RS Fiber Cooperative is a Broadband Internet access service (the “Service”) owned and operated by RS Fiber Cooperative (“RS Fiber”). The following Residential Acceptable Use Policy and Customer Agreement (the “AUP”) applies to all individuals (collectively, “you”) who subscribe to or use or access the Service, including access of the RS Fiber Cooperative network through (“rsfiber.coop“). References to RS Fiber in this AUP include Hiawatha Broadband Communications, Inc. its parent company and its subsidiaries and other affiliates.

-THIS AGREEMENT CONTAINS A BINDING ARBITRATION PROVISION IN SECTION 19 THAT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WITH RESPECT TO ALL SERVICE(S). THE ARBITRATION PROVISION REQUIRES THAT DISPUTES BE RESOLVED IN INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATIONS OR SMALL CLAIMS COURT PROCEEDINGS. IN ARBITRATION, THERE IS NO JUDGE OR JURY AND THERE IS LESS DISCOVERY AND APPELLATE REVIEW THAN IN COURT.

Collection Costs: If we use a collection agency or attorney to collect money owed by you, you agree to pay the reasonable costs of collection, including, but not limited to, any collection agency fees, reasonable attorneys’ fees, and arbitration or court costs.

You must be 18, in good financial standing with RS Fiber and have paid the appropriate subscription fee to sign up for an account with RS Fiber. (Please note: Parents who sign up for their children or allow their children to access their account, will be held responsible for all AUP violations associated with that account.) By accessing the Service, you agree to be bound by all of the following terms and conditions of this AUP as it may be amended from time to time. If you are dissatisfied with the Service or with any terms, conditions, rules, policies, guidelines, or practices of RS Fiber in operating the Service, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using the Service.

You must provide and are responsible for all computer hardware and other equipment necessary to access or use the Service. At a minimum, this includes a computer meeting the following system requirements:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and above, Windows 7, 8 and 10.
• Mac OS currently supported by Apple, Inc.

You may lease equipment, including modems and routers, from us. Customer Equipment is not recommended for use if it does not meet our minimum technical or other specifications including, but not limited to, modems not currently certified by us as compatible with Internet and other Customer Equipment, including, but not limited to: certain makes or models of alarm and security systems or devices, certain medical monitoring devices, personal emergency alert, and home detention devices, certain fax machines, and certain “dial-up” modems, private branch exchange (PBX) equipment, answering machines, and traditional Caller ID units. We reserve the right to deny support for the Service and/or terminate Service if you use a configuration that does not meet our minimum technical or other specifications.

If you use your own or non-recommended equipment and it fails to operate and/or causes damage, RS Fiber will not be liable whatsoever for any such damage, failure to operate, or failure to attain advertised Internet speeds. PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT ACTUAL INTERNET SPEEDS MAY VARY BASED ON THE TYPE AND CONDITION OF WIRED CONNECTIONS AND CUSTOMER EQUIPMENT UTILIZED.

We have no responsibility for the operation, support, maintenance or repair of any Inside Wiring unless you have opted for our wire maintenance plan. Details of the coverage and exclusions are available at www.rsfiber.coop/help/residential-wire-maintenance-plan

We have no responsibility for the operation, support, maintenance or repair of Customer Equipment including, but not limited to, Customer Equipment to which we or a third party has sent software or downloads. You agree that by using the Service, we, or our authorized agents and equipment manufacturers, are authorized to send code updates to the Customer Equipment, including, but not limited to, modems, at any time we determine it is necessary to do so. Such code updates may change, add or remove features or functionality of the Customer Equipment or the Service.

RS Fiber does not provide technical assistance for third-party hardware or software, including but not limited to home networks. Any questions concerning third-party hardware or software should be directed to the manufacturer of that product.

You may not alter, modify or tamper with the Equipment or the Service, or permit any other person to do the same that is not authorized by RS Fiber. You may attach equipment of your choosing to the cable modem outlet that is interoperable with the Equipment and the Service, provided it does not harm the Equipment, Service, or RS Fiber’s network. If you do attach equipment that harms the Equipment, Service, or RS Fiber’s network, you will be subject to liability for damages and/or criminal prosecution.

