Legal Notifications

Ben Lomand Connect ByLaws

View Ben Lomand Connect Bylaws (PDF).

FCC Public Inspection File

You can access BLTV’s FCC public inspection file at the Federal Communications Commission website. Persons with disabilities who need assistance accessing the content in BLTV’s public inspection file should contact us at (800) 974-7779.

Access Recovery Charge

The Access Recovery Charge, or “ARC”, is a gradual, measured, monthly charge adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This multi-year transition fee is just one part of the Inter-Carrier Compensation (ICC) Reform. The Access Recovery Charge is designed to recover increased network costs for access circuits used to provide service to customers. Overall, the ICC Reform is to facilitate continued investment in broadband infrastructure.

Summary as of April 11, 2023:

Single-line Business Accounts — $3.00 per month ARC fee

Multi-line Business Accounts — $3.00 per month ARC fee

(Note: The ARC fee will not be charged to Lifeline customers.)

Though the FCC Reform will impact Ben Lomand Connect and our customers, we strive to give you the best products, services, and prices. If you would like more information about the reform, please visit the Federal Communications Commission website or contact us at (800) 974-7779.

Statement of Nondiscrimination

View.Ben Lomand Connect’s Statement of Nondiscrimination (PDF).

Additional Information

Acceptable Use Policy

You may use your account for communications, research, public relations, education, and entertainment. This statement describes certain uses which are consistent with the purposes of the Internet. It is not intended to exhaustively list all such possible uses or abuses. We expect our subscribers to respect the culture and civility of communications and discourse on or through the Internet. We expect our subscribers to maintain respect for privacy, legal issues, and courtesy to other Internet users and network resources.

We also strongly suggest to all of our subscribers a routine maintenance schedule that includes frequent anti-virus updates and operating system patches. Dial-up subscribers and high-speed users alike are vulnerable to viruses and other types of malicious code and exploits. While we try to give notice to customers who may be infected, any account may be suspended immediately upon receipt of an abuse complaint regarding Spam (unsolicited commercial E-mail) or the sending of E-mail that contains viruses or other malicious code. An account may also be suspended immediately for Internet Worm, Trojan, or Back Door activity even though the person in question has no knowledge of the infection being present.

The ultimate responsibility for maintaining the security of your computer or local network is yours.

These drastic measures are necessary to protect our network integrity and prevent the spread of these malicious programs to other users.

Ethical Guidelines

We expect you to:

  • Obey all federal and state laws regarding your use of the Internet and information obtained or transmitted through the Internet
  • Respect the ownership of information, including copyright and license agreements **
  • Be courteous in your use of the Internet and network resources
  • Respect the opinions of others and their right to voice those opinions
  • Respect the culture and civility of communication and discourse on or through the Internet

** This includes copyright infringement that is covered under the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act or DMCA. Our services may enable you to access Content that is protected by copyrights, trademarks, intellectual property rights, and other proprietary rights (“Rights”) of independent third parties who make such Content available on the Internet. As a subscriber, you agree not to upload, post, or transmit Content that is subject to another party’s Rights without the other party’s express permission. Such uploading, posting, or transmitting may result in the termination of your account and possible civil or criminal liability. If you believe your work has been unlawfully copied and is accessible via our services, you may provide notice to our designated copyright agent. The notice must include (1) an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner; (2) a description of the copyrighted work that has allegedly been infringed, including the location (i.e., website address) of such copyrighted work; (3) A description of the allegedly infringing material and the location (i.e., web address) of such material; (4) your address, telephone number, and e-mail address; (5) a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and (6) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.

Infringement claims submitted via E-Mail should be directed to one of the E-mail addresses directly below. Infringement claims that are submitted to an incorrect address will be discarded, and no action will be taken. This includes but is not limited to, E-mail addresses such as abuse@benlomand.net, webmaster@benlomand.net, and postmaster@benlomand.net.

