Acceptable Use Policy

Internet

All Long Lines Internet Customers are responsible for the policy written here. The Long Lines Internet Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) has been formulated with the following goals in mind:

Ensure security, reliability and privacy of Long Lines Internet's systems and network and the networks and systems of others.
Avoid situations that may cause Long Lines Internet to incur civil liability.
Maintain the image and reputation of Long Lines Internet as a responsible provider.
Preserve the value of Internet resources as a conduit for free expression.
Encourage the responsible use of net resources, discouraging practices which degrade the usability of network resources and thus the value of Internet services.
Preserve the privacy and security of individual users.

Statement of Responsibility

Each Long Lines Internet account has a password that is the key to gain access to the account. The customer who registered the account is solely responsible for all access and actions taken with regard to the account. It is the account owner's responsibility to safeguard the account password and to ensure the Long Lines Internet AUP is honored. Long Lines Internet will hold the account owner responsible for any violations of the AUP. Good passwords need to be a minimum of six characters and contain at least one number or capital letter and should not be based on any common name or word.

Sites directly attached to the Long Lines Internet backbone are expected to adhere to the Long Lines Internet AUP. The individual who signed the contract is responsible for educating site users on acceptable use policies. Violations of the AUP by directly attached sites will be referred to the contract signer for resolution. The contract signer will be held responsible for any violations of the AUP.

Long Lines Internet enforces these policies with respect to Long Lines Internet customers only. We are not responsible for abusive actions which originate from other sites or networks on the Internet.

General Conduct

Customers are prohibited from transmitting on or through any of Long Lines Internet's services, any material that is, in Long Lines Internet's sole discretion, unlawful, obscene, threatening, abusive, libelous, hateful, or encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any local, state, national or international law.

Long Lines Internet services may only be used for lawful purposes. Transmission, distribution, or storage of any information, data or material in violation of United States or state regulation or law, or by the common law, is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, material protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, or any other statute. Long Lines Internet reserves the right to remove such illegal material from its servers.

New customers must be 18 years or older to open a Long Lines Internet account.

The customer is responsible for keeping his billing data with Long Lines Internet up-to-date and accurate. Furnishing false data on the signup form or contract, including fraudulent use of credit card numbers, is grounds for immediate termination, and may subject the offender to civil or criminal liability. Long Lines Internet reserves the right to disconnect service due to nonpayment of bill or insufficient funds. The resale of Long Lines Internet products and services is not permitted, unless specifically permitted and documented in a written agreement.

Excessive Use

Excessive use means Internet (data) usage by residential subscribers that is significantly higher than the typical usage for which Long Lines’ residential Internet service plans are designed. Long Lines defines excessive usage by a residential Internet subscriber to be more than 250 GB of data downloads and uploads (combined) in a calendar month. Such a usage level indicates sustained data downloading/uploading patterns at high volumes over many hours and consumes so much Internet bandwidth that other customer’s Internet use could be impaired significantly.

Subscribers may not use Long Lines residential Internet service plans to run a server or to provide network services to others. Examples of prohibited uses include, but are not limited to, running servers for electronic mail (POP3 or SMTP), http, https, FTP, IRC, DHCP, and multi-user interactive forums. Subscribers wishing to operate such equipment or services should inquire about Long Lines commercial Internet service plans at 712. 271.4000.

If a Long Lines residential Internet subscriber exceeds the 250 GB per month limit, Long Lines may in its sole discretion elect to require the subscriber to purchase a commercial Internet service plan that meets his usage patterns, terminate the subscriber’s residential Internet service, or take steps to limit the subscriber’s available Internet bandwidth to ensure the subscriber’s usage is not excessive.

System and Network Security

Customers may not attempt to circumvent user authentication or security of any host, network, or account ("cracking"). This includes, but is not limited to, accessing data not intended for the customer, logging into a server or account the customer is not expressly authorized to access, or probing the security of other networks (such as running a SATAN scan or similar tool).

Customers may not attempt to interfere with service to any user, host, or network ("denial of service attacks"). This includes, but is not limited to, "flooding" of networks, deliberate attempts to overload a service, and attempts to "crash" a host.

Customers may not use any kind of program/script/command, or send messages of any kind, designed to interfere with a user's terminal session, via any means, locally or by the Internet.

Users who violate systems or network security may incur criminal or civil liability. Long Lines Internet will cooperate fully with investigations of violations of systems or network security at other sites, including cooperating with law enforcement authorities in the investigation of suspected criminal violations.

Email & Usenet

Email will be kept on the server for a maximum of 90 days. Harassment, whether through language, frequency, or size of messages, is prohibited. Customers may not send email to any person who does not wish to receive it. If a recipient asks to stop receiving email, the customer must not send that person any further email.

