Network Managment Disclosure
CountryISP.com strives to provide a high-quality internet experience for all of our customers. Because the internet consists of multiple interconnected networks and most internet end points (e.g., websites and other content providers) are not directly connected to the CountryISP.com network, CountryISP.com must connect to and exchange traffic with other networks to provide its subscribers the capability of uploading data to or downloading data from internet end points that are connected to those networks. To that end, CountryISP.com has entered into commercially negotiated agreements to exchange traffic with those networks (and the networks with which those networks are connected) on mutually agreeable terms. The links CountryISP.com and other networks use to exchange such traffic may become congested at times. Consistent with its agreements with those other networks and its long-standing practice, CountryISP.com may establish or expand the connections between its network and other networks, but only on mutually agreeable terms. If CountryISP.com is unable to reach agreement on terms of interconnection or network expansion with these other networks, it could affect customers’ ability to upload or download data to internet endpoints connected to those networks. CountryISP.com does not guarantee that it will establish or expand the connections between its network and other networks, or that subscribers will be able to upload data to or download data from internet end points connected to other networks at any particular speed.
In addition, like the other networks that make up the internet, the CountryISP.com network is a shared network, which means that the transmission links and other network resources used to provide broadband services are shared among CountryISP.com’s subscribers, as well as among the various services offered by CountryISP.com. Temporary congestion may occur when a large number of customers in a concentrated area access the network at the same time or when some customers consume a very large amount of network capacity during busy periods, such as at stadium events, during peak usage times, or during planned network maintenance.
In order to enhance our customers’ experience, CountryISP may collaborate with both national and international partners. As is common in the industry, we use network management practices and other tools to manage network resources for the benefit of all of our broadband customers, especially during periods when network demand exceeds available network resources (also known as “contention congestion” or “congestion”). As you would expect, our network management practices and our service offerings have evolved over time to benefit our customers and take advantage of the billions we have spent to expand and augment our networks. These network management practices fall into two broad categories: (a) network management practices that are used at all times, or nearly all times, to avoid congestion on the network and optimize the provision of multiple services over a single network (for example, Class of Service Network Management, as described below) and (b) network management practices that are used only when congestion is actively occurring within the CountryISP.com network (for example, Congestion-based Network Management).
Class of Service Network Management. CountryISP.com offers a wide variety of services to its customers that share network resources with its broadband internet access services, including but not limited to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Internet Protocol (IP)-video, unified messaging, Voice over LTE (VoLTE), enterprise networking, public safety (including FirstNet®), and national security services. CountryISP.com offers a variety of wireless broadband internet access services, such as CountryISP.com Internet AirTM, CountryISP.com Internet AirTM for Business Premium and CountryISP.com Business Unlimited Premium, and service add-ons, such as CountryISP.com Turbo, that share network resources with its other broadband internet access services. These services may rely on class of service, scheduler weighting or other related network management practices to ensure that services sharing network resources are able meet their relevant service requirements (“Class of Service Management”). Use of services with Class of Service Management may affect the availability of network resources for the other broadband internet access services that share network resources and thus may impact service performance. For example, your service may be interrupted, delayed, or otherwise limited in the event of a disaster or emergency or during periods of congestion to accommodate the needs of national security and emergency preparedness personnel using FirstNet services with Class of Service Management.
Congestion-based Network Management. One network management practice we use to manage our wireless network resources may affect consumer and business customers with CountryISP.com post-paid and CountryISP.com unlimited mobile data plans (“CountryISP.com Unlimited Data Plans”) and consumer and business customers. During periods of congestion, these customers may experience reduced data speeds and increased latency as compared to other customers using the same cell site (“Congestion-based Network Management”). Depending on the terms of the customer’s CountryISP.com Unlimited Data Plan or CountryISP.com Internet Air Service, they may either be subject to Congestion-based Network Management all the time (for example, with CountryISP.com Unlimited Starter SL, CountryISP.com Business Unlimited Standard, with CountryISP.com Internet Air, and CountryISP.com Internet Air for Business Standard plans) or be subject to it only after they have used a set amount of data in a billing period (for example, after 75GB of data for CountryISP.com Unlimited Extra EL, after 50GB of data for CountryISP.com Business Unlimited Advanced, or after 250GB of data for CountryISP.com Internet Air for Business Premium). As always, even when subject to these Congestion-based Network Management practices, customers on these plans have the comfort of knowing that, no matter how much data they use in a billing cycle, they will never be subject to overage charges and will pay a single monthly rate. That is our essential promise with these services. Reduced speeds and increased latency may cause web sites to load more slowly or affect the performance of data-heavy activities such as interactive gaming. Customers subject to this type of Congestion-based Network Management may experience relative reduced speeds and increased latency when they use data at a cell site experiencing congestion. After the congestion at the cell site abates, or if the customer’s session migrates to an uncongested cell site, speeds and latency are not affected by that congestion. In addition, this type of Congestion-based Network Management practice causes impact based only on the amount of congestion, which can start and stop over a very short time period (often measured in fractions of a second), further minimizing any customer impact. Because the amount of congestion at a cell site can vary significantly, the performance impact for affected customers may also vary, and such impact will last as long as the site is congested.