Our Company’s Designated Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement by one of our subscribers is:

311 Chancery St.
PO Box 670
McMinnville, TN 37111

(931) 668-4131
E-mail: dmca@benlomand.net

Our Company’s Designated Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement by Ben Lomand or one of its subsidiaries is:

311 Chancery St.
PO Box 670
McMinnville, TN 37111

(931) 668-4131
E-mail: copyright.abuse@benlomand.net

If you receive a notice from us stating that we have received notice that you allegedly engaged in copyright infringement, you may submit a written counter-notice to us. This counter-notice must contain: (1) your physical or electronic signature; (2) identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled; (3) a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled due to a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled; and (4) your name, address, and telephone number along with a statement that you consent to jurisdiction in the Federal District Court of the judicial district in which your physical address is located and that you will accept service of process from either the person who provided the notice of claimed infringement to us or an agent of that person.

Legal Issues

You may not use your account:

  • For any purpose which violates US federal or state laws
  • To interfere with or disrupt network users, services, or equipment, including distributing unsolicited advertising, propagating computer worms or viruses, and using the network to make unauthorized entry to other computational, information, or communications devices or resources
  • To transmit threatening, obscene, or harassing materials
Network Integrity or Efficiency

You may not use your account:

  • In a manner that precludes or significantly hampers its use by others
  • To send messages likely to result in the loss of recipients’ work or systems
  • To send or respond to “chain letters”
  • To broadcast messages to lists or individuals that have not explicitly expressed an interest in such messages, particularly where such use causes congestion of the networks or otherwise interferes with the work of others
  • To intentionally develop programs that harass other users or infiltrate a computer or computing system and/or damage or alter the software components of a computer or computing system
Courtesy

You must be courteous in your use of the Internet. Please:

  • Respect the privacy of other users; for example, you should not intentionally seek information on, obtain copies of, or modify files, other data, or passwords belonging to other users, or represent yourself as another user unless explicitly authorized to do so by that user.
  • Respect the legal protection provided by copyright and license to programs and data.
  • Use the Internet in ways consistent with ethical guidelines and accepted community standards; malicious use is not acceptable.
  • Follow the Acceptable Use Policies of any networks you may use as an FTP or Telnet site.
  • Be aware that many networks are production or communications networks that many people rely on for business, education, or communications; uses that significantly interfere with the ability of others to make effective use of the network are not acceptable.
  • Assume that information and resources are private to the individuals and organizations which own or hold rights to those resources and information unless specifically stated otherwise by the owners or holders of rights; it is not acceptable to use your account to access information or resources unless permission to do so has been granted by the owners or holders of rights to those resources or information.
Privacy

We are committed to protecting your privacy. We only collect information required to bill your account, information required to provide you service, and information required to monitor the performance of our systems. From time to time, we may use your information to inform you of new products, service changes, and other information related to services offered by us. We do not disclose any of your personally identifiable information as but not limited to email name, email messages, billing address, or usage information to any third parties except as required to provide you service or by legal or law enforcement directives.

Commercial Use

Many networks, sponsored by a government or educational institutions, still have stringent restrictions on commercial use. While the opportunities for commercial use are extremely attractive, there are accepted methods of accomplishing commercial objectives. Other Internet users must seek out or ask for information. You must appropriately market, advertise, or circulate public relations for your products or services; for example, you may create a World Wide Web site to advertise products or services and give support or ordering instructions, or you may start a newsgroup to open a forum for discussion. Other Internet users may then choose to view your Web pages or participate in discussions. Unsolicited advertising is not acceptable. Advertising is permitted on some mailing lists and newsgroups if they explicitly allow advertising.

Termination

Failure to abide by the terms of this Acceptable Use Policy may result in the termination of your service at our sole discretion. If we terminate your service for failure to abide by the terms of our Acceptable Use Policy, you will not receive any refund of any payments made to us as of the date of termination.