1.  Use of the Service

The Service is designed for personal and family use within a single household. You agree that only the Service account holder and co-residents living in the same household will use the Service. The term ‘single household’ means the customer’s home and includes an apartment, condominium, flat or other residential unit that may be used as a household. The Service is being provided solely for use in your household and any unauthorized access by a third party to the Internet, or any other function of the Service, relieves RS Fiber of any affirmative obligations it may have, and is in violation of this AUP.

You will not use, nor allow others to use, the Service to operate any type of business or commercial enterprise, including but not limited to, IP address translation or similar facilities intended to provide additional access. You will not advertise that the Service is available for use by third parties or unauthorized users. You will not resell or redistribute, nor allow others to resell or redistribute, access to the Service in any manner, including but not limited to wireless technology.

2. Internet Use and Content

You assume total responsibility and risk for your use of the Service. It is solely your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of all opinions, advice, services and other information, as well as the quality and merchantability of all merchandise, provided through use of the Service or on the Internet generally. You are responsible for any misuse of the Service that occurs through your account, whether by a member of your household or an authorized or unauthorized third-party. You agree that all information you provide any merchant, organization or service provider while using the Service for purposes of making purchases or conducting business will be accurate, complete and current. You are responsible for payment of any and all charges incurred by users of your account, including payment of any applicable taxes, relating to purchases on the Service.

You are responsible for any text, communication, software, images, sounds, data or other information (“Content”) that you upload, email, transmit or otherwise make available through your use of the Service. You understand further that the Internet contains unedited materials some of which are offensive, indecent or objectionable. You access such materials at your own risk. RS Fiber has no control over and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for such Content.

3. Conduct on the Service

You are prohibited from violating or attempting to violate, or allowing others to violate, the security of RS Fiber Cooperative or using, or allowing others to use, the Service for illegal purposes. Any violations may result in termination of your account, additional Service fees, prosecution under federal and/or state law and/or civil or criminal penalties to you. To the extent permitted by law, RS Fiber will cooperate with the appropriate governmental, regulatory, and/or law enforcement agencies if a criminal violation is suspected.

Examples of violations, include without limitation, engaging in, or allowing others to engage in, the following:

