Residential & Business Plans News & Updates Sign Up Now Pay My Bill Call 866.297.2900 Policies & Procedures NETWORK MANAGEMENT PRACTICES POLICY DISCLOSURE ◇ SpeedConnect has specific policies and standards regarding our network management practices, performance characteristics, and commercial terms to protect and adequately serve its customers. This information is provided so that SpeedConnect’s current customers, prospective customers, third-party content providers and other interested parties can make informed choices regarding our Internet access services, and the extent our network management practices may affect those services. SpeedConnect provides this information not just to meet the requirements under the rules and policies of the Federal Communications Commission, but as a professional standard it works to maintain to best serve our customers. Network Management Practices The bandwidth and network resources used to deliver our Internet access services are limited and shared among users. In the interest of providing the best online experience possible for all of SpeedConnect’s customers, SpeedConnect utilizes reasonable network management practices to respond to situations such as network congestion or excessive users that can unreasonably burden our network and cause service degradation for the majority of users. By engaging in reasonable and responsible network management, SpeedConnect prevents its customers from being subjected to the negative effects of spam, viruses, security attacks, network congestion, and other risks that threaten to degrade service. The network management practices employed by SpeedConnect are consistent with industry standards and the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. Congestion Management It is possible that a relatively small number of customers may place a disproportionate demand on the network bandwidth resources, causing network congestion and an overall degradation in service quality for other end users. For this reason, if SpeedConnect’s network nears a state of congestion, SpeedConnect will use congestion management practices to ensure all of SpeedConnect’s customers retain access to a “fair share” of bandwidth resources. The majority of streaming and downloading – as well as longer-running applications like VoIP, video conferencing and streaming video content – will not exceed the threshold to be eligible for congestion management. When SpeedConnect’s network nears a state of congestion, the congestion management tools, practices and/or software employed by SpeedConnect will identify segments of the SpeedConnect network which have a predetermined, aggregated level of bandwidth usage. From there, the congestion management tools will ascertain which customer account in the identified network segment is using a disproportionate share of the bandwidth. The Internet traffic of the identified customer account may be temporarily managed until the period of network congestion passes. Customers whose Internet traffic is temporarily managed by SpeedConnect will still be able to do anything they want online, and many activities will be unaffected; however, these customers may experience slower downloads and uploads and Internet/website response times. The effects of network management typically will be noticeable only for a brief period of time, if at all. SpeedConnect does not favor, modify, inhibit, rate control or block any specific protocols, protocol ports or fields, or any applications or classes of applications. To the extent that the use of network management practices may affect the performance or other characteristics of Internet service, they are designed to affect all similarly situated customers equally. SpeedConnect has determined that select portions of the network tend to be congested only for small portions of the day, if at all. New network management techniques are constantly being developed on an ongoing basis to address evolving challenges and threats to our network and users. Usage Limits SpeedConnect’s Internet service is priced on a flat-fee basis. SpeedConnect maintains an excessive use policy to address data consumption by customers that is wholly uncharacteristic of a typical user of our network as determined by SpeedConnect in its sole discretion but which is based on industry standards. Excessive usage is dependent on a number of factors, such as overall usage, the time of day, the number of applications a customer is running, and how congested the local network may be running at that particular time. SpeedConnect will also monitor the total bandwidth used by a customer on a daily basis and if it exceeds 10 gigabytes, the customer’s download and upload speeds may be compromised for a short period if congestion is determined to be caused to the system by that customer’s usage. However, any such compromises are discontinued by no later than the end of that day and the measurement of usage begins anew the following day. Common activities include numerous or continuous bulk transfers of files and other high capacity traffic using file transfer protocol (“FTP”), peer-to-peer applications, and newsgroups which result in excessive data consumption. Because it is using state-of-the-art technology, a customer’s usage and the response to the system’s needs are both being measured in real time, severely limiting when network congestion techniques must be implemented. SpeedConnect does charge end users an additional usage-based fee for exceeding the monthly data (usage) limits of their Internet service plan. For additional information on SpeedConnect’s fee schedule for additional network services, go here. Device Attachment Rules Many devices are approved on our network. In order for a device to be approved for use, the device must conform to publicly available industry standards, including UL certification and FCC Certification, and be non-harmful to SpeedConnect’s network. Security SpeedConnect uses industry standard tools and generally accepted best practices and policies to protect our customers from spam, phishing, and other unwanted or harmful online content and activities. In the instances where these tools and policies identify online content as harmful or unwanted, the content may be prevented from reaching customers, or customers may be permitted to identify or inspect content to determine if it is harmful or unwanted. SpeedConnect conducts several security initiatives by blocking a limited number of ports that are commonly used to send spam, launch malicious attacks, or steal a customers’s information. We limit the number of login, SMTP, DNS, and DHCP transactions per second (at levels far above “normal” rates) that customers can send to our servers in order to protect them from Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. Network management tools and techniques may also be employed to allow SpeedConnect to comply with various legal requirements, including, but not limited to, providing proper assistance to law enforcement, national security, emergency response and disaster relief agencies. Performance Characteristics SpeedConnect offers broadband Internet access service via wireless