Terms Of Service

USER AGREEMENT

This Agreement (the “Agreement”) is entered into by and between you (“you” or “subscriber”) and GVEC.net.

You are deemed to have accepted this Agreement upon the earliest of: (a) your submission of an order/subscription; (b) your accepting the terms and conditions electronically during the ordering process; or (c) your use of the Service (as defined herein). This Agreement includes the terms set forth herein (including the Acceptable Use Policy and all other materials specifically referenced in this Agreement, all of which are incorporated by reference herein). This Agreement sets forth the terms and conditions under which you agree to use the Services.

1. Term

The initial term of this contract is twelve (12) months (the “Initial Term”) commencing on the day such Subscriber accepts the terms of this Agreement as provided above. At the end of the Initial Term, this Agreement will auto‐renew on a month‐to‐month basis, incorporating GVEC.net’s then‐current terms and conditions as posted on its website. Your payment and/or continued use of the service will constitute acceptance of the renewal of this Agreement incorporating any updated terms of service.

2. Termination

A. Termination by Subscriber. Subscriber may terminate this Agreement at any time for any reason by providing GVEC.net with a thirty (30) day notice in the form of a phone call or other valid written termination request as determined by GVEC.net, and paying all fees and other charges accrued or otherwise payable under the terms of this Agreement. Such thirty (30) day period begins on the date on which GVEC.net receives Subscriber’s phone request, or other valid written termination request. If this Agreement is terminated prior to the end of the Initial Term, Subscriber shall pay, in addition to all fees and other charges accrued or otherwise payable under the terms of this Agreement, an early termination fee (“Early Termination Fee”) in the amount of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00).

B. Termination by GVEC.net. If, in GVEC.net’s sole discretion, (a) a subscriber is in breach of any of the terms of this Agreement (including but not limited to the Acceptable Use Policy); (b) a Subscriber’s use of the services as set forth herein is prohibited by law or is disruptive to, adversely impacts or causes a malfunction to the services, GVEC.net’s servers or other equipment, or the use and enjoyment of other users; (c) a Subscriber acts in an abusive or menacing manner when dealing with GVEC.net’s employees or representatives; (d) GVEC.net receives an order from a court to terminate a Subscriber’s service; or (e) GVEC.net for any reason ceases to offer the services described herein, then GVEC.net at its sole election may terminate or suspend such Subscriber’s services immediately without notice. For a termination in accordance with this paragraph, Subscriber remains liable for all unpaid fees and other charges accrued or otherwise payable under the terms of this Agreement, including without limitation the Early Termination Fee and equipment charges set forth herein, if applicable. No Early Termination fee will be charged if the reason for termination by GVEC.net is because GVEC.net has ceased to offer the services described herein.

3. INTENTIONAL DAMAGE TO EQUIPMENT/EQUIPMENT RETURN DISCLOSURE

Any intentional or preventable damage to, or the failure to return GVEC.net’s equipment upon disconnection, shall at GVEC.net’s discretion, result in a buyout of said equipment by Subscriber at fair market value of such equipment.

4. LIMITATIONS ON SERVICE

GVEC.net does not provide technical assistance for third‐party hardware or software, including but not limited to home networks or gaming systems. Any questions concerning third party hardware or software should be directed to the manufacturer of that product. GVEC.net is not responsible for the operation or support, maintenance or repair of any equipment, software or services that Subscriber elects to use in connection with the Internet Service. Subscriber is also responsible for providing a compatible Ethernet network port (such as in a computer or access point) to connect to the equipment provided by GVEC.net.

5. WARRANTIES AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY

Subscriber acknowledges and agrees that the service and equipment supplied hereunder is provided on an “as is” or “as available” basis, with all faults. Except as otherwise specifically set forth in this agreement and as otherwise specifically set forth in any manufacturer warranty for any software or equipment provided by GVEC.net (but only if such warranty is included with such software or equipment), GVEC.net (and its officers, employees, parent, subsidiaries, and affiliates, its third party licensors, GVEC.nets and suppliers disclaim any and all warranties for the service and equipment whether express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, non-infringement, non‐interference, title, compatibility of computer systems, integration, and those arising from course of dealing, course of trade, or arising under statute. No advice or information given by GVEC.net or its representatives shall create a warranty. Use of GVEC.net technical support is at subscriber’s own risk and is not warranted.