Terms and Conditions
General
  • Access to the Internet or other applicable data networks is non-transferable. Use of Ben Lomand Internet Access is expressly limited to Customer and Customer’s immediate family or direct employees. The sharing or resale of Internet/Data access is strictly prohibited and shall be cause for immediate termination of service.
  • The customer is responsible for all equipment and software necessary to connect to Ben Lomand Internet Services.
  • The customer agrees to use the service in a manner consistent with any and all applicable laws.
  • Use of Ben Lomand Internet Services for unsolicited advertising is prohibited.
  • The customer is responsible for all use of account(s) and confidentiality of password(s). Ben Lomand Internet Services will suspend access or change access to Customer’s Account(s) immediately upon notification by Customer that a password has been lost, stolen, or otherwise compromised.
  • The customer’s use of Ben Lomand Internet Services constitutes Customer acceptance of Terms and Conditions.
Billing
  • The customer is responsible for all local or long-distance telephone charges for connecting directly to Ben Lomand Internet Services or indirectly via an intermediate access provider.
  • The customer agrees to pay Ben Lomand Internet Services all charges relating to the use of the Customer’s Account(s). The customer recognizes that there is a 30-day minimum subscription period.
  • Sales and use taxes, and all other applicable taxes and levies which are applicable to the provision of services shall be borne by Customer, regardless of whom the taxes and levies are or were imposed upon.
  • Ben Lomand Internet Services reserves the right to change prices on 30 days’ notice.
  • All invoices are due upon receipt and payable within 30 days unless other arrangements have been made in advance.
  • Ben Lomand Internet Services reserves the right to suspend access to service for Customer’s Account(s) upon an indication of credit problems, including delinquent payments. A reconnection charge will apply after payment of any outstanding balance.
Ownership/Copyright
  • The information available on Ben Lomand Internet Services is the property of Ben Lomand Internet Services. Customer shall not redistribute, reproduce, or commercially exploit such information without the express written permission of its owner.
  • Customer submitting information owned by Customer for publication on Ben Lomand Internet Services grants Ben Lomand Internet Services non-exclusive permission to distribute the information product worldwide. Customer retains all rights Customer may have to such information.
Warranty Disclaimer

Ben Lomand Internet Services are provided on an “as is, as available” basis. Ben Lomand Internet Services disclaims any and all warranties with regard to the services (whether express or implied), including without limitation

  • any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, infringement or title
  • any warranty of quality, functionality, operability, use, or performance of the services
  • any warranty of the accuracy, completeness, or validity of the data or information communicated through the services
  • any warranty of the continuous availability of the services or that the services will be uninterrupted or error-free.
Limitations of Liability

Under no circumstances and under no legal theory (whether tort, contract or otherwise) shall Ben Lomand Internet Services be liable for any indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for business interruption, computer failure, or malfunction, loss of profits, goodwill or information, or any other pecuniary loss or damage) arising out of or relating to Ben Lomand Internet Services (including, without limitation, use or inability to use the services), even if Ben Lomand Internet Services has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Under no circumstances shall Ben Lomand Internet Services’ cumulative liability to the customer exceed the service charges paid by the customer to Ben Lomand Internet Services for the services during the 6 months immediately preceding the event for which liability is claimed.

