Acceptable Use Policy | Southern Linc

This Acceptable Use Policy (the “Policy”) is the Southern Linc ("we," "us," or "our") policy governing the acceptable use of our phones, data equipment, or accessories (the "Equipment"), our website, and our wireless telecommunications services, data services, and software (the "Services") on our telecommunications system (the "System"). Our System consists of our regional Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network (periodically updated) providing regional LTE Services which is available to new and existing customers. As a condition of using the Equipment and the Services, and in addition to the terms and conditions contained in the applicable Southern Linc customer agreement (a copy of which may be found at www.southernlinc.com/privacy/customer-terms-conditions.aspx ("Customer Agreement")), Customer ("you" or "your") shall comply (and shall cause any third parties whom you allow to use the Equipment or Services or to have access to the System (“Your Users”) to comply) with the following Policy . By accessing or using (or permitting Your Users to access or use) the System, you agree (and as applicable shall cause Your Users to agree) to the terms of this Policy, as we may modify from time to time at our sole discretion. We may, but are not required to, monitor your or Your Users' compliance with the terms and conditions of this Policy. This Policy is in addition to and does not affect or modify any other rights we may have under law or contract. If you or Your Users do not agree to accept and comply with this Policy, then do not (nor permit Your Users to) access or use our System. If you have any questions regarding this Policy, you may contact us at privacy@southernco.com.

It is your responsibility to check this Policy periodically for modifications and to comply with such modifications in order to continue to use the website, the Services and the System.

Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Policy may be found in your Customer Agreement. Unless otherwise indicated, references to your compliance (or failure to comply) with obligations and other terms and conditions set forth in this Policy are to be read as including your obligation to cause Your Users to so comply.

I. SYSTEM COMPLIANCE

a. System Use. The System may be used only for lawful purposes. Using the System, Services, or Equipment to transmit, distribute, copy, display or store any material of any type or in any format in violation of any applicable law or regulation is prohibited. This prohibition includes, without limitation, material protected by any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, or other intellectual property right used without proper authorization, and material that is obscene or defamatory, or any material that constitutes an illegal threat or violates export control laws. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, in the event of your copyright infringement(s), we may terminate or deny your or Your Users' access to the System or the Services without notice. In addition, you shall comply with all applicable local, state, national and international laws and regulations including those related to data privacy, international communications, and exportation of technical or personal data. In accordance with 47 U.S.C. Section 230(c) (www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2011-title47/USCODE-2011-title47-chap5-subchapII-partI-sec230), we expressly reserve the right to deny, suspend, or terminate the Services if your use of the Services or your use of an alias or the aliases of Your Users on your account, whether explicitly or implicitly, and in our sole discretion: (a) is obscene, indecent, pornographic, sadistic, cruel or racist in nature, or of a sexually explicit or graphic nature; (b) espouses, promotes or incites bigotry, hatred or racism; (c) might be legally actionable for any reason; (d) is otherwise objectionable for any reason; or (e) in any manner violates the terms of this Policy or any operating rule, policy, or guideline of any other online service provider or interactive service.

b. System Security Violations. Violations of system/network security or unauthorized use of the System are prohibited and may result in criminal and civil liability. INDIRECT OR ATTEMPTED VIOLATIONS OF THIS POLICY, AND ACTUAL OR ATTEMPTED VIOLATIONS BY A THIRD PARTY ON BEHALF OF YOU OR YOUR END USER, WILL BE CONSIDERED VIOLATIONS OF THIS POLICY BY YOU. We reserve the right to investigate incidents involving such violations and/or to cooperate with legal authorities and/or injured third parties in the investigation of any suspected crime or civil wrong. Such cooperation may include, but may not be limited to, provision of account or user information as well as monitoring of the System. Examples of System security violations include, without limitation: (a) unauthorized access to or use of data, systems or networks, whether or not any intrusion results in corruption or loss of data; (b) unauthorized attempts to gain privileged access to any System element; (c) unauthorized monitoring of data or traffic on any network/system without express authorization of the owner of the system/network; (d) interference with service to any user, host or network including, without limitation, mailbombing, flooding, deliberate attempts to overload a system and broadcast attacks; (e) forging of any TCP-IP packet header or any part of the header information in an email or a newsgroup posting. You are responsible for the security of the Equipment or any device connected to the System. You will, at your expense, take all reasonable physical and information systems security measures necessary to protect the Equipment or any device used in connection with the Services or the System. Any Equipment or device suspected of attacking other systems, including, without limitation, having fallen victim to viruses or worms, will be taken off the System, without notice, until it has been made secure.