• Any restriction or inhibition of any other valid RS Fiber subscriber from use of the Service or access to the RS Fiber Cooperative network.
• Allowing unauthorized access to your account;
• Use of your account to provide inbound traffic to your site (such as creating server services);
• Use of your account to engage in any form of commercial sales or other clearly non-residential uses;
• Any download, receipt, upload, post, publication, reproduction, transmission, or other distribution or the facilitation of distribution of any Content that:
  1. is a web page, website, files transfer protocol server, file server or game server whose daily average data transfer negatively impacts the Service;
  2. contains a virus, bot, trojan horse, worm, constitutes a denial of service attack, or other computer code, file, program or information such as any lock, key, bom, worm, cancelbot, or other harmful feature that is designed or intended to disrupt, damage or limit the functioning of any software, hardware or telecommunications equipment or to damage or obtain unauthorized access to any data or other information of any third party;
  3. is unlawful, fraudulent, threatening, abusive, harassing, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, profane, or otherwise objectionable material of any kind, including without limitation any transmissions inciting or encouraging conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any local, state, national or international law (including without limitation the U.S. export control laws and regulations and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act);
  4. creates any type of spam, mass distribution or other unsolicited email, advertisement, or newsgroup posting inappropriate to the rules of that newsgroup, for any purpose whatsoever, that circumvents the approval process for posting to a moderated Newsgroup, or that “floods”, “newsbombs” or otherwise disrupts users of Newsgroups by posting a large number of messages to a Newsgroup with the intent to hinder normal discussion, cancel messages of others (except as authorized moderator), send excessive quantities of data to a Newsgroup, post binary files to Newsgroups that do not expressly permit them; or download any Newsgroup in bulk unless expressly permitted;
  5. infringes the patents, trademarks copyrights, trade secrets or proprietary rights of any other person or entity (including without limitation the digitization of music, movies, photographs or other copyrighted material or software);
  6. harms minors;
  7. impersonates any person or entity, falsifies your user name, company name, age or identity, or contains a forgery of anyone else’s digital or manual signature.
• Any post, publication, transmission, reproduction, or distribution that in any way exploits any information, software or other material obtained through the Service for commercial purposes (other than as expressly permitted by the provider of such information, software or other material);
• Any attempt to disrupt or penetrate the security of the Service or any attached network service or other computer system for any purpose whatsoever, including, but not limited to, improperly interfering with, inhibiting, degrading, or restricting the use and operation of the Service by others, sending excessive data transfers that exceed consumption limits that are now in place or may be established in the future for the package or tier of service to which you subscribe, modifying or altering in any manner any modem, or modem configuration, so as to allow its use beyond the parameters outlined by the specific level of service to which you subscribe, use of a static or dynamic IP address not authorized and provisioned by RS Fiber, altering any IP address provisioned by RS Fiber or otherwise cloning another user’s IP address, use of the Service to disrupt other Internet Service Providers or services, including but not limited to email bombing or the use of mass mailing programs, or in any way altering or modifying Service or tampering with the RS Fiber equipment or service or permitting any other person to do the same who is not authorized by RS Fiber;
• Access of any directory structure within the Services file system(s) which is not either the home directory assigned to that user or a temporary directory in the /tmp tree;
• Leaving files within a temporary storage area (i.e. /tmp) for more than 48 hours;
• Any intentional or unintentional violation of any applicable local, state, federal or international law;
• Access of any account which you are not authorized to access or attempt to penetrate security measures of the Service or other computer systems;
• Use of tools designed for compromising network security, such as password-guessing programs, cracking tools, packet sniffers or network probing tools;
• Participating in, or allow others to participate in, the collection of email addresses, screen names, or other identifiers of others (without their prior express consent), a practice known as spidering or harvesting, or participate in the use of software (including “adware” or “spyware”) designed to facilitate this activity; or
• Forging, altering, or removing electronic mail headers or message header of any other electronic transmission, deceiving any recipient as to the identity of the sender through any process, and referencing, or allowing others to reference RS Fiber or the RS Fiber network (e.g., by including “RS Fiber” or “RS Fiber Cooperative” or similar term in the header or by listing an IP address that belongs to RS Fiber) in any unsolicited email even if that email is sent through the RS Fiber network or Service (in addition to the prohibition on sending spam addressed above).
• Participating in or allowing others to participate in chat rooms, bulletin boards, discussion groups or other interactive sections of the Internet (“Chat Rooms”) that you or person using your service has been banned from using. You will not, nor allow others to violate the Acceptable Use Policy of the server or Chat Room. In addition, you will not, nor allow others to: flood or scroll such Chat Rooms (sending messages or material in quick succession with the intent to disrupt use of such Chat Rooms by others); use automated programs such as “bots” or “clones” to participate in Chat Rooms unless you are physically present at your computer; manipulate any Chat Room server to harass or disconnect other Internet users or to gain privileges that you are not entitled to; send Chat Room messages to recipients who have indicated their desire not to receive such messages; or forge alter, or hide your identity (other than by using a nickname from which RS Fiber may, if necessary, determine your real name).

4. Security

You acknowledge and agree that when using the Service to access the Internet or any other online network or service, there are certain risks that may enable other Internet users to gain access to or use of your equipment. You are responsible for taking and should take all appropriate security measures when using the Service. This includes but is not limited to procuring and installing patches, any and all anti-virus and firewall software/ hardware and operating system patches, updates, or supplements that may be necessary for (i) the protection and maximum functionality of your computer and related equipment and (ii) the protection of RS Fiber’s network and other customers. For purposes of clarification, RS Fiber hereby disclaims any and all responsibility and liability for any damages that may arise from your failure to procure or install the aforementioned security software and /or hardware.

You agree that RS Fiber 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 and/or eliminate Spam. RS Fiber may take other actions to manage or protect its network or to benefit the greatest number of its subscribers, including, but not limited to, traffic prioritization and protocol filtering. In addition, RS Fiber may, without liability, immediately suspend or terminate access by Customer to the network, with or without notice to you, to secure its network. RS Fiber may take these actions in situations including, but not limited to, where your computer becomes infected with any Virus, that RS Fiber believes, in its sole discretion, may harm the RS Fiber network or disrupt the performance of the Service for other users or where you are transmitting or are otherwise connected with what RS Fiber considers in its sole discretion to be spam. You agree that RS Fiber is entitled to damages if you are transmitting or is otherwise connected with spam.

You are solely responsible for the security of any device connected to the Service, including any data stored on that device. RS Fiber recommends that you take appropriate security precautions for any systems connected to the Service. You are responsible for securing any wireless (WiFi) networks connected to your Act Service. Any wireless network installed by you or an RS Fiber representative that is unsecured or “open” and connected to the RS Fiber network will be deemed to be operating as an ISP and subject to the prohibition on commercial use set forth in Section 1 and 3 above.

