subscribers will have a choice as to whether or not Amherst uses Subscriber’s information in this different manner. Amherst will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected.