Terms of Service

Internet Terms of Use Agreement

This Terms of Use Agreement governs your use of the websites, content, software and services offered by Peoples Telephone Cooperative, Inc., or its affiliates or subsidiaries.

1. Agreement
This is an agreement between Peoples Telephone Cooperative, Inc. or its affiliates or subsidiaries (“Peoples” or “we”) and you, the user (“you” or “customer”), governing your use of the websites, content, software and services offered by Peoples  (“the Service”).  By establishing an account, using the Service, using Peoples-provided software, using the equipment or indicating agreement through the software or website, you agree to be bound by this Agreement, including future revisions.  You also hereby agree to use the Service in compliance with the current Peoples Acceptable Use Policy located in Section 14 herein.

2. Term
Service will be provided on a month-to-month basis or as specifically stated in the Master Service Agreement and related Addenda for each particular service. Peoples reserves the right to increase prices of the Service after providing thirty (30) days written notice to you. Decreases to rates will be made without notice.  Peoples reserves the right to change features of the Service at any time.  Current Service prices and features may be obtained by visiting our website at peoplescom.net or by calling (800) 333-9779.

3. The Service
The Service may include internet access, hardware, email, webspace, web-hosting, or other features. You agree that the Service will be used only for residential or non-commercial purposes, unless otherwise specifically authorized by Peoples in writing. You agree and represent that you will not resell or permit another to resell the Service in whole or in part.

From time to time, Peoples may impose reasonable rules and regulations regarding the use of the Services.

The Service speed can vary depending on location, line quality, inside wiring, Internet traffic, and other factors beyond the control of Peoples. Therefore, Peoples does not guarantee upload or download speeds.  Some line stabilization may be necessary for service.  Stabilization could include the lowering of provisioned line speed.  Should this occur, Peoples will NOT be able to increase the line speed once the connection is stabilized.

Email accounts exceeding allotted email space may, depending on the Service and at Peoples’ discretion, be suspended and be transferred to a compressed temporary file or storage area or may be deleted.  Peoples may delete the temporary file from the server sixty (60) days after notifying you.

4. Cancellation

Cancellation by the Customer:

If, after ordering, you are dissatisfied with the Service or any related terms, conditions, rules, policies, guidelines, or practices, your sole remedy is to discontinue using the Service, cancel your account by one of the following procedures, return any equipment belonging to Peoples and pay any cancellation fees that may apply.  Upon cancellation, email service will be terminated and all files stored on Peoples servers will be deleted.

Peoples accepts cancellation requests by telephone or U.S. Mail.  When Peoples receives your cancellation request, you will be issued a confirmation letter as your only proof of cancellation.  The cancellation letter will provide instructions on returning equipment belonging to Peoples.  Failure to return such equipment within thirty (30) days of receiving the confirmation letter will result in a charge for the equipment.  Cancellations will become effective upon the last day of the billing cycle during which the requested cancellation date falls.  Billing cycles run from the 16th to the 15th of the following month.  For example, if you request to cancel your account on the first day of the month, your account will terminate on the 15th of that month, which is the last day of that billing cycle.  Peoples does not grant refunds or credits for any use prior to the termination date.    If you cancel by one of the prescribed methods and are mistakenly billed again, we will refund any erroneous charges upon proof of cancellation.
To process your cancellation request, we require that you provide the following: (1) Authorized account name or billing contact; (2) Your user name or account number and password; (3) Current phone number; and (4) Reason for canceling service.

To cancel the Service you may contact us by one of the following methods:

Phone Cancellation:

Services may be cancelled by contacting Peoples via telephone at (800) 333-9779 and providing the above-listed information.

Mail Cancellation:

Send via US Mail to:

Peoples
Attn: Internet Service Cancellation
PO Box 228

Quitman, TX 75783
If you move a fixed-location Service to a new residence or switch phone lines within the same residence during the initial term, you may be charged an additional fee.  If Peoples can provide a broadband service at the new residence or on the new line, Peoples will issue a credit or a refund to your account providing you renew service within 30 days from the time you terminated service at your old residence.

Cancellation by the Company:

Peoples may terminate this Agreement, your password, your account, or your use of the Services for any reason, including, without limitation, if Peoples, in its sole discretion, believes you have violated this Agreement, violated Peoples’ Acceptable Use Policy, or if you fail to pay any charges by the applicable due date.  Peoples may also terminate your account if you harass or disparagingly treat Peoples employees. Termination notice will be sent by U.S. Mail to the billing address.  If your Service is terminated for any reason, you will be required to pay any balance due Peoples and will be required to pay a deposit before Peoples will restore your service.  Restoration of service is solely available at Peoples’ discretion. Deposits vary depending on type of Service, and will be fully refundable upon cancellation of the service assuming that all monthly service charges and applicable fees have been paid throughout the Service term.  Sections 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, and 14 of this Agreement shall survive termination of this Agreement.

