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Consistent with FCC regulations,1 Margaretville Telephone Company and MTC Cable, doing business as “MTC” provides this information about our broadband Internet access service. We welcome questions or comments about this information, including any questions about any portions that you do not understand. You may contact us at 845-586-3311 or email us at info@mtctel.com.

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NETWORK PRACTICES

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General description. We provide a variety of Internet offerings to our residential and business customers over our broadband network and through other communications facilities connecting to the Internet. We monitor our network and traffic patterns and make changes we deem necessary to manage and improve overall network performance. We use reasonable, nondiscriminatory, network management practices to improve overall network performance to ensure a high-quality online experience for all users. We use various tools and techniques to manage our network, deliver our service, and ensure compliance with our Acceptable Use Policy and our Terms and Conditions of Service. We also contract with one or more third-party companies for certain network monitoring and management services. Our network management activities may include identifying spam and preventing its delivery to customer email accounts, detecting malicious traffic and preventing the distribution of viruses or other harmful code or content and using other tools and techniques in order to meet our goal of delivering the best possible Internet experience to our customers. Our network management practices do not target any specific content, application, service or device. As network management issues arise and as technology develops, we may employ additional or new network management practices.

 

We will update these disclosures as necessary.

Related documents and disclosures. Use of our broadband Internet access service is also governed by:

• MTC Acceptable Use Policy, available at https://www.mtctelcom.com/terms-conditions

• MTC Terms and Conditions of Service, available at https://www.mtctelcom.com/terms- conditions

• MTC Subscriber Privacy Policy, available at https://www.mtctelcom.com/terms- conditions

These documents contain important information regarding our Internet offerings and may be subject to updates and revisions. Subscribers are encouraged to review these disclosures on a regular basis.

 

1 47 C.F.R. § 8.3; Preserving the Open Internet, Broadband Industry Practices, Report and Order, 22 FCC Rcd 17905 (2010); Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet, Report and Order on Remand, Declaratory Ruling, and Order, 30 FCC Rcd 5601 (2015). Restoring Internet Freedom, Declaratory Ruling, Report and Order, and Order, 33 FCC Rcd 311 (2017).

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Blocking. MTC does not engage in any practice, other than reasonable network management disclosed herein, that blocks or otherwise prevents end user access to lawful content, applications, service, or non-harmful devices.

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Throttling. MTC does not engage in any practice, other than reasonable network management disclosed herein, that degrades or impairs access to lawful Internet traffic on the basis of content, application, service, user, or use of a non-harmful device.

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Affiliated or Paid Prioritization. MTC does not engage in any practice that directly or indirectly favors some Internet traffic over other traffic to benefit an affiliate or in exchange for consideration, monetary or otherwise.

 

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Congestion management practices used.

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Congestion management. This section describes our network management practices used to address congestion on our network.

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Network monitoring. We monitor our network for utilization trends. We receive regular reports showing changes in network traffic and congestion. We use this information to plan increases in available bandwidth, port additions or additional connectivity to the Internet. Should new technologies or unforeseen developments in the future make it necessary to implement an active congestion management program, we will update these disclosures and otherwise notify our customers of the scope and specifics of this program.

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Data Usage. Below explains our practices around data usage or data transfer activity. All activity online is about transferring data.

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Potential heavy bandwidth users. Customers whose usage repeatedly exceed monthly data limitations may be notified by MTC Customer Service of the availability of alternate data package options.

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• MTC monitors bandwidth consumption, but doesn't have usage limits for residential internet customers. MTC's data usage is the sum of bytes sent and received through a customer's internet connection.

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• For MTC Cable Internet Business Customers The Data Transfer Limitation on every Internet Service is 500GB/month.​ When Transfer Limitations are exceeded, $1.00 per GB will be charged. MTC's data usage is the sum of bytes sent and received through a customer's internet connection.

 

 

Types of traffic affected. Our congestion management practices do not target any specific content, applications, services, or devices, or otherwise inhibit or favor certain applications or classes of applications.

Purpose of congestion management practices. Our broadband Internet network is a shared network. This means that our customers share upstream and downstream bandwidth. The goal of our congestion management practices is to enable better network availability and speeds for all users. Our congestion management practices serve to:

 

• Help us adapt and upgrade our network to maintain or improve network performance as demand for our broadband Internet network increases.

