The Siskiyou Telephone Company

Open Internet Disclosure

November 4th, 2011

General Policy Statement:

The following policies apply to mass market broadband Internet services offered by Siskiyou Telephone.  Siskiyou Telephone also offers enterprise level services that can be individually tailored to customer needs.  Information on enterprise services can be obtained by contacting Siskiyou Telephone via this site:  http://www.siskiyoutelephone.com or via phone: 1.530.467.6000. It is Siskiyou Telephone’s policy to provide robust and reliable access to the Internet for all of its residential and commercial mass market end user customers. Because network resources are shared by all users, Siskiyou Telephone has implemented the following policies to govern mass market Internet service.  These policies are designed to: (i) ensure that shared network resources are allocated fairly among all users; (ii) allow users and prospective users to understand service policies and any significant limitations on the service; and (iii) provide a foundation that assures customers that they can rely on consistently receiving the level and quality of service to which they subscribe.  Siskiyou Telephone does not block access to, nor discriminate against, any lawful website or Internet application and, with respect to fixed Internet access services, supports the ability of users to select and attach the equipment of their choice to the network so long as that equipment: (i) is used for a lawful purpose consistent with Siskiyou Telephone’s Acceptable Use Policy; and (ii) does not harm the network or degrade network performance for other users. Customers are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the following policies which are deemed part of their Service Agreement.  By using Siskiyou Telephone’s Internet service, the customer accepts, agrees to be bound by and to strictly adhere to, these policies.  The customer also agrees to be responsible for compliance with these policies by third parties, such as friends, family members or guests that make use of the customer’s service accounts or equipment to access the network for any purpose, with or without the permission of the customer.

I.  Acceptable Use Policy 

https://www.siskiyoutelephone.com/internet/internet-links/acceptable-use-policy.

II.  System Performance

Siskiyou Telephone provides residential and commercial mass market customers with a choice of data plans to meet their needs.  Siskiyou Telephone also provides enterprise level services that are custom tailored to a specific project and individually priced based on the needs and criteria established by the Enterprise customer. Siskiyou Telephone offers the following mass market services and typical speed ranges.  These speeds were calculated based upon internal testing and the use of website speed tests.

Complete information on all services can be found here:  https://www.siskiyoutelephone.com/internet

While Siskiyou Telephone provisions its network  and equipment to ensure that its customers can enjoy the speeds to which they subscribe, Internet speeds generally result from a “best effort” service and are dependent on a number of variables, many of which are outside the control of an Internet Service Provider.  Such variables include: the age and processing capability of the user’s terminal device or computer;  the number of applications running simultaneously;  the presence of viruses or malware; whether the terminal equipment is connected to the network by wire or by wireless; the distance the data packets must travel between  the user and the website; the presence of congestion on and technical configuration of any intervening networks; any gating or congestion management schemes employed by websites to limit download or upload speeds in cases where multiple users are served simultaneously.  Siskiyou Telephone does not guarantee that a customer will achieve the speeds set forth above at all times. Rather, the foregoing data speeds represent the best information available to Siskiyou Telephone of the typical speeds a customer can expect to experience under normal operating conditions.

Speed tests that allow customers to test the upload, download and latency performance of their broadband data services are available free of charge from a number sources. Generally, these tests are influenced by the same variables that affect Internet speed set forth above.  Accordingly, the speed results would not be expected to match a test of Siskiyou Telephone’s network conducted under laboratory conditions.  Please note, however, that all speed tests use different methodologies to calculate Internet connection speed so each of the tests would be expected to yield different results.  Accordingly, each of these tests should be viewed as a helpful guide rather than as a definitive measurement of performance.

The following speed testing site is affiliated with Siskiyou Telephone: http://siskiyou.speedtest.net.

The following are several sites, unaffiliated with Siskiyou Telephone, that provide speed testing: 

http://www.speedtest.net

http://netalyzr.icsi.berkeley.edu

http://www.broadband.gov/qualitytest/about/

III.  Network Management

Siskiyou Telephone utilizes a fully redundant network architecture that is designed to provide users with true broadband speeds and reliability even during times of peak demand. The network has been constructed to meet projected traffic demands and is fully scalable to allow for capacity to be added to meet customer needs and to support newly developing and increasingly sophisticated applications well into the future.  However, congestion can occur on any IP network, and, when it does, packets can be delayed or dropped, leading to service degradation and delays.  Because network resources are shared by all end users, Siskiyou Telephone reserves the right to implement a traffic management policy designed to ensure that all users are able to utilize their fair share of network resources during periods of high demand.

Prioritization of packets can be used for various purposes, such as to ensure the reliability of applications that demand real time or near real time communications such as public safety communications and, in the context of mobile data services, E-911 communications.  Generally, provisioned data speeds for Siskiyou Telephone’s mass market services are sufficient to support such applications as Voice over IP (VoIP), gaming, web surfing, or most streaming video.  However, because Siskiyou Telephone’s residential, mass market broadband service generally does not prioritize such traffic, it is possible that certain applications requiring real time communications may perform at less than optimal levels.

Siskiyou Telephone does take measures to protect its network and ensure that its AUP is enforced.  For example, Siskiyou Telephone has deployed measures to prevent spam, viruses, and other malware and to monitor and prevent denial of service attacks.  Siskiyou Telephone does not generally interfere with or manage the use of specific protocols or ports.  However, in the interests of network security, Siskiyou Telephone may temporarily disable or block TCP and UDP ports.

Some examples include:

Port: 25

Transport: TCP

Protocol: SMTP

Inbound/Outbound: Both

Reason for Block: Port 25 is an unsecured port on a computer which is an easy target for spammers - often without the user ever knowing his/her computer has been compromised.

Ports: 135-139

Transport: TCP/UDP

Protocol: NetBios

Inbound/Outbound: Both

Reason for Block: NetBios services allow file sharing over networks. When improperly configured, they can expose critical system files or give full file system access (run, delete, copy) to any malicious intruder connected to the network.     

Port: 445

Transport: TCP

Protocol: MS-DS, SMB

Inbound/Outbound: Both

Reason for Block: Security risks; vulnerable to attacks/exploits/worms such as the Sasser and Nimda worms.

Port: 1433

Transport: TCP

Protocol: SQL

Inbound/Outbound: Inbound

Reason for Block: Security risks; vulnerable to attacks/exploits/worms such as the Slammer worm and others that rely on SQL injection vectors.

Device Attachment & Application Rules

Users may generally attach the devices of their choice and run the applications of their choice, subject to the limitations of their data plan and the terms of their service agreement and AUP. While many devices such as routers, Bluetooth and WiFi cards, laptops, notebooks and tablets are readily available from third party sources, such as consumer electronics retailers, - other devices, such as DSL modems and proprietary network gateways  must be provided by or leased from Siskiyou Telephone.  Users are advised to contact Siskiyou Telephone’s technical support (https://www.siskiyoutelephone.com/support) before purchasing any third party equipment to ensure compatibility with the network.  Siskiyou Telephone is not responsible for the compatibility, suitability or functionality of any equipment that is provided by the customer or any third party, and the customer remains fully responsible for ensuring that any such equipment does not cause any harm to the network or degrade the service of other users.

All users are fully responsible for securing their equipment, including wireless routers, to prevent unauthorized access to the network by third parties and will be held fully responsible for the actions of such third parties that gain unauthorized access to the network through unsecured end user equipment.

IV.  Commercial Terms

A.    Pricing

Complete and current pricing information can be obtained via this site:  

https://www.siskiyoutelephone.com/internet or via phone: 1.530.467.6000

B.    Changing or Cancelling Service

See Siskiyou Telephone’s “Internet Service Agreement,” for details: 

https://www.siskiyoutelephone.com/internet/internet-links/internet-service-agreement.

C.    Privacy Policy Related to Network Management Practices

The following documents provide detailed information on Siskiyou Telephone’s Network Privacy Policies related to Network Management Practices:

1.    Privacy Policy

https://www.siskiyoutelephone.com/internet/internet-links/privacy-policy

2.    Acceptable Use Policy

https://www.siskiyoutelephone.com/internet/internet-links/acceptable-use-policy

3.    Internet Service Agreement

https://www.siskiyoutelephone.com/internet/internet-links/internet-service-agreement