c. Limitations on Liability. You acknowledge and agree (i) that we are not liable, either in contract or in tort, for any loss resulting from any unauthorized access to or alteration of, theft, destruction, corruption, or use of, the System or any device or Equipment used in connection with the Services; (ii) (to the extent applicable) that the statutory immunity set forth in 47 U.S.C. Section 230(c)(2) fully applies to any action that we take in accordance with this Policy; and (iii) you hereby both (a) covenant not bring such action in contract or tort as described in, and (b) waive your right to contest the immunity referenced in, (i) and (ii) foregoing respectively.

d. Restrictions on Communications. Using the System or Equipment to send unsolicited email messages, including, without limitation, commercial advertising and informational announcements, is explicitly prohibited. A user will not use another site's email server to relay email without the express permission of the site. Posting the same or similar message to one or more newsgroups (excessive cross-posting or multiple-posting, also known as "SPAM") is explicitly prohibited. We reserve the right to refuse any email and other connections from outside hosts that send unsolicited, mass or commercial messages, or messages that may be illegal or may contain interfering, disruptive, damaging or destructive software code, including, without limitation, any virus or worm, and to filter, refuse, or discard such messages.

e. . Service and Equipment Use. You agree not to misuse the Services or any Equipment, including: (a) reselling or rebilling our Service or Equipment (except as expressly authorized in a written agreement by us and, if applicable, our nationwide services provider); (b) using the Service or Equipment to engage in unlawful activity, or engaging in conduct that adversely affects our customers, employees, business, or any other person(s), or that interferes with our operations, network, reputation, or ability to provide quality service; (c) tampering with or modifying your Equipment; (d) "spamming" or engaging in other abusive or unsolicited communications; (e) during the term of your Customer Agreement tampering with, reprogramming or altering Equipment for the purpose of reselling the device; (f) misusing data services as provided below in paragraph II(b) entitled "Data Services;" or (g) assisting or facilitating anyone else in any of the above activities.

f. Radio Frequency Compliance. You agree that you will not install, deploy, or use any regeneration equipment or similar mechanism (for example, a repeater) to originate, amplify, enhance, retransmit or regenerate a transmitted Radio Frequency ("RF") signal, except as otherwise agreed by us in writing and in accordance with regulations of the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC").

g. User Cooperation. You agree to cooperate with us and provide requested information in connection with all security and use matters. You agree to notify us promptly if you suspect unauthorized use of the System or the Services. You remain liable for unauthorized use until you notify us at privacy@southernco.com.

II. USAGE ALLOWANCE LIMITATIONS

a. Voice Services. All voice services (including unlimited plans and plans with a defined number of minutes each month) may be used only in accordance with this Policy. All voice services are provided solely for live dialog between two individuals and as otherwise described in this Policy. Voice services include both attempted use (i.e., incomplete calls) and actual use of voice services. Voice services also include the use of some user initiated Services, such as voice mail, call forwarding and GroupTALK (Group Push to Talk), that are specifically provided by us (or our nationwide services provider partners) as part of your service plan. Voice services may not be used for any other purpose, including but not limited to, providing conference calling services, monitoring services, data transmissions, transmission of broadcasts, or transmission of recorded material. If we discover that you are using a voice service in violation of your Customer Agreement and/or this Policy or in any other manner that we deem to be unreasonable, then we may, at our sole option, terminate your Services or change your service plan to a service plan that more appropriately covers your usage. In the event that we intend to take any of the above actions, we will provide you with prior notice, and you may choose (as your sole and exclusive remedy in response to such actions) to terminate your Customer Agreement without incurring any additional fees for termination.