5. No Excessive Use of Bandwidth

If RS Fiber determines, in RS Fiber’s sole discretion, that you are using an excessive amount of bandwidth over the RS Fiber network infrastructure for Internet access or other functions using public network resources, and which we deem disruptive to or harmful to RS Fiber’s network and other users, we may adjust your Service and/or adjust, suspend or terminate your account at any time and without notice.

6. Other Service Providers’ Acceptable Use Policies

RS Fiber obtains services from and relies upon many other entities to provide the Service to you. Where you access services of other entities through the Service, you agree to and shall abide by the acceptable use policies of such other entities. 

6.1. International Use: The Internet is global. As such, you agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and acceptable Content, including without limitation, United States export control laws and/or other federal rules and regulations restricting exports.

6.2. Links: The Service may provide links to sites operated and controlled by third parties. RS Fiber has no control over such sites and you acknowledge and agree that RS Fiber is not responsible for the availability or content on such sites and does not endorse such sites.

6.3. Monitoring the Service: RS Fiber respects your privacy. By using the Services, you agree to adhere to our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference into this AUP. Thus, we strongly recommend that you review our Privacy Policy, before using the Services.

RS Fiber has no obligation to monitor content. However, you agree that RS Fiber has the right to monitor the Service electronically, including but not limited to content and Customer equipment as it may affect the service, from time to time in accordance with RS Fiber’s Privacy Policy, and as required by law, regulation or court order.

For content on RS Fiber’s servers, RS Fiber reserves the right at all times and without notice and you agree that RS Fiber has the right to refuse to post, to remove, restrict access to, or make unavailable any information or materials, in whole or in part, that, in its sole discretion, are unacceptable, undesirable, or in violation of this AUP, including but not limited to content it considers obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, and to monitor, review, retain and/or disclose any content or other information in RS Fiber’s possession about or related to you, your use of the Services or otherwise as RS Fiber deems necessary to satisfy any law, regulation or other governmental request, to operate the Service properly, or to protect itself or its subscribers.

You agree that RS Fiber may collect and disclose information concerning you and your use of the Service in the manner and for the purposes set forth here and in RS Fiber’s Internet Service Privacy Statement. Privacy Policy

7. Customer Payment Obligations

7.1. Monthly Service Fees: RS Fiber will bill you a standard monthly fee for the Service. You agree to pay the bill by its due date and to be responsible for any and all charges, damages and costs that you or anyone using your account incurs. If you lease equipment from RS Fiber, additional monthly charges will apply. In addition, you agree to pay all applicable taxes. RS Fiber may also charge a monthly support maintenance fee or a per instance support charge, depending on your location, for technical support services related to the Service including, but not limited to repairs, or for any Service features. RS Fiber may change the amount of the standard monthly fee, the Internet equipment rental fee, or any applicable monthly maintenance fee upon thirty (30) days written notice. RS Fiber will identify any per instance support charges to you prior to providing any technical support that would result in such charge(s).

7.2. Installation Fees: RS Fiber may charge you a one-time installation fee.

7.3. Late Fees, Collections Expenses and Termination for Unpaid Balances: If your payments are not current, RS Fiber may impose a late fee, or the Service may be disconnected with notice, and RS Fiber may remove RS Fiber’s equipment from your premises. You will also be liable to pay RS Fiber for all attorneys’ fees, collection fees or other expenses arising from efforts to collect any unpaid balances on your Account.

7.4. Charges for Online Services, Internet Transactions or Toll Charges for Dial-Up Service: Through use of the Service, you may access certain information, products, and services of others, for which there is a charge. These include, for example, certain online services such as America Online. You agree that you are solely responsible for all fees or charges for these online services, products or information.

8. No Service Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. RS Fiber DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE (I) WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR ERROR FREE OR (II) THAT ANY INFORMATION, SOFTWARE OR OTHER MATERIAL ACCESSIBLE ON THE SERVICE IS FREE OF VIRUSES, WORMS, TROJAN HORSES, SPAM, POP-UP ADVERTISING, SPYWARE, ADWARE OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS EVEN IF COUNTERMEASURES HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED OR (III) THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS.