Customers are explicitly prohibited from sending unsolicited bulk mail messages ("junk mail" or "Spam"). This includes, but is not limited to, bulk-mailing of commercial advertising, informational announcements, and political tracts. Such material may only be sent to those who have explicitly requested it. This includes email and Usenet news group. If this policy is violated in any way, a penalty fee of $100 per infraction will be invoiced to the customer, in addition to the regular, recurring fee for account(s) that is assigned to the customer(s). Customer is responsible for payment of that fee, and understands that payment shall be in accordance with Long Lines Internet's current billing terms. In addition to the penalty fee, customer's account will be immediately terminated. Customers may not forward or otherwise propagate chain letters, whether or not the recipient wishes to receive such mailings. Malicious email, including but not limited to "mailbombing" (flooding a user or site with very large or numerous pieces of email), is prohibited.

Forging of header information is not permitted.

Long Lines Internet accounts or services may not be used to collect replies to messages sent from another Internet Service Provider, where those messages violate this AUP or the AUP of that other provider. These rules also apply to usenet.

IRC (Internet Relay Chat)

Long Lines Internet is not liable for any communications made on IRC.

Internet Access

Long Lines Internet shall have no liability and no credits shall be given for any of the following referenced conditions arising out of interruptions, delays, or failures in transmission as well as:

Transmission limitations caused by atmospheric and other conditions
System capacity limitations
Equipment modifications, upgrades, relocations, failures, repairs and/or similar activities
Negligence of Long Lines Internet

Long Lines Internet therefore assumes no duty to provide uninterrupted service to you or your authorized dealer. The failure of equipment or service not provided through Long Lines Internet facilities; and Acts of God, fire, riots, Government authorities or other cause beyond the control of Long Lines Internet.

Additionally:

Our service is not a dedicated modem connection. Use of software to keep your connection alive when it is not in use is prohibited.

Dial-up connections to Long Lines Internet that are idle for 15 minutes or longer, or connected for 24 hours continuously, will be disconnected. Idle time is defined as a period during which no input or output is sent or received across the modem connection.

Long Lines Internet is not responsible for dialing long distance as we provide a local access number to each city. Establishing a Dial-up connection to our system with more than one computer at one time is prohibited.

Billing

You have contracted to have Long Lines Internet provide you service. The term of your service commitment begins immediately upon activation of service. You are responsible for the account as long as it is active, whether or not it is being used. All charges are billed and payable in advance. Long Lines Internet reserves the right to modify billing terms at any time with notification to the customer. The period you are billed for is shown on your billing statement. Your billing statement should arrive shortly after the 20th of each month, and is due and payable upon receipt, but not later than the 10th of the following month. Bills should be returned in the envelope that is provided to the address listed on the statement. We do require a 30 day notice when canceling service either in writing or by phone (not voicemail or email, please) when paid in advance and all other disconnects will be effective at the end of the billed month.

Late Fee Policy

Charges for services are due and payable upon receipt. A late fee in the amount of $3.00 will be assessed to accounts not paid in full by the 10th of the month. If your account remains delinquent you will be disconnected. To have your service reconnected you will have to pay a reconnect charge of $25 in addition to the account balance, and the next months service fees. This late fee policy protects our current paying subscribers who otherwise would be subsidizing increased costs caused by late paying customers.

Web/FTP Sites

Distribution of pornographic, indecent, or any offensive materials are prohibited when using Long Lines Internet's web/FTP space. Distribution of restricted software or materials in violation of copyrights or distribution licenses is prohibited. Distribution of materials which violate any local, state, or federal statutes is also prohibited.

Long Lines Internet reserves the right to restrict or terminate service without refund in the event of an AUP violation. Long Lines Internet also reserves the right to take action on abuse that is not specifically named in this AUP at the sole discretion of Long Lines Internet. Use of Long Lines Internet's systems and network constitutes understanding and agreement of this policy.

Thank you for using Long Lines Internet.

Wireless

This policy applies to all Long Lines Wireless customers.

Excessive Use

Long Lines Wireless (LLW) determines excessive usage in relation to typical wireless usage of its services. LLW does so in order to identify truly excessive use while not impacting the vast majority of LLW customers who use our services as intended.

The following summaries are intended to clarify what LLW means by excessive use and how it handles excessive use situations.

Roaming

LLW generally uses our own network facilities to provide all voice, messaging, and data services to our customers within the Long Lines Wireless Regional Calling Area (RCA).