  • Ben Lomand Internet Services is not responsible for any damages or injuries arising from the Customer’s use of Ben Lomand Internet Services or inability to use Ben Lomand Internet Services.
  • Ben Lomand Internet Services is not responsible for undelivered e-mails. There is no guarantee of message receipt or delivery. Return receipts may be requested, but there is no guarantee that the recipient’s e-mail system will honor such requests.
  • Ben Lomand Internet Services is not obligated to store the contents of Customer’s e-mail messages and is not obligated to produce copies of e-mail messages to Customer.
  • Ben Lomand Internet Services is not responsible for Customer’s personal files residing on the Ben Lomand Internet Services system. The customer is responsible for the independent backup of all such data. If the Customer exceeds the published space limitation for personal files (Webspace, e-mail, FTP, etc.), Ben Lomand Internet Services will notify the Customer via e-mail to reduce the file storage space. If the Customer fails to reduce the storage space within the specified time period, Ben Lomand Internet Services reserves the right to delete files from the Customer’s personal space without further notice.
  • The customer is hereby warned that some sites accessible via Ben Lomand Internet Services allow the posting, viewing, retrieval, and/or electronic mailing of materials that may be considered obscene, offensive, inaccurate, incomplete, defamatory, harmful, or objectionable. Ben Lomand Internet Services is not responsible for the Customer’s inadvertent or deliberate access to such material and cannot prevent access of such materials.
Operation
  • Ben Lomand Internet Services reserves the right to change its services without notice, including but not limited to access procedures, hours of operation, menu structures, commands, documentation, and services offered.
  • Ben Lomand Internet Services reserves the right to delete the Customer’s personal files which have not been accessed for more than 1 month.
  • The customer understands that Ben Lomand Internet Services may be interrupted for several reasons, including but not limited to malfunctions, maintenance, improvement, or as required to protect network resources in the event of malfunctions or misuse. The customer understands that it may not receive advance notification of any such interruption of service.
  • Ben Lomand Internet Services shall not be liable for any delay in or failure to perform the services caused by circumstances entirely beyond its control such as those occasioned by acts of God or other causes or which it could not have reasonably foreseen or other cause which similarly impedes the providing of service.
  • Ben Lomand Internet Services reserves the right in its sole discretion to delete any information entered into Ben Lomand Internet Services computer systems by Customer. Ben Lomand Internet Services and its authorized representatives shall have the right, but shall not be obligated, to edit publicly viewable information.
  • Customer hereby agrees that any material submitted for publication on Ben Lomand Internet Services through Customer’s Account(s) does not violate or infringe upon any copyright, trademark, patent, statutory, common law, or proprietary rights of others, or contain anything obscene, objectionable, or libelous.
  • Ben Lomand Internet Services, at its sole judgment, may immediately suspend Customer’s access to the service upon any breach of any of the Terms and Conditions by Customer, including, but not limited to, refusal or failure to pay for services provided or disruptive online behavior.
  • Ben Lomand Internet Services reserves the right to terminate access to service for any Customer Account(s) which have been inactive for 6 months or longer.
  • Ben Lomand Internet Services may modify these Terms and Conditions upon notice published online. Customer’s use of Info Avenue after such notice shall constitute Customer acceptance of such modifications.

View the Wholesale Terms & Conditions (PDF).

Privacy Policy

Ben Lomand Connect recognizes the importance of protecting your personal information, and we are committed to safeguarding your privacy online. We post this Privacy Policy so that you will know what kind of information we collect and with whom it may be shared.

Ben Lomand’s website may contain links to external websites. We are not responsible for the content or privacy of other websites that may be linked to ours.

By accessing or using Ben Lomand Connect’s website, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy as outlined below. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not access or use this site.

When a customer visits our website, they may choose to provide information such as name, address, phone number, and e-mail address when sending us an e-mail, signing up for a service, or using our online billing option. Ben Lomand Connect may use this information to periodically contact our customers to keep them informed about the products, services, and special offers of Ben Lomand Connect and its subsidiaries.

Ben Lomand Connect must disclose information when requested by legal authorities to comply with court orders and subpoenas.

We Do Not sell or provide any customer information or e-mail addresses to outside parties for the marketing of their products.

When you visit Ben Lomand’s website, we track information including but not limited to IP address, the page from which you entered our site, which pages on our site are viewed, and methods by which our site was found. This statistical information is used “only in the aggregate” to improve our Internet Services and website.

Our Privacy Policy is regularly reviewed and revised to make sure we continue to serve the best interests of our customers. We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy to reflect any changes.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this website, please email us.

Lifeline Notice
Federal Government Required Notice to all Customers of Ben Lomand Connect

Ben Lomand Connect is a designated “Eligible Telecommunications Carrier” for its service area for universal service purposes. The goal of universal services is to provide all citizens access to essential telecommunications services.

Ben Lomand Connect provides single-party touch-tone residential (with unlimited local usage) and touch-tone business service for rates that range from $22.00 (excluding all taxes and additional fees that are required by state and federal government agencies) to $19.70 per month per line. This telephone service includes access to:

  • Long Distance Carriers
  • Emergency Services (**View the Battery Backup Notification (PDF) for Fiber Customers)
  • Operator Services
  • Directory Assistance
  • Telecommunications Relay Services
  • Other services designed for persons with disabilities
  • Toll Blocking

Use of these services results in added charges in most cases. In addition, Ben Lomand Connect provides one copy of its annual local directory without charge.

Ben Lomand Connect offers qualified customers Lifeline Service. If you are a low-income customer, you may qualify for the Lifeline program. This means you may receive a monthly discount for your basic phone charges. This service also includes a discount for line connection charges and free toll blocking for qualifying customers.

