Introduction

This Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) has been established in the spirit of providing guidelines for our valued customers and clarifying their rights and responsibilities as users of our services and the Internet.

Higher-Speed Internet, LLC, d/b/a Higher-Speed (“Higher-Speed,” “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) is an Internet Service Provider (ISP) specializing in providing high-speed Internet access and services to rural communities in the southwest. As a responsible company, we have certain legal, ethical and operational obligations in order to completely fulfill your needs as our customer (hereinafter “Customer”, “Subscriber,” “you,” or “your”) for exceptional and reliable service, and to meet the challenge of supporting the Internet as a diverse forum for free and open discussion and the dissemination of information.

Our Contact Information:

HIGHER-SPEED INTERNET
P.O. Box 220
Edgewood, NM 87015
Office phone: 505-867-3298
Fax number: 505-212-0000
www.higherspeed.net
info@www.higherspeed.net.php74-39.phx1-2.websitetestlink.com

We aim to clearly outline those activities that are harmful to the efficiency of our services and which, according to our discretion, compromise our systems and/or business. Our goal includes preventing those activities that are either harmful or disruptive to the Internet activities of others. We also proscribe all activities that fall outside the boundaries of acceptable Internet use. We reserve the right to take preventative or corrective action, at our discretion, in response to anything we deem harmful or in violation of this AUP.

The use of our services by our Customers constitutes an acceptance of the terms of this AUP and our Terms of Service. This AUP may be revised in the future, in order to better meet the needs of the changing Internet environment, the legal landscape in the United States and internationally, and our Customers. Your continued use of our services constitutes an acceptance of any new terms and conditions, and we attempt to, but are not required to, inform you of changes prior to implementing them. We strongly encourage you to review this AUP periodically.

Proscribed Activities

The following activities are deemed a violation of this AUP:

Illegal Activities

Engaging in activities that are determined to be illegal in the United States.

Harmful Activities

Attempting to harm, unduly burden or render non-operational, the accounts, computers, websites or Internet activities of others (i.e. through mail-bombing, DoS or DDoS attacks, hack attacks, etc).

File-Sharing Programs

Serving of files including, but not limited to, peer-to-peer (P2P) (i.e. KaZaa, Grokster, eDonkey, Ares, BitTorrent, LimeWire, etc.), client-server (i.e. an FTP server or Web host), and similar automated mechanisms.

Spamming

Sending, assisting, or commissioning the transmission of unsolicited commercial email unless it conforms to the requirements of federal law under the CAN-SPAM Act. We reserve the right to take action against spamming complaints, even if the allegations meet CAN-SPAM requirements if the allegation threatens our ability to transmit and receive email on behalf of our Customers.

Forging Email Headers

The transmission of email that hides or falsifies the identity of the sender.

Fraud

Negligently, recklessly or knowingly making false or misleading statements; including but not limited to obtaining money, credit card payments or personal identifying information through false pretenses.

Harassment

The act or intention of intimidating, threatening or otherwise harassing others. Harassment can result from the language used or the frequency or size of the messages.

Prohibited Communications

Transmitting defamatory, harassing, abusive or threatening language or anything that a reasonable person would regard as hate speech or literature. This includes language or other expressions that significantly prejudices, creates a hostile bias, or grossly defames a group, and applies to any speech category unprotected by freedom of speech and expression.

Facilitating a Violation of this AUP

Advertising, transmitting, or otherwise making available any software, program, product, service or information that is designed to violate, or assist in the violation of this AUP.

Intellectual Property Violations

Engaging in any activity that infringes or misappropriates the intellectual property rights of others, including but not limited to copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade secrets, software and patents held by other individuals, corporations or entities. Common instances leading to intellectual property violations involve the unauthorized use of pictures and using another’s trademarks without their permission to promote competing goods or services.

Violating Security

Releasing your username and/or password to third parties, or in any other way violating the letter or spirit of our Privacy Statement.

Violating US Export Laws

Customers are required to comply with U.S. Export Control Laws regardless of where they may reside. Customers may not export items prohibited by the Department of Commerce Commodity Control List.

Other Harmful Activities or Information

Any activity or information, whether lawful or unlawful, that we deem harmful, offensive, controversial, infamous or other to either the Company, its customers, or third-parties, such that we reasonably believe our customers, operations, reputation, goodwill or general customer relations could potentially be negatively impacted.

Remedies and Action

Responsibility of avoiding the above harmful and/or unlawful activities rests solely on our Customer and authorized account members. We do not, and will not, monitor or investigate the communications of our customers.

When we become aware of a violation of our AUP, we will respond in the manner we deem appropriate and according to our sole discretion. The type of action taken will depend in part on the legal risk and requirements, the extent of the violation, as well as perceived breadth and severity of the harm to us or others.

We may take any action to stop the harmful activity, including but not limited to, removing or blocking access to material, shutting down an account, blocking offending transmissions, requiring a monetary deposit as assurance against future behavior (i.e. “security deposit”), deleting the account such that all information is permanently and irretrievably removed from our servers, potentially without your knowledge or notice, or any other action we consider appropriate.

No credits or refunds will be issued for downtime incurred or services paid for in advance if the account is suspended (i.e. “deactivated”) or deleted due to what we perceive is a violation of this AUP, whether or not it is later proven that an actual AUP violation occurred.