• Help us adapt and upgrade our network to maintain or improve network performance as demand for higher bandwidth applications increases. Some examples of higher bandwidth applications are gaming, streaming movies, and streaming high definition video.

• Help us identify potential heavy bandwidth users.

 

Congestion management criteria.

 

Network monitoring. Our network monitoring provides data to help us plan upgrades to our network, equipment, technology, and connectivity to the Internet. As demand for our Internet service increases, and as demand for higher bandwidth applications increases, we monitor effects on network performance and plan upgrades as we deem necessary.

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Potential heavy bandwidth users. Customers whose usage repeatedly exceed monthly data limitations may be notified by MTC Customer Service of the availability of alternate data package options.

 

Effects on end user experience. Because our broadband Internet network is a shared network, periods of high network demand may result in Internet traffic congestion. End users may experience reduced bandwidth or speed during these times. Although we work to engineer and implement solutions to eliminate congestion that affects the end user experience, new technologies or unforeseen developments may require implementation of an active congestion management program. Should it become necessary in the future to implement such programs, MTC will notify its customers of the program and the criteria under which this congestion management will be implemented.

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Application-Specific Practices.

 

This section discloses any application-specific practices we use, if any.

 

Management of specific protocols or protocol ports. To protect the security of our network and our customers, we block known hostile ports, as identified by our upstream service partners.

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Modification of protocol fields. Not applicable.

 

Applications or classes of applications inhibited or favored. Not applicable.

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Device Attachment Rules.

 

This section addresses any limitations on attaching lawful devices to our network.

 

General restrictions on types of devices to connect to network. We place no general restrictions on lawful devices that a customer may connect to our network, so long as the device is: (i) compatible with our network; and (ii) does not harm our network or other users. Our broadband Internet service works with most PCs and laptops including Macs, and other Internet compatible devices like game systems and Internet- enabled TVs. If a password-protected wireless router is connected to our broadband Internet service, wireless Internet compatible devices properly connected to the router including computers, tablets, smartphones, and other devices can connect to our network. If a customer or potential customer believes they have an unusual configuration, our customer service department will help determine if there is a compatibility problem.

 

Cable Modems. Our MTC Cable Modem service requires connection of a cable modem to our network. You can obtain a cable modem from us or you may purchase one from most retail electronics sellers. Only devices that have been fully certified by CableLabs as compliant with DOCSIS 3.0 specifications may be used.

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Network and End User Security. This section provides a general description of the practices we use to maintain security of our network.

 

Practices used to ensure end user security, including triggering conditions.

 

Virus and Spam filtering. Our email and website traffic is filtered for virus activity and Spam using industry standard virus scanning and prevention techniques.

Should an email message be found to contain a virus or other harmful content, the message will be deleted without notification given to either the sender or the intended recipient(s). We use industry standard virus scanning and prevention techniques to filter email and website traffic for virus activity and Spam.

 

Hostile port blocking. We block known hostile ports to prevent unwanted files, browser hacking and virus attacks.

 

PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS

 

General Service Description. Our broadband Internet services enables a customer to connect an Internet-enabled device through either a wired or wireless connection. Our MTC Cable Modem and Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) Optical Network Terminal (ONT) service includes wiring, an ONT or a cable modem for the personal computer, if required.  Our broadband Internet access services enable residential and commercial subscribers to access all lawful content, applications, and services of their choice available on the Internet.

 

No Internet service provider can guarantee a specific speed at all times – the actual speed a customer will experience while using the Internet depends on a variety of conditions. These can include the customer’s computer, the customer’s home network configuration, or the performance of the website visited.

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Service technologies. We deliver our Internet offerings, depending on location, either through our MTC Cable Modem service or through our MTC Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) and 10 Gigabit Symmetrical Passive Optical Network service. All service technologies are described below.

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Cable Modem service. We deliver our MTC Cable Modem broadband service over our hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) using the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS). Customers subscribing to our cable service access our network using cable modems.