microwave technology. The advertised speed of SpeedConnect’s Internet service is the maximum speed achievable with the technology utilized by SpeedConnect. Actual speeds may vary and are not guaranteed. While the maximum advertised speed is attainable for end users, several factors affect the actual speed of SpeedConnect’s Internet service offerings, including, but not limited to: The Customer’s Computer. The end user’s computer, including its age, memory, processing capability, operating system, the number of applications running simultaneously, and the presence of any adware or viruses. All of these factors have an effect on our computer’s ability to communicate with the Internet and can be improved by adding the amount of RAM in your computer and using the most up-to-date operating systems available. The Customer’s Modem. The connection between a customer’s computer and modem, which can be limited if depending on the model and configuration of the router in addition to the quality of the Ethernet cable and duplex settings of the Ethernet ports on your equipment. Distance of travel. The distance between a customer’s computer and its final destination on the Internet, including proximity to SpeedConnect’s transmitting location being accessed by the user, and the number and quality of the networks of various operators in the transmission path as a customer’s connection may traverse multiple providers before reaching its destination. Many Users on One Site. If there are a large number of visitors accessing a site at the same time, your connection will be affected. Gating speeds by a website. In order to control traffic or performance, many websites limit the speeds at which a visitor can download from their site. Based on internal testing, the peak upload and download speeds are 10 Mbps/4 Mbps during peak usage periods. Specialized Services The Federal Communications Commission distinguishes between our mass market retail broadband Internet access services and ”specialized services” that share capacity with our broadband Internet access services over our last-mile facilities. Examples of such services may include our Voice over IP phone (“VoIP”) service which shares bandwidth with our Internet access service and because of its nature sometimes receives network priority. It is possible that increased use of our VoIP service may temporarily impact our broadband Internet access service at particular times. SpeedConnect routinely monitors how all of its services use bandwidth to minimize any impact on use of our broadband Internet access service. Pricing In order to meet the usage and budgetary needs of all of our customers, SpeedConnect offers a wide selection of broadband Internet access plan options, including promotional offerings, bundled service choices, and a la carte alternatives. To see SpeedConnect’s current promotions and pricing on broadband Internet access service, please visit our website www.speedconnect.com, or call 1-866-297-2900 to speak with a customer service representative. Privacy Policy SpeedConnect affords full access to all lawful content, services and applications available on the Internet and does not routinely monitor, inspect or store the network activity and traffic of its Internet service users. However, SpeedConnect reserves the right to monitor bandwidth, usage, transmissions and content for purposes of protecting the integrity of the network and SpeedConnect’s Internet access service through reasonable network management practices. SpeedConnect may collect equipment information to identify the equipment customer is using on the network, including, but not limited to: equipment type, serial number, settings, configuration and software. SpeedConnect may also collect performance information to examine the operation of the equipment, services and applications the customer may use on the network, including, but not limited to: IP addresses, URLs, data transmission rates and latencies, location information, security characteristics, and information about the amount of bandwidth and other network resources customer is using in connections with uploading, downloading or streaming data to and from the Internet. Network traffic, activity, performance information, and equipment information monitored or collected by SpeedConnect is done so for the sole purpose of reasonable network management purposes. SpeedConnect is required to comply with relevant laws, regulations and judicial orders. Information covered under this Privacy Policy, as well as other categories of information, may be disclosed to third parties if SpeedConnect determines, in its sole discretion, that such a disclosure is necessary or required. SpeedConnect may also disclose this information if, in its sole discretion, such a disclosure is necessary or required to protect our interests or the interests of our customers. SpeedConnect may also disclose this information in connection with the sale of our business. The SpeedConnect’s network management practices as discussed herein are intended solely to provide the best online experience possible for all of SpeedConnect’s customers by safeguarding our network and its users from spam, viruses, phishing, and other unwanted or harmful online content and activities. SpeedConnect’s network management practices are not intended, nor implemented, to block consumers from accessing the content and applications of their choice, deprive consumers of their entitlement to competition, or discriminate against or in favor of certain network traffic. End users with questions, concerns or complaints regarding SpeedConnect’s network management practices are encouraged to contact SpeedConnect for issue resolution. Contact Us If you have any questions regarding SpeedConnect’s Network Management Practices Policy or would like to file a complaint with SpeedConnect regarding its network management practices, please contact SpeedConnect by telephone, e-mail or mail at: SpeedConnect, LLC 455 N Main St Frankenmuth, MI 48734 1-866-297-2900 SpeedConnect.com The Federal Communications Commission has established procedures for addressing informal and formal complaints relating to its Open Internet Rules. For further information on these procedures, please refer to the FCC’s website. Additional Disclaimers The Open Internet Rules, as adopted, and SpeedConnect’s Network Management Practices Policy are not intended to affect, alter or otherwise supersede the legal status of cooperative efforts by broadband Internet access service providers and other service providers that are designed to curtail infringement in response to information provided by rights holders in a manner that is timely, effective, and accommodates the legitimate interests of providers, rights holders, and end users. Furthermore, the Open Internet Rules, as adopted, and SpeedConnect’s Network Management Practices Policy do not prohibit SpeedConnect from making reasonable efforts to address the transfer of unlawful content or unlawful transfers of content. For additional information, please review SpeedConnect’s Acceptable Internet Use Policy/Subscriber Agreement. 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