5. Account Requirements
In order to order and receive the Service, you must be at least 18 years old and authorized to order service for your residence or business.  If you do not have prior service with Peoples, you may have to establish credit worthiness prior to Peoples activating your account.   The Service must be available to your location.  Your computer may have to meet certain minimum requirements, which may be found on the Peoples homepage at: peoplescom.net.

6. Payment
You will be charged a monthly service fee and applicable taxes and other fees. Some services may also include charges for hardware or activation.  Peoples may offer, from time to time, certain promotions with different terms, activation fees, and monthly charges.  You must provide accurate billing information including legal name, address, telephone number, and credit card/billing information, and report all changes to this information immediately.

You agree to pay all taxes, surcharges, and fees set by the government.  Peoples will not provide advance notice of changes to mandated fees and charges.

You are responsible for any charges billed to your account.  Questions regarding charges should be directed to Peoples’ Customer Service Department at (800) 333-9779 or peoplescom.net.  All charges are considered valid unless disputed in writing within 30 days of the billing date.  Adjustments will not be made for charges that are more than 30 days old.

If you have had prior service with Peoples or one of its affiliates and that service was terminated due to nonpayment, you will be required to pay any outstanding balance due and a deposit before your Service will be activated or restored.

Charges may be paid via mail by check or money order.  By telephone, payment may be made with a credit card.  Alternately, payments may be made in person by cash, check or money order.  If you have authorized automatic bank draft payments, you agree to maintain valid and current account information on file with Peoples at all times.  Peoples is not responsible for any charges (e.g., for overdrawn accounts, exceeding credit card limits, etc.) you may be assessed by your financial institution or credit card company.  Payments that are rejected by your credit card company or financial institution due to insufficient funds will be assessed a charge of $25. Payments are due within 30 days of receiving a billing statement.

7. Your Account, Password, and Security
Upon registration, you will receive a username, password, and other account information.  You and members of your household or business are the only authorized users of your Peoples account and all such users must comply with this Agreement.  You must keep your password confidential so that no one else may access the Services through your account.  You must notify Peoples immediately upon discovering any unauthorized use of your account. If your account is compromised, Peoples reserves the right to disable your account to avoid potential network security issues.

Unless your service includes a Static IP address, you will be allocated a Dynamic IP address.  Peoples reserves the right to timeout inactive connections.  Peoples technical support may be limited to Peoples-provided services, software and/or unmodified hardware. Peoples reserves the right to limit excessive traffic due to abuse.

8. Equipment
The Service includes equipment provided by Peoples (“the Equipment”).  The installation, use, inspection, maintenance, repair, and removal of the Equipment may result in service outage or potential damage to your computer.  You are solely responsible for backing up all of your existing computer files and data.  Peoples and its employees, agents, contractors, and representatives shall have no liability whatsoever for any damage to or loss or destruction of any of your hardware, software, files, data, or peripherals.  You assume responsibility for impacts to or loss of any warranty associated with the opening of your computer for installation purposes.

Peoples, does not represent, warrant, or covenant that installation by you or a third party chosen by you will enable you to successfully access, operate, or use the services, nor that such installation will not cause damage to your computer, data, software, files, or peripherals. In addition, peoples , shall have no liability whatsoever for any damage, or for the failure to properly install, access, use, or operate the equipment or services because of your installation. The foregoing limitation of liability is in addition to and shall in no way be construed to limit any and all limitations of liability set forth elsewhere in this agreement.

Because of the complex nature of Internet service, availability, and the underlying infrastructure, it may not be possible to provide the Service to everyone.  In its sole discretion, Peoples may cancel the installation process and refund any money that you have paid.  Peoples will notify you of its intent to cancel service as soon as reasonably possible.  It may take up to ninety (90) days to determine if Peoples is able to provide service in your area.  Peoples shall have no responsibility whatsoever for claims arising out of its failure or refusal to complete the installation or provide the Service.

Peoples, in its sole discretion, may replace equipment due to manufacturer’s defect at no cost to you under the following circumstances: You call the Peoples Technical Support Department within sixty (60) days of your original shipping date; The Peoples Technical Support Department certifies that a defect has occurred and; You return the equipment in the original packaging (or equivalent) within 30 days of receiving shipping information and a shipping label from Peoples.  Upon receipt of the defective equipment, Peoples will ship replacement equipment to you.  Failure to return the defective equipment within 30 days shall result in a charge for the new equipment.  Peoples will not accept the return of equipment without the Technical Support Department certifying that such equipment merits replacement.