GVEC.net does not warrant that the service or equipment provided by GVEC.net will perform at a particular speed, bandwidth or data throughput rate, or will be uninterrupted, error‐free, secure, or free of viruses, worms, or the like. GVEC.net shall not be liable for loss of subscriber’s data, or if changes in operation, procedures, or services require modification or alteration of subscriber’s equipment, render the same obsolete or otherwise affect its performance. GVEC.net makes no warranty regarding any transactions executed using the service, the equipment or the internet. GVEC.net makes no warranty regarding the content and information accessed by using the service, the equipment or any links displayed.

Subscriber expressly assumes all risk and responsibility for use of the service, the equipment and the internet generally. Subscriber agrees to use all services at subscriber ‘s own risk. Subscriber agrees not to use the service or the equipment in any high-risk activities where damage or injury to person, property, environment, or business may result if an error occurs.

In no event shall GVEC.net (or its officers, employees, parent, subsidiaries, or affiliates), its third party licensors, companies or suppliers be liable for: (a) any direct, indirect, special, consequential or incidental damages, including without limitation, lost profits or loss of revenue or damage to data arising out of the use, partial use or inability to use the service or the equipment, regardless of the type of claim or the nature of the cause of action, including without limitation, those arising under contract, tort, negligence or strict liability, even if GVEC.net has been advised of the possibility of such claim or damages, or (b) any claims against subscriber by another party. If this waiver and release is not given full effect, then the total amount of any liability of the GVEC.net shall not exceed the total fees actually paid by subscriber for the services (excluding amounts paid for other goods or services provided by the GVEC.net or its affiliates) for the one month preceding the GVEC.net’s receipt of written notice of subscriber’s claim.

6. INDEMNIFICATION

You agree to protect, defend, indemnify and hold harmless, GVEC.net from and against all liabilities, losses, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees, related to or arising from: (a) any violation or breach of applicable laws, regulations or this agreement by you (or any parties who use your account, with or without your permission, to access the services referenced herein; (b) the use of the services referenced herein and any associated software and equipment or the internet or the placement or transmission of any message, information, software or other materials on the internet by you (or any parties who use your account, with or without your permission, to access the services referenced herein); (c) negligent acts, errors, or omissions by you (or any parties who use your account, with or without your permission, to access the services referenced herein); (d) injuries to or death of any person and for damages to or loss of any property, which may in any way arise out of or result from or in connection with this agreement; or (e) claims for libel, unfair competition, unfair trademarks, trade names or patents, violations of rights of privacy and infringement of any intellectual property rights arising from your use of the services referenced herein and any associated software and equipment and the internet.

7. CHOICE OF LAW

You agree that this service is governed by the Laws of the State of Texas. You agree that Gonzales County, Texas shall be the forum for any legal action relating to the services referenced herein.

8. COMPLIANCE AND WAIVER

GVEC.net’s failure at any time to insist upon strict compliance with any of the provisions of this Agreement in any instance shall not be construed to be a waiver of such terms in the future. If any provision of this Agreement is determined to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality, and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby, and the unenforceable portion shall be construed as nearly as possible to reflect the original intentions of the parties.

9. FORCE MAJEURE

GVEC.net will not be liable for delays, damages or failures in performance due to causes beyond its reasonable control, including, but not limited to, acts of a governmental body, acts of God, acts of third parties, fires, floods, strikes or other labor‐related disputes, of other things we do not control, or an inability to obtain necessary equipment or services.

10. ENTIRE AGREEMENT

This Agreement, including the Acceptable Use Policy is posted at GVEC.net under “Terms of Service and Policies.” These terms are the only terms and conditions that govern the Internet Service. No undertaking, representation or warranty made by any agent or representative of GVEC.net in connection with the sale, installation, maintenance or removal of the Internet Service shall modify or amend this Agreement or the General Terms and Conditions for GVEC.net Internet Services.

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

GVEC.net, Inc. was founded based on the goal of providing affordable, reliable and fast access to the Internet for all of its customers in south central Texas.

Since its beginning, GVEC.net has accomplished this goal by continually investing in the latest technology and telecommunications infrastructure, maintaining a customer‐to‐modem ratio at a level that minimizes busy signals for our dial‐up customers, and monitoring and maintaining our high-speed Internet systems to make certain that we are proving quality service for our broadband customers.