Please contact Ben Lomand Connect toll-free at (800) 974-7779 if you have any questions. This notice is required by the federal government.

Open Internet Transparency Disclosure

The following disclosure describes the network practices, performance characteristics, and commercial terms for Ben Lomand Connect and its subsidiaries pursuant to the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet Transparency requirements.

Network Management Practices

I. Congestion Management and Application‐Specific Behavior
Ben Lomand Connect does not block, throttle, shape, limit, prioritize, or control individual internet usage except in cases of abuse mitigation. Ben Lomand Connect adheres to guidelines set forth by Congress and the FCC for network openness and interconnection. All Ben Lomand Connect consumers are able to access the lawful internet content of their choice under nondiscriminatory provisions. Ben Lomand Connect does not use traffic shaping equipment except in cases of abuse mitigation. No traffic shaping equipment is used to discriminate against nor preclude any legal use of other provider equipment or services.

II. Device Attachment Rules
Any standard computer or internet access device is permitted to the extent it does not cause a degradation of internet traffic within the network or to others. Ben Lomand Connect reserves the right to set additional standards and rules as warranted.

III. Security
Security measures that would monitor end-user real-time usage have not been adopted. It is the responsibility of the end-user to monitor their usage and adopt safe practices that they deem necessary to protect against any unauthorized access to their personal files and information. Ben Lomand Connect does employ internal security measures to monitor aggregate internet usage to avoid a degradation of its IP network and performance. In order to protect our customers, Ben Lomand Connect may block ports that are known to be used for DDOS/DOS, viruses, and other malicious activities or to steal a user’s information. We also block e‐mails deemed to be SPAM or that are detected to contain a virus or other malicious code both into and out of our network

Performance Characteristics

I. Service Description
Ben Lomand Connect Internet service is provided as a “best-effort” service, and we have provisioned your service to meet the maximum speeds as advertised. However, internet usage can be affected by many variables across multiple networks, and the usage that customers experience may be lower than the maximum speed it is provisioned for.

Speeds listed are “up to” a specific level based on the service to which a customer subscribes. The actual speed that a customer will experience while using the internet depends upon a variety of conditions, many of which are beyond the control of an internet service provider such as Ben Lomand Connect. These conditions include but are not limited to:

  • Performance of a customer’s computer, including its age, processing capability, operating system, number of applications running simultaneously, and the presence of any malicious software as but not limited to malware and viruses.
  • Type of connection between a customer’s computer and modem. For example, wireless connections may be slower than direct connections to a router or modem. Wireless connections also may be subject to greater fluctuations and interference.
  • The distance packets travel between a customer’s computer and its final destination on the Internet, including the number and quality of the networks of various operators in the transmission.
  • Congestion or high usage levels at the website or destination. If a large number of visitors are accessing a site or particular destination at the same time, your connection will be affected if the site or destination does not have sufficient capacity to serve all of the visitors.
  • The performance of the customer’s modem/router.

It is Ben Lomand Connect’s intent to provide network performance at 90% of advertised speeds 90% of the time. You may test your actual speed at any time. Individual Internet data services are described in additional detail in the “Internet” section of this webpage.

Performance Characteristics ‐ Speed

Service Technology Advertised Speeds Actual Speeds Average
FIBER
1000 Mbps Fiber to the Home 1000 Mbps Download,

**100 Mbps Upload

817.36 Mbps Download,

**95.09 Mbps Upload

1000 Mbps Fiber to the Home 1000 Mbps Download,

**1000 Mbps Upload

819.41 Mbps Download,

**760.67 Mbps Upload

Performance Characteristics – Latency / Packet Loss

 Service  Technology  Advertised Speeds Expected Latency Actual Average Latency Expected Packet Loss Actual Average Packet Loss
FIBER
1000 Mbps Fiber to the Home 1000 Mbps Download, 100 Mbps Upload 20 ms 6.33 ms 1% or less Less than 1%
1000 Mbps Fiber to the Home 1000 Mbps Download, 1000 Mbps Upload 20 ms 6.21 ms 1% or less Less than 1%

*Requires ANNEX M for ADSL lines
**Please note that many speed check servers do not provide accurate results when speeds approach 1 gig (1000 Mbps)
***Throughput and Latency measurements are an average of readings taken from one on‐network and two off‐network Ookla speed check servers.