9. Monitoring the Services
Peoples has no obligation to monitor the Services, but may do so and disclose information regarding use of the Services for any reason if Peoples, in its sole discretion, believes that it is reasonable to do so, including to: satisfy laws, regulations, or governmental or legal requests; operate the Service properly; or protect itself, its employees, its customers or others. Peoples may immediately remove your material or information from Peoples’ servers, in whole or in part, which Peoples, in its sole and absolute discretion, determines to infringe another’s property rights or to violate our Acceptable Use Policy or other policies or laws.

10. Diclaimers and Warranties
Certain equipment may be subject to third party warranties, which may be passed through peoples to you at no additional charge. Peoples will comply with all reasonable requirements necessary to affect the pass-through of the warranty to you. At its sole option within the initial term, peoples, or its agent may replace a defective hardware on behalf of the manufacturer, provided you follow all applicable procedures. This warranty does not cover defects resulting from acts outside of peoples control, use contrary to specifications or instructions, or repair or modification by anyone other than peoples or its contractor. Peoples reserves the right to modify this warranty at any time. Peoples will not be responsible for any equipment damaged by any naturally occurring event such as lightning, flood, or earthquake or other events out of peoples control such as fire, power surges, or the acts of others.

The services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. Peoples does not warrant that the services will be uninterrupted, error-free or free of viruses, or other harmful components unless otherwise stated in a specific service’s specific master services agreement and related addenda. Peoples makes no express warranties and waives all implied warranties including, but not limited to, warranties of title, noninfringement, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose regarding any merchandise, information or service provided through peoples or the internet generally. No advice or information given by peoples or its representatives shall create a warranty. Peoples and its employees are not liable for any costs or damages arising directly or indirectly from your use of the services or the internet including any indirect, incidental, exemplary, multiple, special, punitive, or consequential damages. In any event, cumulative liability to you for any and all claims relating to the use of the services shall not exceed the total amount of service fees paid during the three months immediately preceding a claim.

Peoples shall have no liability whatsoever for any claims, losses, actions, damages, suits, or proceedings resulting from: other users accessing your computer; security breaches; eavesdropping; denial of service attacks; interception of traffic sent or received using the services; your reliance on or use of the equipment or services, or the mistakes, omission, interruptions, deletion of files, errors, defects, delays in operation, transmissions, or any failure of performance of the equipment or services;the use of the equipment or services by you or a third party that infringes the copyright, patent, trademark,trade secret, confidentiality, privacy, or other industrial or intellectual property rights, proprietary rights or contractual rights of any third party; the accuracy, completeness, and usefulness of all services, products,and other information, and the quality and merchantability of all merchandise provided through the service or the internet.

The foregoing limitation applies to the acts, omissions, negligence and gross negligence of peoples, its officers, employees, agents, contractors or representatives which, but for this provision, would give rise to the cause of action against peoples in contract, tort, or any other legal doctrine. Your sole and exclusive remedies under this agreement are as expressly set out in this agreement. Any warranty gives you specific legal rights. You may also have other rights, as determined by the laws in the state of texas.

11. Jurisdiction
This Agreement is governed by the laws of the state of Texas.

12. Miscellaneous
This Agreement, the Acceptable Use Policy, and Peoples other Agreements and policies posted on Peoples’ web site constitute the entire agreement between you and Peoples with respect to your use of the Service. Peoples may revise, amend, or modify the Agreements at any time and in any manner. Notice of any revision, amendment, or modification will be posted on Peoples’ Web site: (peoplescom.net) and/or on your start pages and/or by email and/or in our various publications and mailings to you.  This Agreement may not be amended or modified by you except by means of a written document signed by both you and an authorized representative of Peoples.

You may not assign your rights or delegate any of your duties under this Agreement without the prior written consent of Peoples, and any attempted assignment or delegation without such consent shall be void.  If one or more provisions of this Agreement shall be held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not be affected or impaired thereby.  Peoples will amend or replace such provision with one that is valid and enforceable and which achieves, to the extent possible, the original objectives and intent of Peoples as reflected in the original provision.  Nothing in this Agreement or in the understanding of the parties construes upon the parties the status of agency, partnership, or other form of joint enterprise between the parties.  Peoples may subcontract any work, obligations or other performance required of Peoples under this Agreement without your consent.

