Acceptable Use Policy

Plateau has adopted this Acceptable Use Policy (“AUP”) to outline the acceptable use of Plateau's Broadband Internet service (“Broadband Service”). This AUP is in addition to any restrictions contained in the Plateau service agreement for Internet service (the “Subscriber Agreement”). Please also refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”), which includes explanations of how Plateau will enforce this AUP in the context of network management.

You, the customer, must comply with this AUP. Your failure to do so could result in the suspension or termination of your Broadband Service account. If you do not agree to comply with this AUP, you must immediately stop all use of the Broadband Service and notify Plateau so that we can close your account.

Plateau may revise this AUP from time to time and will have the latest version posted on its website. Plateau will use reasonable efforts to make customers aware of any changes to this AUP, which may include sending e-mail announcements or posting additional information on the Plateau website. Revised versions of this AUP are effective immediately upon posting. Accordingly, customers of the Plateau Broadband Internet service should read any Plateau announcements they receive and regularly visit the Plateau website and review this AUP to ensure activities conform to the most recent version. You can send questions regarding this AUP to, and report violations of it at infringements@plateautel.com. To report illegal content on the Internet go to www.ftc.gov

In general, this AUP prohibits uses and activities involving the Broadband Service that are illegal, infringe the rights of others, or interfere with or diminish the use and enjoyment of the Broadband Service by others. Plateau reserves the right to define prohibited uses and activities according to this AUP.

No user of the Broadband Service, customer equipment, or Plateau equipment may, individually or in combination with another:

• restrict, inhibit, or otherwise interfere with the ability of any other person, regardless of intent, purpose or knowledge, to use or enjoy the Broadband Service (except for safety and security functions such as parental controls, for example), including, without limitation, posting or transmitting any information or software which contains a worm, virus, or other harmful feature, or generating levels of traffic sufficient to impede others' ability to use, send, or retrieve information;
• restrict, inhibit, interfere with, or otherwise disrupt performance of the Broadband Service or cause a performance degradation,
• regardless of intent, purpose or knowledge to the Broadband Service or any Plateau (or Plateau supplier) host, server, backbone network, node or service, or otherwise cause a performance degradation to any Plateau (or Plateau supplier) facilities used to deliver the Broadband Service;
• resell residential Broadband Service or otherwise make available to anyone outside the premises the ability to use the residential Broadband Service (for example, through WiFi or other methods of networking), in whole or in part, directly or indirectly;
• connect Plateau equipment to any computer outside of your premises;
• interfere with computer networking or e-communications service to any user, host or network, including, without limitation, denial of service attacks, flooding of a network, overloading a service, improper seizing and abusing operator privileges, and attempts to “crash” a host; and
• accessing and using the Broadband Service with anything other than a dynamic Internet Protocol (“IP”) address that adheres to the dynamic host configuration protocol (“DHCP”). You may not configure the Broadband Service or any related equipment to access or use a static IP address or use any protocol other than DHCP unless expressly permitted to do so by Plateau.

No user of the Broadband Service, customer equipment, or Plateau equipment may, individually or in combination with another:

• avoid incurring charges for or otherwise being required to pay for usage of the Broadband Service;
• invade another person’s privacy, stalk, harass, or otherwise violate the rights of other persons;
• undertake or accomplish any unlawful purpose. This includes, but is not limited to, posting, storing, transmitting or disseminating information, data or material which is libelous, obscene, unlawful, threatening or defamatory, or which infringes the intellectual property rights of any person or entity, or which in any way constitutes or encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, or otherwise violate any local, state, federal, or non-U.S. law, order, or regulation;
• post, store, send, transmit, or disseminate any information or material which a reasonable person could deem to be unlawful;
• upload, post, publish, transmit, reproduce, create derivative works of, or distribute in any way information, software or other material obtained through the Broadband Service or otherwise that is protected by copyright or other proprietary right, without obtaining any required permission of the owner;
• collect, or attempt to collect, personal information about third parties without their consent;
• transmit unsolicited bulk or commercial messages commonly known as spam,
• send voluminous copies of the same or substantially similar messages, empty messages, or messages which contain no substantive content, or send very large messages or files that disrupts a server, account, blog, newsgroup, chat, or similar service;
• initiate, perpetuate, or in any way participate in any pyramid or other illegal scheme;
• participate in the collection of voluminous amounts of e-mail addresses, screen names, or other identifiers of others (without their prior consent), a practice sometimes known as spidering or harvesting, or participate in the use of software (including spyware) designed to facilitate this activity;
• collect responses from unsolicited bulk messages;
• falsify, alter, or remove message headers;
• falsify references to Plateau or its network, by name or other identifier, in messages;
• impersonate any person or entity, engage in sender address falsification, forge anyone else's digital or manual signature, or perform any other similar fraudulent activity (for example, phishing);
• violate the rules, regulations, terms of service, or policies applicable to any network, server, computer database, service, application, system, or website that you access or use;

No user of the Broadband Service, customer equipment, or Plateau equipment may, individually or in combination with another:

• use the Internet service or facilities for web-hosting, e-mail hosting, or other unusually high-bandwidth consumption unless you have made special subscription arrangements with Plateau and the usage does not otherwise violate law or regulation;
• access any other person's computer or computer system, network, software, or data without his or her knowledge and consent; breach the security of another user or system; or attempt to circumvent the user authentication or security of any host, network, or account. This includes, but is not limited to, accessing data not intended for you, logging into or making use of a server or account you are not expressly authorized to access, or probing the security of other hosts, networks, or accounts without express permission to do so,
• use or distribute tools or devices designed or used for compromising security or whose use is otherwise unauthorized, such as password guessing programs, decoders, password gatherers, keystroke loggers, analyzers, cracking tools, packet sniffers, encryption circumvention devices, or Trojan horse programs. Unauthorized port scanning is strictly prohibited;
• copy, distribute, or sublicense any proprietary software provided in connection with the Broadband Service by Plateau or any third-party, except that you may make one copy of each software program for back-up purposes only;
• distribute programs that make unauthorized changes to software (cracks);
• for subscribers of the residential Broadband Service, use or run dedicated, stand-alone equipment or servers from the premises that provide network content or any other services to anyone outside of your premises local area network (“premises LAN”), also commonly referred to as public services or servers. Examples of prohibited equipment and servers include, but are not limited to web-hosting, and proxy services and servers;
• for subscribers of the residential Broadband Service, use or run programs from the premises that provide network content or any other services to anyone outside of your premises LAN, except for personal and non-commercial residential use;
• service, alter, modify, or tamper with Plateau equipment or Broadband Service or permit any other person to do the same who is not authorized by Plateau;

In addition to being responsible for your own compliance with this AUP, you are also responsible for any use or misuse of the Broadband Service that violates this AUP, even if it was committed by a friend, family member, or guest with access to your Broadband Service account. Therefore, you must take steps to ensure that others do not use your account to gain unauthorized access to the Broadband Service by, for example, strictly maintaining the confidentiality of your Broadband Service login and password. In all cases, you are solely responsible for the security of any device you choose to connect to the Broadband Service, including any data stored or shared on that device. It is also your responsibility to secure the customer equipment and any other premise equipment or programs not provided by Plateau that connects to the Broadband Service from external threats such as viruses, spam, bot nets, and other methods of intrusion.

Plateau reserves the right to refuse to transmit or post, and to remove or block, any information or materials, in whole or in part, that it, in its sole discretion, deems to be in violation of Sections I or II of this AUP, or otherwise harmful to Plateau's network or customers using the Broadband Service, regardless of whether this material or its dissemination is lawful so long as it violates this AUP. Neither Plateau nor any of its affiliates, suppliers, or agents have any obligation to monitor transmissions or postings (including, but not limited to, e-mail, file transfer, blog, newsgroup, and instant message transmissions) made on the Broadband Service. However, Plateau and its affiliates, suppliers, and agents have the right to monitor these transmissions and postings from time to time for violations of this AUP and to disclose, block, or remove them in accordance with this AUP, the Subscriber Agreement, and applicable law.