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Optical Network Terminal Service (ONT). We deliver Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) and10 Gigabit Symmetrical Passive Optical Network (XGSPON) broadband service via fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) using Optical Network Terminals (ONT). Customers subscribing to our FTTH service access our network using ONTs.

 

To connect from our network to the Internet, we use equipment called either a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) or a GPON/XGSPON Optical Line Terminal that act as the gateways to the Internet for our customers’ cable modems and Optical Network Terminals (ONT). This is a shared network, which means that our customers share upstream and downstream bandwidth.

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Expected and actual speeds and latency.

 

Expected performance. We offer customers a variety of broadband Internet service levels. We provide a description of the expected maximum transfer speeds associated with each service level for both residential and business services on our website, Residential https://www.mtctelcom.com/residential-broadband

Business https://www.mtctelcom.com/business-broadband

 

 

Speed. The speeds we identify for each broadband Internet service level are the maximum upload and download speeds that customers are likely to experience. We provision our customers’ modems or ONTs and engineer our network to deliver the speeds to which our customers subscribe. However, we do not guarantee that a customer will actually achieve those speeds at all times. A variety of factors can affect upload and download speeds, including customer equipment, network equipment, congestion in our network, congestion beyond our network, performance issues with an Internet application, content, or service, and more.

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Latency. Latency is another measurement of Internet performance. Latency is a term that refers to the time it takes for information to travel between your computer and your Internet destination. High latency occurs when the time it should normally take for the information to make the trip becomes abnormally long. Latency is typically measured in milliseconds, and generally has no significant impact on typical everyday Internet usage. Most applications, such as email and websites, work well despite average latency. Highly interactive applications, such as multi-player games, do not work well with higher latency. As latency varies based on any number of factors, most importantly the distance between a customer's computer and the ultimate Internet destination (as well as the number and variety of networks your packets cross), it is not possible to provide customers with a single figure that will define latency as part of a user experience.

 

Actual speed and latency performance. The actual speed and latency experienced by individual users may vary depending upon network conditions and other factors. Actual performance of our Cable Modem and ONT service in most cases will conform to national wireline broadband Internet speed and latency

 

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Non-Broadband Internet Access (BIAS) Data Services.

 

Non-BIAS Data services offered to end users. We offer several managed or “non-BIAS data” services over our network, sharing network capacity with other high speed Internet services. Managed non-BIAS data services include Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Internet Protocol video, and dedicated bandwidth to high volume business users.

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Effects of non-BIAS date services on availability and performance of broadband Internet access service. Our provision of non-BIAS data services has no effect on the availability and performance of our broadband Internet access service.

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For questions regarding these services, you can contact the following:

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Name:                Walter Carman

Company:          Margaretville Telephone Company, Inc.

Address:            P.O. Box 260

                                  50 Swart St.

                                  Margaretville, NY 12455

Phone:                 (845) 586-3311

Email:                   wcarman@mtctel.com

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COMMERCIAL TERMS

 

Prices. Monthly prices for our residential and business broadband Internet access services are available on our website at www.mtctelcom.com

 

Usage-based fees/Data allowances. MTC broadband Internet access services are subject to Data Transfer Limitations, as described at www.mtctelcom.com. When Transfer Limitations are exceeded, MTC will charge $1.00 per GB.

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Fees for early termination. MTC does not impose a fee for early termination. MTC does require subscribers to pay for a minimum of one month of service at sign-up.

 

Fees for additional network services. Pricing for any additional network services can be found on our website at www.mtctelcom.com

 

Privacy Policies. We collect and store information from many sources as it relates to providing and maintaining service to our customers. Individually identifiable customer information, including usage data obtained in our role as your broadband Internet access service provider is only used to provide the service, improve your use of the service, manage our network, or as otherwise required or authorized by law.

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We do not disclose individually identifiable broadband Internet access service customer or use information to third parties except: (i) as necessary to provide our broadband Internet access service and to manage our network; or (ii) in response to law enforcement requests, subpoenas, court orders, or as otherwise required or authorized by law.

 

For more information on our additional broadband Internet access subscriber privacy policies, please visit our Subscriber Privacy Policy available at [mtctelcom.com].

Inspection of network traffic. We routinely monitor network and traffic patterns.