LLW has numerous network partners throughout the United States that assist us in providing our Wireless customers, with excellent wireless service support outside the RCA across all 50 states, commonly known as "roaming" service. Roaming services are seamless with LLW’s service, that is, they are like the services you receive from Long Lines, although you may notice the roaming provider’s name on the coverage area of your phone. LLW supports these network partners’ customers on a reciprocal basis when they are traveling within the RCA.

Click for more details about LLW’s RCA and Nationwide coverage.

LLW compensates its network partners for the roaming services they provide to LLW customers. Most LLW service plans that include roaming service include a specified allowance of roaming usage that is included in your monthly service fee. If you exceed the roaming allowance for your plan in any month, you will be charged $0.39 per minute of use in overage fees.

LLW’s Unlimited service plans do not have a set limit on the number of roaming minutes you are allowed to use each month. Similarly, LLW’s Unlimited data service plans do not have a set limit on the number of roaming data usage you are allowed to use each month. However, because LLW must pay its network partners for roaming services, unusually high roaming usage, on a continuing basis, can have a significant impact on LLW’s network expense and force us to increase the costs of service for all of our customers or to discontinue Unlimited service plans for all customers.

Therefore, LLW has adopted the following guidelines to identify and address excessive use of unlimited services by our customers:

1. LLW will monitor usage by all Unlimited service customers.

2. If customers in the following plans exceed the excessive use threshold in a service month, LLW will advise the customer their usage has been deemed excessive and that exceeding such excessive use guidelines for a second month could lead to termination of the Unlimited plan, or calling feature, for that customer:

Plan	Off Network Roaming	Off Network Data Usage
Individual Unlimited	3,000 voice minutes and/or	2 GB
Family Unlimited	5,000 voice minutes and/or	2 GB
Nationwide Prepaid	2,000 voice minutes and/or	1.5 GB

3. If an Unlimited customer has excessive usage for a second month, LLW will convert the customer to the highest allowance plan then in effect or cancel the customer’s service, as the customer elects. If the customer elects to cancel LLW service, early termination fee charges will not apply.

Messaging

SMS is an acronym for Short Message Service, commonly referred to as text messaging or "texting." SMS is a method by which typed messages can be sent to a cell phone via another cell phone, a computer connected to the Internet, or a handheld device such as a BlackBerry®. Typically the text message length ranges from 1 to 160 characters including spaces and punctuation. Carriers deploy special servers, dubbed SMS Centers (SMSCs) to implement the offerings on their systems. SMS plans are for individual, non-commercial use only and are not for resale.

MMS is an acronym for Multimedia Messaging Service, commonly referred to as picture messaging. MMS sends not only sends text, but also audio messages, picture images, and video, or combinations of all three. MMS is an important emerging service, with which it is possible to send multiple media in a single message or send a message to multiple mobile recipients or even send a MMS from a mobile phone to an email address. MMS plans are for individual, non-commercial use only and are not for resale.

Our SMS and MMS systems are not designed for commercial use such as computer generated stock quotes, unsolicited advertizing, message spamming, text bombs, or other high volume messaging associated with a business. Our message plans are for individual users and personal use. Excessive use of either MMS or SMS can cause network congestion and may cause other LLW customers to encounter slow delivery or denial of service because all SMS/MMS resources are being utilized.

"Excessive" SMS or MMS use means usage that is not characteristic of personal use of SMS or MMS by a typical LLW customer (as defined under Excessive Use). Currently, the median SMS and MMS usage by LLW customers is approximately 1,100 SMS messages and 55 MMS messages sent and received in a service month.

LLW considers messaging usage above the following levels to be excessive:

SMS messages - 10,000 in a service month
MMS messages - 500 in a service month

If a LLW customer exceeds either or both of these levels in a service month, LLW will notify the customer that their account has been flagged for excessive use. If a LLW customer whose account has been flagged exceeds those levels for a second month, the customer will forfeit access to unlimited services and be asked to pay for these services on a per instance basis at the current established rates.

LLW Data Services

LLW Data Services enables its customers to have mobile access to the internet, email and additional calling features (i.e. MMS messaging service). Due to the similarity of the capabilities of this technology, all of the provisions of the Long Lines Acceptable Use Policy for Internet would apply to customers subscribing to LLW Data Services. This would include all of the following provisions under "Internet" (See above):

Statement of Responsibility
General Conduct
System and Network Security
Email and Usenet
IRC (Internet Relay Chat)
Internet Access
Billing
Late Fee Policy
Web / FTP Sites

LLW Customers are reminded that individuals are prohibited from transmitting on or through any of LLW’s services, any material that is, in Long Lines Internet's sole discretion, unlawful, obscene, threatening, abusive, libelous, hateful, or encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any local, state, national or international law.

Updated July 2011