All of Plateau’s network and system services are provided according to scheduled fees for each type of service. You agree to use such services in accordance with the terms set forth below.

1. E-mail and Web-hosting Services

   1. Unsolicited E-mail Prohibited - You may not use Plateau hosted E-mail addresses for the purpose of sending unsolicited E-mail. You may not use or cause to be used Plateau ’s equipment, network connectivity, or other resources to originate, deliver, relay or otherwise transmit unsolicited E-mail messages. You may not engage in any of the foregoing prohibited activities by using the service of any other provider, third-party agent, remailing service or address forwarding service, in such a way that Plateau ’s network addresses or Plateau hosted web or E-mail services are in any way identified as being associated with the sending of unsolicited E-mail.
   2. Unauthorized use, or forging, of mail header information (e.g. “spoofing”) is prohibited.
   3. Fraudulent Activity Prohibited – You may not use Plateau E-mail and web-hosting services to make fraudulent offers to sell or buy products, items, services, or to advance any type of financial scam such as “pyramid schemes”, “Ponzi schemes”, or “chain letters.” You may not use techniques to hide or obscure the source of any e-mail or other communication.
   4. Plateau reserves the right to suspend or delay delivery of E-mail to customers utilizing Plateau E-mail services and/or the virtual domain E-mail if the volume of E-mail being redirected, stored, or delivered on the customer’s behalf is deemed excessive. Excessive traffic is defined as any amount of E-mail that consumes more than 1GB of disk storage space per individual mailbox or any volume of E-mail traffic that noticeably degrades performance on the server in question, in the sole discretion of Plateau.
   5. The Broadband Service may not be used to communicate or distribute e-mail or other forms of communications in violation of Section I of this AUP. As described below in Section III of this AUP, Plateau uses reasonable network management tools and techniques to protect customers from receiving spam and from sending spam (often without their knowledge over an infected computer).
   6. Plateau is not responsible for deleting or forwarding any e-mail sent to the wrong e-mail address by you or by someone else trying to send e-mail to you. Plateau is also not responsible for forwarding e-mail sent to any account that has been suspended or terminated. This e-mail will be returned to the sender, ignored, deleted, or stored temporarily at Plateau's sole discretion.

2. Instant, Video, and Audio Messages

   Each user is responsible for the contents of his or her instant, video, and audio messages and the consequences of any of these messages. Plateau assumes no responsibility for the timeliness, mis-delivery, deletion, or failure to store these messages. In the event that a Broadband Service account is terminated for any reason, all instant, video, and audio messages associated with that account (and any secondary accounts) will be permanently deleted as well.

3. Personal Web Pages and File Storage

   You are solely responsible for any information that you or others publish or store on any personal web page or in any storage files. You are also responsible for ensuring that all content made available through personal web pages is appropriate for those who may have access to it. For example, you must take appropriate precautions to prevent minors from receiving or accessing inappropriate content. Plateau reserves the right to remove, block, or refuse to post or store any information or materials, in whole or in part, that it, in its sole discretion, deems to be in violation of Section I of this AUP. For purposes of this AUP, “material” refers to all forms of communications including text, graphics (including photographs, illustrations, images, drawings, logos), executable programs and scripts, video recordings, and audio recordings.

Plateau manages its network with the goal of delivering a fast, safe and uncompromised broadband Internet experience to all of its customers. But, high-speed bandwidth and network resources are not unlimited. Managing the network is essential for the promotion of best possible broadband Internet experience by all of Plateau's customers. The company uses reasonable network management practices that are consistent with industry standards. Plateau tries to use tools and technologies that are minimally intrusive and, in its independent judgment guided by industry experience, among the best in class. Of course, the company's network management practices will change and evolve along with the uses of the Internet and the challenges and threats on the Internet.