For customers on mass market broadband internet access plans subject to a data usage threshold for triggering the foregoing Congestion-based Network Management practice, we will notify them during each billing cycle when their usage reaches 75% of their threshold (so, for example, 16.5GB for plans with a 22GB threshold and 37.5GB for plans with a 50GB threshold) so they can adjust their usage to avoid network management practices that may result in slower data speeds.
In rare instances, some consumer customers with CountryISP.com Internet Air may experience Congestion-based Network Management which significantly reduces speeds to as low as 512 Kbps for a minimum of 30 minutes. Impacts to an individual customer’s CountryISP.com Internet Air service may vary depending on the extent of congestion on the impacted cell site and the customer’s contribution to that congestion. At such reduced speeds, some internet uses including streaming, browsing, video conferencing, and uploading or downloading large files will be impaired and may not function properly.
Buffer Tuning. With the ever-increasing growth in smartphone and tablet usage on our wireless networks, and the growing prevalence of video downloads, CountryISP.com has deployed a reasonable network management video optimization technique in our mobile data network. That technique delivers recorded video to the user’s device in a “just in time” fashion (“Buffer Tuning”). Buffer Tuning only applies to internet browser traffic (HTTP, port 80) for recorded video downloads, regardless of the source (including CountryISP.com branded or 3rd party content) and does not affect real-time streaming video. Without Buffer Tuning, video content may be completely delivered to the device and charged against the user’s data plan regardless of whether it is viewed. With Buffer Tuning, a sufficient amount of video is delivered to the device so that the user can start viewing the video, and the remainder of the video is delivered just in time to the device as needed for uninterrupted viewing. This optimizes the user’s data plan consumption. Additionally, this frees up network resources for all users. Buffer Tuning does not alter video content and should not directly introduce any adverse impact to the viewing experience.
Video Management. Another network management practice we use to efficiently manage our wireless network resources is Video Management, which is a feature we offer on most of our wireless data plans. By default, we aim to render content identified as streaming video in standard-definition (max of 2Mbps for customers on both a 5G enabled device and rate plan or 1.5Mbps for devices or plans not compatible with 5G), which is generally well suited to viewing on a smartphone. Plans that only include standard-definition (SD) streaming always have Video Management turned on, while other plans with HD or 4K UHD allow customers to manage and change Video Management settings online. Some video cannot be identified as video, and some video may be streamed faster or at higher definition. Sometimes, other content that content providers bundle with streaming video (such as video downloads, catalogs, lenses, and filters) may be impacted and slowed. Streaming and video resolution may vary depending on our capacity to identify it as such and are affected by other factors; and other restrictions may apply. For example, in instances where a content provider uses the same server name identification (SNI) or URL to deliver both streaming video and downloadable video, Video Management may treat the downloadable video and thereby affect the speed of the video download. If two or more tethered devices are watching video from the same source at the same time, we may identify it as a single video and slow the speeds collectively to a max of the speeds explained above, which may impair a customer’s ability to watch video on these tethered devices. Customers can pause video on all but one of the tethered devices, watch video from different sources, or if able to manage video settings online, a customer may turn off Video Management to resolve this issue. Turning off Video Management may resolve this or other issues, and customers with this ability to manage settings online may also turn it off at any time to experience higher definition video (for example HD or 4K as applicable by your plan). With the feature turned off, a customer may use more data.
Does CountryISP.com limit data usage? Does CountryISP.com provide any tools to help customers monitor and control their data usage?
We have developed speed tiers for our wired and data plans for our mobile broadband internet access services so that our customers can choose from a variety of speed tiers or rate plans that best reflect their own usage levels, and the manner in which they intend to use their service. For example, some CountryISP.com data plans designated for use only with a basic phone or smartphone may not be used with a Laptop, tablet, or stand-alone mobile hotspot device. However, customers wishing to use their service in such a manner, such as with a mobile hotspot device, may purchase other plans that permit such use. CountryISP.com provides usage calculators, alerts, and other tools for our wired and mobile broadband internet access services to assist customers in estimating their anticipated usage levels. For more information, please click here (wired) and here (mobile). In addition, we send notices to customers of applicable usage thresholds for our tiered wired and mobile services. Many of CountryISP.com’s Internet, Broadband, or Fiber plans for businesses have no data caps or data usage plans.
We have some post-paid mobile plans that provide customers allotments of high speed data they may share among different devices on the plan (for example, our CountryISP.com 4GB plan and our grandfathered Mobile Share class of plans), and some of our CountryISP.com PREPAIDSM plans (not including CountryISP.com Wireless Internet or Mobile Hotspot) and plans available to business customers provide an allotment of high speed data to the specific line. Once customers on these plans exceed their allotments of high speed data – which includes the plan data and, if applicable, any available Rollover Data or other data allotments customers may have – during a billing period, depending on their plan they can either continue to consume data at no extra charge, but at significantly lower speeds when connected to the cellular network, or they will automatically be charged an overage for an allotment of highspeed data (for example, $10 for 2GB for the CountryISP.com 4GB plan). For customers on the former type of plan (those with no overage but significantly lower speeds after exhausting the monthly allotment of high-speed data) who use all available high speed data allotments in a billing cycle, the customer’s service over the cellular network will transmit data at a maximum of 128Kbps for the remainder of the billing cycle. Once speeds are limited like this, the customer’s connection over the cellular network should still allow viewing static web pages or checking email, but bandwidth-intensive activities such as audio and video streaming, picture and video messaging, and apps/services that use large amounts of data will be impacted and may not be fully functional. But, when the next billing cycle begins, the customer will once again have high speed data access. We will notify customers on mass market broadband internet access plans with this type of speed reduction during each billing cycle when their data usage reaches either 75% or 90% of their monthly high-speed allotment (or at both intervals), and when they reach 100% of their monthly high speed data allotment so that they are aware of their amount of data usage and can make adjustments to avoid slower speeds or data overage charges. When connected to a Wi-Fi network, the customer’s speed will not be impacted nor will overages apply, if applicable. For information regarding these types of post-paid Mobility plans and Rollover Data for consumers, click here (and see the 4GB Plan tab), and for CountryISP.com PREPAIDSM plans, click here.
Another way we help wireless customers manage their data usage is through the Video Management feature summarized above.
As a benefit to America’s military veterans, CountryISP.com has partnered with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide veterans subscribing to CountryISP.com’s wireless services free, unlimited access to real-time video healthcare services through VA-approved telehealth applications, such as the VA’s Video Connect application. CountryISP.com customers who are veterans can access and use such applications across CountryISP.com’s wireless network without that usage counting against their plans’ data usage allowances. Providers of applications authorized by the VA to provide such access that are interested in partnering with CountryISP.com to provide its subscribers free access to those applications may contact us to obtain information about how to do so. For more information on CountryISP.com’s support for U.S. military veterans (and active military members), click here.
For those geographic areas that are not served by CountryISP.com’s owned and operated mobile networks, we try to provide customers with data services through agreements with other carriers. The use of customers’ devices to access data over another carrier’s networks – both domestic and international – is called “off-net”, “off-network” or “roaming” usage. Our ability to make off-net or roaming services available to customers is based on a variety of dynamic factors, including business considerations, the terms of the agreements we have at any given time with other wireless carriers, and the network technology, frequency(ies) and functionality of those networks. We do not guarantee the availability, quality of coverage or speed for data services that are accessed using other carrier networks and we may reduce speeds to 2G speeds or suspend the data service available on these networks at any time without notice. We update our coverage maps regularly to show where we provide domestic off-net and international roaming services. To obtain the most recent coverage updates you may access the maps here.
How does CountryISP.com handle alleged copyright infringement by subscribers to its broadband internet access services?