You shall indemnify and hold Peoples harmless against all third party claims, demands, suits, actions, judgments, losses, costs, damages (direct, indirect and consequential), attorney’s fees and expenses that Peoples may sustain or incur by reason of any breach or alleged breach of any term or condition of this Agreement, the Acceptable Use Policy, and Peoples’ other agreements and policies and for any act or omission of you or your clients which are in any way related to the Service.

13. Technical Support Policy
Peoples’ Technical Support is available 24 hours a day via telephone at (800) 333-9779.  Due to the wide range of hardware and software configurations and compatibility, it may not be possible for PTCI to solve all technical support issues for your current set of products.  While PTCI will use its best efforts to provide support, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to refer you to the manufacturer of your hardware or software vendor for technical support of their products.

14. Acceptable Use Policy

You may use Peoples’ Service for lawful purposes only.  You may not submit or transmit through Peoples’ Services any material, or otherwise engage in any conduct that:

a. violates or infringes the rights of others including, without limitation, patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, publicity or other proprietary rights;

b. is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, deceptive, fraudulent, invasive of another’s privacy, torturous, or contains explicit or graphic descriptions, or accounts of, sexual acts;

c. victimizes, harasses, degrades, or intimidates an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, or disability;

d. impersonates any person, business or entity, including Peoples and its employees and agents;

e. contains viruses or any other computer code, files or programs that interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment, or otherwise permit the unauthorized use of a computer or computer network;

f. encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, or that gives rise to civil liability;

g. violates these Terms of Use guidelines or any policy posted on peoplescom.net;

h. interferes with the use of Peoples’ Services by others;

i. could damage, disable, overburden, or impair our servers or networks;

j. allows you to gain, or attempt to gain, unauthorized access to any services, user accounts, computer systems or networks, through hacking, password mining or any other means;

k. uses any of Peoples’ Services to transmit, directly or indirectly, any unsolicited bulk communications (including e-mails and instant messages);

l. harvests information about our users for the purpose of sending, or to facilitate the sending, of unsolicited bulk communications.

Revised 03/2019

Unlimited Long Distance Terms of Service Agreement

Unlimited Long Distance is a service available for communication between two individuals. This service is not intended for broadcast messaging, monitoring services or connections other than typical dialog. If Peoples identifies misuse of this service, your service could be subject to termination or a plan change to a per minute rate plan.

Support Programs for Qualifying Low-Income Customers

Terms & Conditions

Lifeline is a government assistance program that offers qualified households a discount on their monthly phone or internet service.

Eligible subscribers may save up to $12.75 on your monthly bill. These benefits apply to internet or local phone service. There are other options that can help you save money, including free toll blocking and a waived deposit with toll blocking on phone service.

Lifeline is available to eligible subscribers who participate in a qualifying program or whose household income is at or below 135% the federal poverty guidelines (Federal credit) or at or below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines (state credit). You’re eligible for Lifeline if you, your dependent, or a member of your household participates in any of the following programs:

  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
  • Veteran’s Pension or Survivor’s Pension
  • Medicaid
  • Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA)
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
  • Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) (State discount only)
  • National School Lunch Program – Free Lunch Program (State discount only)
  • State Child Health Plan (CHIP) (State discount only)

Lifeline may be used for one phone (wireline or wireless) or bundled broadband internet service. You can receive only one discount per household and may not transfer your Lifeline discount to another person. Lifeline discounts on phone service include a transfer restriction (port freeze) of 60 days. Lifeline discounts on bundled broadband include a transfer restriction (port freeze) of 12 months.

Contact Lite-Up Texas at (866) 454-8387 or email Lite-Up Texas for more information concerning the Lifeline discount program.

Peoples’ ProtectIT combines the benefits of Equipment Protection and Wire Maintenance or Telepole Protection to safeguard you against expensive replacement costs and service call fees.

Peoples recommends surge protectors for computers, internet equipment, and networking equipment. Peoples also recommends unplugging phone line from internet equipment during a storm or extended periods of time away from home.

Equipment Protection

Free Standard Service Call – Weekdays 8 to 5, all service types.

Reduced After Hours Service Call ($50), all service types.

  • DSL Service
    • Free Modem Replacement (limit of one free per year – $25 for each add’l replacement)
    • Replace standard 3 ft line cord
  • Fiber Service
    • Free ONT, Optical Network Terminal, Replacement (limit one free per year – $50 for each add’l replacement)
    • Free Router Replacement (limit of one free per year – $25 for each add’l replacement)
  • Ignyte Service
    • Free Router Replacement (limit one free per year – $25 for each add’l replacement)

Wire Maintenance (DSL & Fiber Service)

Benefits: Includes standard housewire (CAt 3 or higher) repair and jacks.