b. Data Services. Data services on the System are intended for individual use only and may be used to access the Internet, email, or corporate intranet servers, or to send or receive graphics, games, music, sound, and other materials. Examples of data services include picture messaging, app usage, and browsing the Internet. Data services may not be used: (a) with server devices or host computer applications, or other systems that drive continuous heavy traffic or data sessions, including, without limitation, running software or other devices that maintain continuously active Internet connections when a computer's connection would otherwise be idle, or "keep alive" functions; (b) as substitutes or backups for private lines, dedicated data connections, or frame relay connections; (c) for accessing, or attempting to access without authority, the information, accounts or devices of others, or to penetrate, or attempt to penetrate, the System; (d) with "bots" or similar routines that could disrupt net user groups or email use by others or with other applications that denigrate network capacity or functionality; or (e) with any other systems or applications that interfere with or disrupt the System or engaging in any other activity that adversely affects the ability of other individual users or systems to use either the System or third parties' Internet-based applications or resources including, but not limited to, excessive consumption of System or network resources (whether intentional or unintentional) and "denial of service" (DoS) attacks against another network host or individual user. Except as otherwise permitted under your Customer Agreement (for example, by subscribing to regional LTE tracking applications), data services on the System may not be used for: web camera posts or broadcasts, automatic data feeds, telemetry applications, peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, automated functions, any other machine-to-machine applications, WWAN or other applications or devices that aggregate usage from multiple sources prior to transmission. We also reserve the right with prior notice to you to restrict your usage of data services or terminate your data services if such usage, in our sole discretion, (a) adversely affects the System, network performance, or our ability to allocate equitable network capability among customers; (b) interferes with or degrades other customers' service; or (c) is otherwise not in compliance with this Policy.

c. Data Usage Allowances. To utilize data, you must subscribe to a data plan or a service plan that includes data services. Your data service usage allowance is governed by your rate plan. Please check your rate plan or contact Customer Solutions to determine your data limit. Unused monthly data does not carry forward to the next billing cycle. Data usage is rounded up to the next megabyte.

d. Roaming. Nationwide roaming outside of our Regional Service Area is provided by our nationwide services provider partners. Roaming may occur even if you are within our Regional Service Area. Use of Services when roaming is dependent upon our nationwide services provider partners support of applicable network technology and functionality. Availability and quality of coverage, and access to Services while roaming are not guaranteed. By subscribing to the Services, you agree that your use of our Services is intended to be primarily within our Regional Service Area. You further agree not to misuse or abuse roaming, which includes, but is not limited to, excessive roaming usage. You may not use roaming abroad. We may, in our sole discretion, limit or terminate your Service, deny your continued use of roaming, or change your plan to one imposing roaming usage charges. In the event that we intend to take any of the above actions, we will provide you with prior notice, and you may choose (as your sole and exclusive remedy to such actions) to terminate your Customer Agreement without incurring additional fees for termination.

III. CONTENT AND APPLICATIONS

Content and applications developed by third parties (e.g., downloadable or networked applications, wallpaper, ringtones, games, and productivity tools) ("Content & Apps") may be preloaded on your device or may be purchased for download. Content & Apps for smartphones may be purchased through applicable marketplaces, and you may direct any questions to the seller identified at the point of purchase. We are not responsible for your use of Content & Apps, including for download installation, use, transmission failure, interruption or delay or for any content or website you may be able to access through any Content & Apps. Furthermore, Content & Apps may not be optimized to operate on our devices. When you use, download or install Content & Apps, you may be subject to license terms between you and the third party seller, app developer or content owner. Content & Apps that you purchase are licensed for personal, lawful, non-commercial use on your device only. You may not transfer, copy, or reverse engineer any of the Content & Apps, or alter, disable or circumvent any digital rights management security features embedded in the Content & Apps.

YOUR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ANY OF THE TERMS OF THIS POLICY WILL BE DEEMED A MATERIAL BREACH OF YOUR CUSTOMER AGREEMENT.