If Plateau didn't manage its network, its customers would be subject to the negative effects of spam, viruses, security attacks, network congestion, and other risks and degradation of service. By engaging in responsible network management, including enforcement of this AUP, Plateau can deliver the best possible broadband Internet experience to all of its customers.

Please see Plateau's Network Management Policy for more information.

You acknowledge that all of the Plateau Internet services are intended for periodic, active use of E-mail, user newsgroups, transfers via FTP, Internet chat, Internet games, and browsing of the Internet. You must comply with all current bandwidth, data storage, and other limitations on the Plateau Internet services that have been established by Plateau and Plateau suppliers. You agree not to intentionally use the Plateau Internet service on a standby or inactive basis in order to maintain a connection. The excessive use or abuse of Plateau's network resources by one customer may have a negative impact on all other customers. Accordingly, in addition to the Prohibited Uses and Activities provided in Section I, you may not use the Plateau Internet service or take any action, directly or indirectly, that will result in excessive consumption or utilization of the system or network resources, or which may weaken network performance, as determined in Plateau's sole discretion. Such prohibited actions include, but are not limited to: using the Plateau Internet services to host a web server site which attracts excessive traffic at your location, continuously uploading or downloading streaming video or audio, use net hosting, continuous FTP uploading or downloading, or acting in a manner that negatively effects other users' ability to engage in real time exchanges and use of the Plateau Internet services. Plateau reserves the right to suspend or terminate Broadband Service accounts where data consumption is not characteristic of the type of Broadband Service account held by the user as determined by Plateau in its sole discretion.

Common activities that may cause excessive data consumption in violation of this AUP include, but are not limited to, numerous or continuous bulk transfers of files and other high capacity traffic using (i) file transfer protocol (“FTP”), (ii) peer-to-peer applications, and (iii) newsgroups. You must also ensure that your use of the Broadband Service does not restrict, inhibit, interfere with, or degrade any other person's use of the Broadband Service, nor represent (as determined by Plateau in its sole discretion) an overly large burden on the network. In addition, you must ensure that your use of the Broadband Service does not limit or interfere with Plateau's ability to deliver and monitor the Broadband Service or any part of its network.

If you use the Broadband Service in violation of the restrictions referenced above, that is a violation of this AUP. In these cases, Plateau may, in its sole discretion, suspend or terminate your Broadband Service account or request that you subscribe to a version of the Broadband Service (such as a commercial grade Internet service, if appropriate) if you wish to continue to use the Broadband Service at higher data consumption levels. Plateau may also provide versions of the Broadband Service with different speed and data consumption limitations, among other characteristics, subject to applicable Broadband Service plans.

Plateau's determination of the data consumption for Broadband Service accounts is final.

Plateau reserves the right to immediately suspend or terminate your Broadband Service account and terminate the Subscriber Agreement if you violate the terms of this AUP or the Subscriber Agreement.

Plateau does not routinely monitor the activity of individual Broadband Service accounts for violations of this AUP, except for determining aggregate data consumption in connection with the data consumption provisions of this AUP. However, in the company's efforts to promote good citizenship within the Internet community, it will respond appropriately if it becomes aware of inappropriate use of the Broadband Service. Plateau has no obligation to monitor the Broadband Service and/or the network. However, Plateau and its suppliers reserve the right at any time to monitor bandwidth, usage, transmissions, and content in order to, among other things, operate the Broadband Service; identify violations of this AUP; and/or protect the network, the Broadband Service and Plateau users.