II. Impact of Specialized Services
Ben Lomand Connect does offer specialized services such as VOIP and IPTV. BLTV is provided over the same broadband connection as the high‐speed internet connection. We set BLTV IPTV streams with a higher priority than best-effort internet traffic within the core and last-mile connection to maintain a consistent and high-quality video service. We do not change the priority of any other internet-based service either negatively or positively.

Commercial Terms

I. Pricing
Individual internet data service pricing is listed in the “Bundles” and “Internet” sections of this website. A one‐time $10.00 membership fee is required to initiate new service for Cooperative customers. In some cases, a security deposit for a new service may also be required.

A modem is required for Internet service. Customers may provide their own modem or lease one from Ben Lomand Connect. Modems available for lease from Ben Lomand Connect are listed on our website.

II. Privacy Policies
Ben Lomand Connect does not share any internet usage information with any outside agency, including copyright holders or their agents, as relates to the DMCA or for other law enforcement or national security needs; unless requested by court subpoena or other lawful means.

III. Redress Options
You may call Customer Service or our Customer Support Center at (931) 668‐4131 if you have any questions or difficulties with your Ben Lomand Connect service.

DMCA Policy

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was passed into law and signed by President Bill Clinton in October of 1998. It provides protection against the illegal distribution and downloading of copyrighted materials to the holders of those copyrights.

Ben Lomand & Volunteer Wireless may take the following actions against subscribers who have been reported to be in violation of the DMCA by downloading or distributing copyrighted materials by the copyright holder or their agent. Each incident cited below will require that the customer call Tech Support at (855) 800-3002.

The customer must acknowledge the alleged violation and provide a valid e-mail address to which the infringement claim(s) can be sent.

  • Upon the first reported incident, the end-user will be temporarily suspended and advised to call Ben Lomand’s Customer Support Center.
  • The second violation will result in another temporary suspension and advised to call Ben Lomand’s Customer Support Center.
  • The third violation will result in a minimum suspension of 6 hours, and the customer must call Ben Lomand’s Customer Support Center.
  • The fourth violation will result in a minimum suspension of 12 hours, and the customer must call Ben Lomand’s Customer Support Center.
  • The fifth violation will result in a minimum suspension of 24 hours, and the customer must call Ben Lomand’s Customer Support Center.
  • The sixth violation will result in a minimum suspension of 72 hours, and the customer must call Ben Lomand’s Customer Support Center.

Unless there are extenuating circumstances, the seventh violation may result in the termination of the account. No refund will be given in cases where termination results due to repeat infringements.

If you receive a notice (including the captive portal) from us stating that we have received notice that you allegedly engaged in copyright infringement, you may submit a written counter-notice to us.** This counter-notice must contain: (1) your physical or electronic signature; (2) identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled; (3) a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled due to a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled; and (4) your name, address, and telephone number along with a statement that you consent to jurisdiction in the Federal District Court of the judicial district in which your physical address is located and that you will accept service of process from either the person who provided the notice of claimed infringement to us or an agent of that person.

**A fee for the processing of this request may apply.

What constitutes an infraction:

  • Any properly formatted and submitted complaint regarding any single title or file.
  • Properly formatted and submitted complaints on multiple titles within the same 24-hour period will count as 1 infraction. (Case in point when an MP3 library containing multiple titles is shared)

Note to Claimants and Agents:

  • Improperly formatted complaints will be discarded.
  • Complaints that are received and cannot be determined to be actual subscribers of Ben Lomand Connect or one of its subsidiaries will be discarded.
  • Complaints E-mailed to any E-mail address other than the specified addresses in our filing with the US Copyright Office or our Acceptable Use Policy will be discarded.
  • Subpoenas submitted for DMCA-related records to Ben Lomand Connect, VolFirst, and other Ben Lomand subsidiaries will be handled as time is available for their processing. Records generation will be charged at the applicable labor rate for the employee(s) required to perform this task. Charges will also include, but not be limited to, postal (and any other) fees required to notify customers whose records have been requested. Customers whose records have been requested in the subpoena will be notified of the subpoena request. Any legal fees incurred by a third party (for example: a TTP-Trusted Third Party) will also be billed to the claimant or their agent. Records will not be provided until this obligation is met by the claimant or their agent or unless a legal and binding contract for payment is in force.
Backup Battery Disclosure for Fiber Customers
Backup Power for Home Phone Services during Power Outages