In addition to investing in new technology, additional phone lines, and additional high‐speed equipment, GVEC.net is asking that its customers also be courteous users of the Internet access system. By being courteous users, GVEC.net, Inc. can better insure that all customers have equal access to the Internet and all of its resources. That means appropriately using e‐mail, not posting inappropriate or disruptive information on web pages, and using the system in a manner that complies with the plan you are on.

1. NETWORK SECURITY AND MANAGEMENT

Subscriber agrees that GVEC.net may block traffic to and from any source, including, without limitation, the deletion of any electronic mail, as it deems necessary to secure its network, mitigate attacks or viruses, and/or eliminate spam. GVEC.net may take other actions, in its sole discretion, to manage or protect its network or to benefit the greatest number of its subscribers. GVEC.net may take these actions, with or without notice, in situations where GVEC.net believes, in its sole discretion that Subscriber may harm the GVEC.net network or disrupt the performance of the Internet Service for other users or where Subscriber is transmitting or is otherwise connected with what GVEC.net considers, in its sole discretion, to be spam. GVEC.net may take into account whether any communication may be harmful, deceptive, or damaging to other subscribers, other Internet users, or to GVEC.net infrastructure and operations.

2. COMPLIANCE WITH APPROPRIATE HIGH‐SPEED PLAN

GVEC.net maintains its high‐speed network based on expected use under our existing rate plans. If at any time it is determined that an individual’s usage of bandwidth is beyond what is expected, we reserve the right to upgrade you to a plan that more accurately reflects your usage, or refuse service. To better understand the expected use of each rate plan, please reference our website at www.gvec.net under “Internet Plans.”

3. INAPPROPRIATE USE OF SERVICES

The following are considered to be inappropriate uses of GVEC.net’s services and may subject a user to termination:

• Using GVEC.net’s servers to send bulk network traffic, including bulk e‐mail.
• Repeatedly sending someone messages, including email messages, either actually overloading any network resources or with the intent of overloading any network resources.
• The dissemination of any infringing, libelous, or otherwise illegal material.
• Sending any messages designed to compromise the privacy, information, or computing resources of GVEC.net or any other person.
• Sending any deceptive messages.
• Using any service as part of a larger illegal enterprise, regardless of whether the illegal activity occurs directly on or through GVEC.net.

4. WEB PAGE CONTENT

If a user’s web page housed on GVEC.net’s web server is deemed to be inappropriate or disruptive by GVEC.net, including for any reason listed in Section 3 above, access to such page may be suspended until the user removes or changes the page. GVEC.net will, in its sole discretion, make the determination of what is inappropriate or disruptive.

5. USE OF SERVICE

If you intend to resell the Service, in whole or in part, charge others for the use of the service, or make available to anyone outside your premises the ability to use the Service (including wireless or other methods of networking) or to use it for anything other than your own personal purposes; you must notify GVEC.net and enter into a separate contract for such purposes.

If you intend to operate a mail server or public server of any kind in connection with the Service, you must notify GVEC.net and enter into a separate contract for such purposes.

6. COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

GVEC.net is committed to complying with U.S. copyright law. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (“DMCA”) provides recourse for owners of copyrighted material who believe that their rights under U.S. copyright law have been infringed on the Internet. Under the DMCA, copyright owners may contact the authorized agent of an Internet service provider to report alleged infringements of their protected works appearing on Web pages hosted by the service provider. Upon receipt of a properly filed complaint satisfying the requirements of the DMCA, GVEC.net will remove or block access to the allegedly infringing material hosted by GVEC.net. If you believe in good faith that a notice of copyright infringement has been wrongly filed, you may submit a counter‐notice to GVEC.net. GVEC.net customers who are the subject of a DMCA notification that meets the below criteria may be subject to account termination at GVEC.net’s sole discretion. GVEC.net will not be a party to disputes over alleged copyright infringement.

If you believe that your copyrights have been infringed, or if a notice of copyright infringement has been filed against you, we advise that you seek legal counsel. We are providing the following information to you for informational purposes only.

Notification of Claimed Copyright Infringement

If you believe that a Web page or other material hosted by GVEC.net is violating your rights under U.S. copyright law, you may file a complaint of such claimed infringement with GVEC.net’s designated agent in the manner described below.