Plateau prefers to inform customers of inappropriate activities and give them a reasonable period of time in which to take corrective action. Plateau also prefers to have customers directly resolve any disputes or disagreements they may have with others, whether customers or not, without Plateau's intervention. However, if the Broadband Service is used in a way that Plateau or its suppliers, in their sole discretion, believe violates this AUP, Plateau or its suppliers may take any responsive actions they deem appropriate under the circumstances with or without notice. These actions include, but are not limited to, temporary or permanent removal of content, cancellation of newsgroup posts, filtering of Internet transmissions, and the immediate suspension or termination of all or any portion of the Broadband Service (including but not limited to newsgroups). Neither Plateau nor its affiliates, suppliers, or agents will have any liability for any of these responsive actions. These actions are not Plateau's exclusive remedies and Plateau may take any other legal or technical actions it deems appropriate with or without notice.

Plateau reserves the right to investigate suspected violations of this AUP, including the gathering of information from the user or users involved and the complaining party, if any, and examination of material on Plateau 's servers and network. During an investigation, Plateau may suspend the account or accounts involved and/or remove or block material that potentially violates this AUP. You expressly authorize and consent to Plateau and its suppliers cooperating with (i) law enforcement authorities in the investigation of suspected legal violations, and (ii) system administrators at other Internet service providers or other network or computing facilities in order to enforce this AUP. Upon termination of your Broadband Service account, Plateau is authorized to delete any files, programs, data, e-mail and other messages associated with your account (and any secondary accounts).

The failure of Plateau or its suppliers to enforce this AUP, for whatever reason, shall not be construed as a waiver of any right to do so at any time. You agree that if any portion of this AUP is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion will be construed consistent with applicable law as nearly as possible, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Plateau and its affiliates, suppliers, and agents against all claims and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) resulting from any violation of this AUP. Your indemnification will survive any termination of the Subscriber Agreement.

1. Governing Law/Resolution of Disputes - Arbitration

   Any dispute or claim between you, the customer, and Plateau arising out of or relating to the service provided in connection with this Acceptable Use Policy or the Subscriber Agreement shall be resolved by arbitration, unless otherwise specified in customer’s individual Subscriber Agreement. To the extent that there is a conflict regarding this arbitration provision, the customer’s individual Subscriber Agreement supersedes the Terms and Policies of the individual services.

   The arbitrator's decision shall follow the plain meaning of the relevant documents, and shall be final and binding. The parties agree that no arbitrator has the authority to: (i) award relief in excess of what the Subscriber Agreement provides; or (ii) award punitive or exemplary damages. Judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrators may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. All claims shall be arbitrated individually and Customer will not bring, or join any class action of any kind in court or in arbitration or seek to consolidate or bring previously consolidated claims in arbitration. CUSTOMER ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THIS ARBITRATION PROVISION CONSTITUTES A WAIVER OF ANY RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL.

2. Governing Law/Resolution of Disputes - Governing Law

   The Agreement and the relationship between you and Plateau shall be governed by the laws of the state of New Mexico without regard to its conflict of law provisions. To the extent court action is initiated to enforce an arbitration award or for any other reason consistent with the arbitration provision herein, you and Plateau agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within the state of New Mexico and waive any objection as to venue or inconvenient forum. The failure of Plateau to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this AUP or the Subscriber Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of this AUP or the Subscriber Agreement is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of this AUP or the Subscriber Agreement remain in full force and effect. You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of the service, this AUP or the Subscriber Agreement must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.

Plateau is committed to complying with U.S. copyright and related laws, and requires all customers and users of the Broadband Service to comply with these laws. Accordingly, you may not store any material or content on, or disseminate any material or content over, the Broadband Service (or any part of the Broadband Service) in any manner that constitutes an infringement of third-party intellectual property rights, including rights granted by U.S. copyright law. Owners of copyrighted works who believe that their rights under U.S. copyright law have been infringed may take advantage of certain provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the “DMCA”) to report alleged infringements. It is Plateau 's policy in accordance with the DMCA and other applicable laws to reserve the right to terminate the Broadband Service provided to any customer or user who is either found to infringe third-party copyright or other intellectual property rights, including repeat infringers, or who Plateau, in its sole discretion, believes is infringing these rights. Plateau may terminate the Broadband Service at any time with or without notice for any affected customer or user.