RS Fiber DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO CONNECT AT YOUR MODEM’S MAXIMUM CONNECTION SPEED. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT RS Fiber DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT ANY PARTICULAR AMOUNT OF BANDWIDTH ON THE RS Fiber NETWORK OR THAT ANY SPEED OR THROUGHPUT OF YOUR CONNECTION TO THE RS Fiber NETWORK WILL BE AVAILABLE TO YOU. You understand and agree that the speed of the Service provided at your site will vary depending upon a number of factors, including your computer system(s) and associated equipment, Internet traffic, and associated equipment, and other factors such as system capacity limitations, governmental actions, events beyond RS Fiber’s control, and System failures, modifications, upgrades and repairs.

NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION GIVEN BY RS Fiber, ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSEES OR CONTRACTORS OR THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY.

You understand further that, except for information, products or services clearly identified as being supplied by RS Fiber, RS Fiber does not operate or control any information, products or services on the Internet in any way. All merchandise, information and services offered or made available or accessible through the Service or on the Internet generally are offered or made available or accessible by third parties who are not affiliated with RS Fiber.

RS Fiber DOES NOT MAKE ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS OR ENDORSEMENTS WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE WITH REGARD TO ANY CONTENT OR SERVICE PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICE, USE THEREOF OR ON THE INTERNET GENERALLY, AND THEY SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY COST OR DAMAGE ARISING EITHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY FROM ANY SUCH TRANSACTION. RS Fiber DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ANY MERCHANDISE, INFORMATION, OR SERVICES OBTAINED BY YOU WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS.

You acknowledge and understand that RS Fiber utilizes anti-spam software and that such security technology is a feature of the Service that may block incoming and outgoing electronic mail. RS Fiber does not warrant that such feature will block all unwanted mail/Spam. Consistent with other statements set forth in this section, RS Fiber does not warrant that such feature will be error-free.

In addition, in its sole discretion, RS Fiber may make available to you security software, such as anti-virus software, firewall software, “pop-up” advertising blocking software, anti-spyware or anti-adware software for your use on your computer system(s) in conjunction with the Service. Any such security software provided by RS Fiber to you is intended to provide only a minimal level of protection to your computer system(s). YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT RS Fiber AND ITS THIRD-PARTY SUPPLIERS OF ANY SUCH SECURITY SOFTWARE DO NOT GUARANTEE ITS ACCURACY, EFFICACY OR PERFORMANCE. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT RS Fiber ITS THIRD-PARTY SUPPLIERS ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM(S) OR THE INFORMATION STORED ON IT THAT MAY RESULT FROM THE SECURITY SOFTWARE OR ITS NON-PERFORMANCE.

9. Limitation of Liability

RS Fiber’s entire liability and YOUR exclusive remedy with respect to the use of the Service or its software and equipment or any breach by RS Fiber of any obligation RS Fiber may have under this agreement shall be Your ability to terminate the Service or to obtain the replacement or repair of any defective software or equipment. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL RS Fiber, ITS AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES AGENTS, LICENSORS OR CONTRACTORS BE OTHERWISE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT RESULT IN ANY WAY FROM YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE OR TO ACCESS THE INTERNET OR ANY PART THEREOF OR YOUR RELIANCE ON OR USE OF INFORMATION, SERVICES OR MERCHANDISE PROVIDED ON OR THROUGH THE SERVICE, OR THAT RESULT FROM MISTAKES, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, DELETION OF FILES, ERRORS, DEFECTS, DELAYS IN OPERATION, OR TRANSMISSION, OR ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE. THIS LIMITATION APPLIES WHETHER THE ALLEGED CLAIM IS BASED ON TORT, CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER BASIS, EVEN IF RS Fiber HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. In addition, under no circumstances shall RS Fiber be liable for damages for failure to furnish, or the degradation or interruption of any services, for any lost data or content, identify theft, for any TV, monitor or screen burn-in, pin misalignment, uneven TV, monitor or screen wear, stuck pixels, phosphor burn, files or software damage, regardless of cause. RS Fiber shall not be liable for damage to property or for injury to any person arising from the installation, maintenance or removal of equipment, software, wiring or the provision of services.

10. Indemnification

Upon the request of RS Fiber, you further agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless RS Fiber and its employees, agents, contractors, officers and directors from any and all liabilities, claims costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, related to your use of or access to the Service or your violation of any terms and/or conditions of this AUP. RS Fiber reserves the right, at its own expense, t