By Mail:
GVEC.net Attn: Legal Department, DMCA Correspondence
825 E. Sarah DeWitt Dr. | P.O. Box 118
Gonzales, TX 78629

By Email:
DMCA@gvec.org

For your complaint to be valid under the DMCA, you must provide the following information when providing notice of the claimed copyright infringement:

1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner;
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed;
3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of the infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled as well as information reasonably sufficient to permit GVEC.net to locate the material;
4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit GVEC.net and/or another service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address;
5. A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or law; and
6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

(For more details on the information required for valid DMCA notification, see 17 U.S.C. 512(c) (3).)

You should be aware that, under the DMCA, claimants who make misrepresentations concerning copyright infringement may be liable for damages incurred as a result of the removal or blocking of the material, court costs, and attorney’s fees.

Counter‐Notification Procedures

After receiving a notification of alleged infringement, GVEC.net will remove or disable access to the material hosted by GVEC.net that is claimed to be infringing or claimed to be the subject of infringing activity. At the same time, GVEC.net will provide the Internet service account holder(s) affected (the “User(s)”) with a copy of the notice. User(s) may make a counter notification pursuant to sections 512(g) (2) and (3) of the DMCA. Please be advised that you may be held liable for damages if you make material misrepresentations pursuant to federal law in the counter notification. When we receive a counter notification, we may reinstate the material in question.

To file a counter‐notification, User(s) must provide a written communication with GVEC.net’s designated agent in the manner described below.

By Mail:
GVEC.net Attn: Legal Department, DMCA Correspondence
825 E. Sarah DeWitt Dr. | P.O. Box 118
Gonzales, TX 78629

By Email:
DMCA@gvec.org

For your counter‐notification to be valid under the DMCA, you must provide the following information:

1. Identify the material that GVEC.net has removed or to which GVEC.net has disabled access and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled.

2. Provide your name, postal address, telephone number, email address, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the district in which your address is located, or if your address is outside of the United States, the judicial district in which GVEC.net is located (the Western District of Texas), and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided the initial notification of infringement or an agent of such person.

3. Include the following statement: “I swear, under penalty of perjury, that I have a good faith belief that the removed material was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled.”

4. Sign the paper or affix an electronic or digital signature to the communication in a form reasonably acceptable to GVEC.net.

Upon receipt of a counter‐notification in compliance with the DMCA, GVEC.net will provide the person who provided the initial notification of claimed infringement with a copy of the counter-notification promptly.

After receipt of the counter‐notification, GVEC.net will generally replace the removed material and cease disabling access to it, unless GVEC.net’s designated agent first receives notice from the person who submitted the initial notification that such person has filed an action seeking a court order regarding the removed material.

7. POLICY UPDATES

GVEC.net has adopted this acceptable use policy in an effort to establish reasonable standards for the use of its service. These standards are typical among Internet Service Providers and are put in place by GVEC.net for the mutual benefit of its customers. This policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in the operations of GVEC.net, Inc. or the Internet. Please check back on occasion to determine if there have been changes to this policy.

POLICIES FOR DIAL‐UP ACCOUNTS

Because each active dial‐up customer requires a modem to access the Internet, we have some policies that apply specifically to those accounts. Courteous use of our services includes disconnecting from the system when you are not actively using it and limiting concurrent sessions to one per user name.

1. UNLIMITED DIAL‐UP ACCESS VS. DEDICATED DIAL‐UP ACCESS

As part of GVEC.net’s service, it provides unlimited access to the Internet and e‐mail. The phrase “unlimited access” is intended to mean access to the Internet and all of its resources whenever a user is actually present at his or her computer or Web TV and accessing information. Unlimited access does not include a dedicated connection to one of GVEC.net’s modems. Dedicated access is defined as access to the Internet and all of its resources on a continuous basis whether or not the user is actually present at his or her computer or Web TV.

Because GVEC.net does not know whether a user is “physically” at his or her computer or Web TV, it will adopt a policy defining dedicated access as the use by an account for more than eight consecutive hours a day. If an account uses the Internet for more than eight consecutive hours a day, such account will be asked to upgrade to a dedicated dial‐up account. A user who intentionally misuses the system in an attempt to avoid the intent of this policy may be disconnected.

2. CONCURRENT DIAL‐UP SESSIONS

All dial‐up accounts provided by GVEC.net are single user accounts. This means that only one user name and password is given per account. GVEC.net is aware that customers may have more than one computer set‐up with the same user name and password. However, only one of these computers should be connected at a time. If GVEC.net determines that a user name is being used concurrently on a routine basis, it will contact the customer to determine if he or she would like to add an additional account or refrain from using the user name at the same time.