For many years, your home phone would allow you to stay connected to emergency voice services during a power outage. However, many of today’s advanced home phone services require backup battery power to continue functioning during an outage. To avoid a disruption of home voice service during an outage –and to maintain the ability to connect to 911 emergency services – Ben Lomand Connect offers you the option of purchasing backup power for your home phone.

What Your Battery Can and Can’t Do for You

Ben Lomand Connect’s backup batteries allow you to continue to use your home voice services during a power outage. Without a backup battery or alternate backup source such as a generator, customers will not be able to make any calls, including emergency calls to 911. The only way to maintain the ability to use your phone is by using some form of backup power. Our backup battery only provides power to the voice component of services in your home. Although the voice line connected to home security systems, medical monitoring devices, and other equipment will be powered by our backup battery, these devices typically require a separate battery to power the equipment or device itself.

Purchase and Replacement Options

If you are concerned about being able to contact 911 emergency services during a power outage, a backup battery may be a good option for you. Ben Lomand Connect offers an 8-hour battery and a 24-hour battery. Each 8-hour stackable battery is approximately one pound and roughly the size of a large cell phone. You can purchase a backup battery directly through Ben Lomand Connect. If you have questions or simply want to purchase a backup battery through us, please call (800) 974-7779 or go to your local Ben Lomand Connect office. The 8-hour backup battery option costs $100.00 plus tax and the 24-hour battery option costs $200.00 plus tax. The batteries are available at our retail locations. If you do not feel comfortable installing your own battery, please call us to make an appointment, and we would be happy to assist you.

You can also purchase a backup battery through local retailers or online, including from the vendor identified below.
The type of ONT that you have is a Calix 716 GEI.

Border States
(1) NXG-Vision PP36L-12U
8-Hour Backup Battery
12Vdc / 36 Watt
Approximate cost – $125.00

Border States
(1) NXG-Vision PP36L-12U + (2) PP36L-12EX
24-Hour Backup Battery (3 stackable 8-hour batteries)
12Vdc / 36 Watt
Approximate cost – $250.00

Expected Backup Power Duration

Backup batteries are expected to last at least 8 hours on standby power. Each 8-hour backup battery should give you approximately 6 hours of talk time (powering telephone line only). If you feel that is not enough time, you may extend your standby power by purchasing additional 8-hour batteries or the
24-hour battery option.

Instructions for Proper Care and Use of Your Battery

Please follow the more detailed instructions included with your battery for proper use, storage, and care of your battery to ensure that it will function as needed during a power outage. If you do not store your battery correctly, it may shorten its useful life. Environmental factors such as temperature can also shorten your battery’s useful life. We recommend that you store your battery above 41°F and below 104°F. Batteries will not last forever and should be replaced when your device gives audible or visual indicators that the battery is depleted and must be replaced. See the instructions above for purchase and replacement options. You should also periodically, as described in the instructions included with your battery, remove and test your battery to verify both the operation of the backup battery and its condition.

Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI)

Effective June 2008, the FCC implemented new rules to protect the privacy of information contained in your telephone account. The new rules also allow us to discuss account information only with the person(s) listed on the account. We must be able to verify that the person accessing your account is, in fact authorized to do so by asking for their name and the password which you establish. Your chosen password may include at least 4, but no more than 10 characters (number and/or letters). In addition, your password may not be based on readily available biographical information such as your telephone number or address. For example, you may use a word or name of something specific to your business.

You may choose an Authorized Person “AP” within your company to make changes to your account and discuss payment and/or billing issues. The ownership of the service does not change, nor does the person(s) named as an Authorized Person “AP” become responsible for payment of the bill.

In the event you want an independent 3rd party to act on your behalf, you will need to send documentation on your company letterhead naming the company and specify the name or names of the person(s) you wish to make changes to your account, discuss payment and/or billing issues.