 

Virus and Spam filtering. Our email and website traffic is filtered for virus activity and Spam using industry standard virus scanning and prevention techniques.

Should an email message be found to contain a virus or other harmful content, the message will be deleted without notification given to either the sender or the intended recipient(s). Due to the volatile nature of the Internet and its offerings, MTC makes no guarantee of the accuracy to the performance of these filtering systems.

Storage of network traffic information. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) information is a code included in all network traffic that associates that traffic with a particular device sending or receiving the traffic. We use a third party to store DHCP information for 180 days. The data generated on each customer’s usage is divided into broad categories for analysis to help us monitor and predict trends in usage for our customers as a whole.

 

Provision of aggregate or anonymized network traffic information to third parties. We may disclose aggregate or anonymized network traffic information to third parties for purposes of providing and managing our broadband Internet service or if required by law.

Use of network traffic information for non-network management purposes. We do not use network traffic information for non-network management purposes.

 

Redress options. We welcome questions about our broadband Internet access service. This section discloses redress options for end users and edge providers.

End user complaints and questions. End users with complaints or questions relating to the MTC service or these disclosures should contact 845-586-3311 or info@mtctel.com.

 

Questions. We will endeavor to answer questions promptly via email or voice.

 

Complaints. For written complaints, we will provide an initial response in writing within 30 business days of receipt. We will attempt to resolve complaints informally, escalating the matter to senior management if needed.

 

Edge provider complaints and questions. Edge providers with complaints or questions relating to our broadband Internet access service or these disclosures should contact 845-586-3311 or info@mtctel.com.

 

Questions. We will endeavor to answer questions promptly via email or voice.

 

Complaints. For written complaints, we will provide an initial response in writing within 30 business days of receipt. We will attempt to resolve complaints informally, escalating the matter to senior management if needed.

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Backup Power for Home Phone Services during Power Outages

 

For many years, your home phone would allow you to stay connected to emergency voice services during a power outage. However, many of today’s advanced home phone services require backup battery power to continue functioning during an outage. To avoid a disruption of home voice service during an outage –and to maintain the ability to connect to 911 emergency services -- MTC offers backup power for your home phones.

What Your Battery Can – and Can’t – Do for You
MTC's backup batteries for telephone modems (MTAs) allow you to continue to use your home voice services during a power outage. Without a backup battery or alternate backup source such as a generator, customers will not be able to make any calls, including emergency calls to 911. The only way to maintain the ability to use your phone is by using some form of backup power.

 
Our backup battery is mainly for making sure your home services are powered during a pwer outage, and we are also available to make sure your MTC Provided Wi-Fi is powered as well from the modem.. Home security systems, medical monitoring devices and other equipment will not run on a home phone backup battery. 

Purchase and Replacement Options
If you are concerned about being able to contact 911 emergency services during a power outage, a backup battery may be a good option for you. You can purchase a backup battery directly through MTC for a one-time $69 charge for additional batteries. MTC's batteries can be stacked up to 4 batteries recommended. If you have any questions or simply want to purchase a backup battery through us, please call 1-877-727-2288, or go to our customer service building currently located at 579 Main Street, Margaretville, NY 12455. Our 4 hour backup batteries can be shipped directly to your house as well. If you do not feel comfortable installing your own battery, please call us to make an appointment, and we would be happy to assist you. However, please note that there may be a charge for this service.

Expected Backup Power Duration
Backup batteries are expected to last at least 8 hours on standby power. The backup battery should give you 4 hours of talk time. If you feel that is not enough time, you may extend your standby power by purchasing additional batteries.

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CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

 

MTC regularly updates this Notice and posts the most up-to-date policy on its website. You can find additional and updated information at any time by visiting our website at https://www.mtctelcom.com/. We encourage you to review our policies by visiting our website periodically for the latest information and updates. We will also provide you with a copy of the current Notice at the time you subscribe to our service and each year that you continue to be a subscriber.

 

HOW DO I CONTACT MTC?

 

If you have any questions regarding this privacy notice, or wish to contact us about your personal information, please contact us directly at:

Phone:             877-727-2288

Email:              mtc@catskill.net

Mail:                579 Main Street Margaretville, NY 12455

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This Policy was last updated: 10/10/2024