Without Wire Maintenance the Service Call Charges are: $75 per hour and $25 each additional 15 minutes with 1 hour mininum

Telepole Protection (Ignyte Service)

Benefits: Repair or replace telepole.

Limit 1 free per year – $50 for each additional replacement.

Full Retail Rates

  • Standard Service Call – $75 Service
  • After Hours Repair Calls – $150
  • Equipment Replacement Charge – $125
  • Telepole – $250 (non-guyed), $350 (guyed)
  • Ignyte ATA- $25
  • GigaCenter Power Supply – $10

Terms of Service Agreement Contact Information

If you have any questions or concerns about the Terms of Service Agreement, please email us or call (800) 333-9779.

Interconnection (Peering) Policy

Background & Introduction

This document sets forth Peoples Communication Policy for Settlement-Free Interconnection with Internet Networks (“Policy”), also referred to as “peering”. Peoples Communication regularly updates its Policy.

This Policy details the requirements that an Internet Network requesting interconnection (the “Requester”) must meet in order to qualify for settlement-free interconnection. For purposes of this Policy, an Internet Network must be a single Autonomous System (“AS”). Peoples Communication also will consider on a case-by-case basis request for settlement-free interconnection on a national level or in other regions of the world, with the same guiding principles and with appropriately scaled interconnection requirements. This Policy also specifies the operational requirements for interconnecting networks, which both the Requester and Peoples Communication must satisfy.

Interconnection Requirements

  1. Peoples Communication uses PeeringDB as a single authoritative source of truth. This means peering partners must have an up-to-date PeeringDB entry before a bilateral peering session can be established.
  2. The Requester shall operate facilities capable of terminating IP customer leased line connections onto a device in one of Peoples Communications CO-Locations in Dallas, TX or Operate an open network and advertise with Equinix Multi-Lateral Peering Exchange (MLPE).
  3. The aggregate amount of traffic exchanged in each direction over all interconnection links between the Requester and the Peoples Communication Internet Network with which it desires to interconnect shall be a minimum of 100Mbps (95th percentile) with Autonomous System 40317.
  4. Must maintain a minimum aggregate traffic exchange of 100M with AS40317 in the dominant direction as measured on a 24hr peak basis.
  5. Must advertise routes consistent with “shortest exit routing” unless both parties agree in writing to honor the following traffic management attributes (where provided by both parties): MED (Multi Exit Discriminator), AS Path length, and Standard BGP communities.
  6. Must use the same ASN at each interconnection point, except that if either party is involved in an acquisition multiple ASNs may be supported during the integration process so long as the same does not require the other party to carry traffic in an excessively inefficient manner, such as between continents.
  7. Must maintain a professional Network Operations Center staffed 24x7x365.
  8. Requester must provide 48 hours notice to Peoples Communication NOC for scheduled maintenance. Requesters are encouraged to register routes or send notice in advance of announcements to allow for adjustments to those limits.

General Policy Notifications

  1. The two Internet Networks must be willing to enter into a Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement and a bilateral Interconnection Agreement.
  2. The Requester and Peoples Communication must be willing to sustain an equal financial burden for the costs of private interconnection via local facilities.
  3. The requirements in Section 2 above must be met at the time the request for settlement-free interconnection with Peoples Communication is made.
  4. All requirements of the Policy must continue to be met to continue a settlement-free interconnection relationship. Status under the Policy will be evaluated periodically. In the case of a change in ownership or control of an Internet Network with which Peoples Communication has an interconnection agreement, status under the Policy will be evaluated within 30 days of such change.
  5. Peoples Communication will continue to monitor the development of the Internet and traffic conditions and make appropriate changes in this Policy as the Internet continues to evolve.
  6. Peoples Communication reserves the right to modify this Policy at any time without written notification and to make exceptions to this policy at its sole discretion. It is the responsibility of the Requester to maintain compliance with this Policy. Any contractual rights shall arise out of an interconnection agreement between Peoples Communication and Requester, not this Policy.
  7. Meeting or exceeding the guidelines set forth in this Policy is not a guarantee that a settlement-free interconnection will be established with a Requester.
  8. Peoples Communication will not enter peer with any network that has been an IP transit customer within the past 9 months.

Acceptable Use Policy

You may use Peoples’ Service for lawful purposes only. For more information, please refer to Peoples Acceptable Use Policy.

All requests for settlement-free interconnection should be submitted by emailing Peoples Communication.