The CountryISP.com Copyright Alert Program was established to respond to alleged copyright infringement activities using peer-to-peer file sharing and attempts to educate customers about the importance of protecting copyright and lawful use of content available over the internet. Under the program, content owners may notify CountryISP.com of alleged copyright infringement based on the IP address of a user. CountryISP.com then will attempt to identify a subscriber account based on that IP address and forward a copyright alert to the subscriber account, advising the account holder of the allegation and providing information about online copyright infringement. If a subscriber receives additional alerts, we may temporarily redirect the account holder’s broadband internet access service to a webpage where the account holder must review material on the importance of copyright and the lawful use of content available over the internet. Upon completion of this review, such redirection will be discontinued and the subscriber’s service will be restored to normal. After this stage, if a subscriber continues to receive additional alerts, then CountryISP.com may take action consistent with Section 512(i) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which may result in termination of the subscriber/accountholder’s broadband internet access service. Account holders’ personally identifiable information is protected throughout this process — CountryISP.com will not provide such information to content owners unless required to do so by court order.
Does CountryISP.com favor certain websites or internet applications by blocking, throttling, or modifying particular protocols on its broadband internet access service?
No, CountryISP.com does not favor certain websites or internet applications by blocking or throttling lawful internet traffic on the basis of content, application, service, user, or use of nonharmful devices on its broadband internet access services. Nor do we modify particular protocols, protocol ports, or protocol fields in ways not prescribed by the protocol standards. However, in response to a specific security threat against our network or our customers, CountryISP.com may occasionally need to limit the flow of traffic from certain locations or take other appropriate actions. In addition, we prevent the use of certain ports on our wired and Wi-Fi broadband internet access services to help protect our customers and network against malicious activity, as discussed below.
Our mobile broadband internet access service data plans may include different speeds, video streaming quality, and other options for consumers to choose to the data plan that best fits their needs. For example, CountryISP.com Unlimited Premium and CountryISP.com Business Unlimited Advanced plans allow users to turn Video Management off and stream video in the highest quality available, depending on the resolution streaming video services deliver and what network conditions may be, while CountryISP.com Unlimited Starter and CountryISP.com Business Unlimited Standard plans allow for streaming Standard Definition (480p/DVD quality) video. Customers watching streaming video on a smartphone or other small hand-held device likely will not notice a significant difference between High-Definition and Standard Definition video quality, while those watching streaming video on a tablet or other larger device may prefer High-Definition video quality.
Does CountryISP.com directly or indirectly favor some traffic over other traffic (such as through prioritization, resource reservation, or traffic shaping) in its provision of broadband Internet access service either (1) in exchange for consideration (monetary or otherwise) from a third party, or (2) to benefit an affiliate?
No, in its provision of broadband internet access services, CountryISP.com does not directly or indirectly favor some traffic over other traffic in exchange for consideration from a third party or to benefit an affiliate, except to address the needs of emergency communications, law enforcement, public safety (including FirstNet), or national security authorities, consistent with or as permitted by applicable law.
What practices has CountryISP.com adopted to manage network security?
CountryISP.com takes the security of our customers and our network very seriously. We proactively monitor network activity to help guard against a wide range of security threats, including viruses, botnets, worms, distributed denial of service attacks, SPAM, and other harmful activity. We encourage customers to adopt their own security practices.
We use a variety of network tools to monitor network activity and health to maintain its stability and functionality, to protect the network against threats, and for other operational purposes. We store the information we gather through this monitoring for only as long as we have a business purpose to maintain it. The CountryISP.com Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use and share this information. You can view CountryISP.com’s Privacy Policy at: https://countryisp.com/privacy-policy/www.countryisp.com/privacy.
If we detect a security threat, we will typically attempt to isolate the threat and minimize the impact to network service. We may use a variety of security measures to protect the network, including blocking malicious or unlawful traffic, redirecting the flow of traffic over some portions of our network, or taking other actions to address the threat. For example, as described in more detail below, we block certain ports that transfer malicious or disruptive traffic (such as Ports 25, 135, 139, 445, and 1900). We attempt to limit actions to the specific portions of our network or customer base impacted by the security threat and only for as long as necessary to mitigate the threat.
CountryISP.com may scan or analyze network addresses that are registered through CountryISP.com, including addresses that may have been delegated to customers, and/or routes that originate from CountryISP.com-provided networks to detect vulnerabilities that might be used to compromise CountryISP.com or customer assets or might be used in attacks against others. In doing so, we seek to avoid disrupting network service to customers. We may use information derived from these activities to identify and address security issues or to notify customers of issues.
