Network Management General Policies
VTel Wireless, Inc. (“VTel Wireless” or “Company”) provides this Network Transparency Statement in accordance with the FCC’s Restore Internet Freedom Rules to ensure that you have sufficient information to make informed choices about the purchase of broadband services. Information about VTel Wireless’s other policies and practices concerning broadband are available at www.vtelwireless.com (“VTel Wireless’s Website”). Policies and practices are subject to change without notice and changes will be updated on VTel Wireless’s Website.
VTel Wireless engages in network management practices that are tailored and appropriate for achieving optimization on the network considering the particular network architecture and technology of its broadband Internet access service. VTel Wireless’s goal is to ensure that all of its customers experience a safe and secure broadband Internet environment that is fast, reliable and affordable. VTel Wireless wants its customers to indulge in all that the Internet has to offer, whether it is social networking, streaming videos and music, to communicating through email and videoconferencing.
VTel Wireless’s network management includes congestion- and security-protocol-management and customers generally will not be impacted by the protocols and practices that VTel Wireless uses to manage its network.
- A. VTel Wireless’s Network Transparency Disclosures
VTel Wireless uses various tools and industry standard techniques to manage its network and deliver fast, secure and reliable Internet service. VTel Wireless believes in full transparency and provides the following disclosures about its network management practices:
- Blocking: VTel Wireless does not block or discriminate against lawful content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices, subject to reasonable network management.
- Throttling: VTel Wireless does not throttle, impair or degrade lawful Internet traffic on the basis of Internet content, application, or service, or use of a non-harmful device subject to reasonable network management.
- Affiliated Prioritization: VTel Wireless does not prioritize Internet traffic to the benefit of an affiliate.
- Paid Prioritization: VTel Wireless does not engage in paid prioritization. We don’t prioritize Internet for consideration to benefit particular content, applications, services or devices.
- Congestion Management: VTel Wireless monitors the connections on its network in the aggregate on a continuous basis to determine the rate of utilization. If congestion emerges on the network, VTel Wireless will take the appropriate measures to relieve congestion.
On VTel Wireless’s network, all customers have access to all legal services, applications and content online and, in the event of congestion, most Internet activities will be unaffected. Some customers, however, may experience longer download or upload times, or slower surf speeds on the web if instances of congestion do occur on VTel Wireless’s network.
Customers using conduct that abuses or threatens the VTel Wireless network or which violates the company’s Acceptable Use Policy, Internet service Terms and Conditions, or the Wireless Internet Agreement will be asked to stop any such use immediately. A failure to respond or to cease any such conduct could result in service suspension or termination.
VTel Wireless’s network and congestion management practices are based on current network conditions, and are not implemented on the basis of customers’ online activities, protocols or applications.
VTel Wireless monitors its network on a continuous basis to determine utilization on its network. VTel Wireless also checks for abnormal traffic flows, network security breaches, malware, loss, and damage to the network. If a breach is detected or high volume users are brought to light by complaint, VTel Wireless provides notification to the customer via email or phone. If a violation of VTel Wireless’s policies has occurred and such violation is not remedied, VTel Wireless may seek to suspend or terminate that customer’s service.
- Application-Specific Behavior: Except as may be provided elsewhere herein, VTel Wireless does not engage in any application-specific behaviors on its network. Customers may use any lawful applications with VTel Wireless. VTel Wireless does not unreasonably interfere with or unreasonably disadvantage either:
i. A customer’s ability to select, access, and use broadband Internet access service or the lawful Internet content, applications, services, or devices of their choice; or
ii. An edge providers’ ability to make lawful content, applications, services, or devices available to a customer. - Device Attachment Rules: For best results, wireless modems, routers, antennas or other network gateways used on the VTel Wireless broadband network should be provided by VTel Wireless. Customers may attach devices of their choosing to their modems, including wired or wireless routers, laptops, desktop computers, video game systems, televisions, mobile phones, or other network-enabled electronics equipment. However, customers are responsible for ensuring that their equipment does not harm VTel Wireless’s network or impair the service of other customers. VTel Wireless is not responsible for the functionality or compatibility of any equipment provided by its customers. Customers are responsible for securing their own equipment to prevent unauthorized access to VTel Wireless’s broadband network by third parties and will be held responsible for the actions of such third parties who gain unauthorized access through unsecured customer equipment.
- Network Security: VTel Wireless knows the importance of securing its network and customers from network threats and annoyances. The company promotes the security of its network and patrons by protections from such threats as spam, viruses, firewall issues, and phishing schemes. VTel Wireless also deploys spam filters in order to divert spam from an online customer’s email inbox into a quarantine file while allowing the customer to control which emails are identified as spam. Customers may access the spam files through the email. Spam files are automatically deleted if not accessed within 7 days.
As its normal practice, VTel Wireless does not block any protocols, content or traffic for purposes of network management, but VTel Wireless may block or limit such traffic as spam, viruses, malware, or denial of service attacks to protect network integrity and the security of our customers.
- B. Network Performance
- Service Descriptions
VTel Wireless deploys Internet access to its subscribers through 4G/LTE wireless access.
- Network Performance
VTel Wireless makes every effort to support advertised speeds and may dispatch repair technicians to customer sites to perform speed tests if and as needed to troubleshoot and resolve speed and application performance caused by VTel Wireless’s network. VTel Wireless measures availability, latency, and aggregate utilization on the network and strives to meet internal service level targets.
However, the bandwidth speed at which a particular distant website or other Internet resources may be downloaded, or the speed at which your customer information may be uploaded to a distant website or Internet location is affected by factors beyond VTel Wireless’s control, including the speed of the connection from a distant web server to the Internet, congestion on intermediate networks, and/or limitations on your own computer equipment, including a wireless router. In addition, your service performance may be affected by the inside wiring at your premise. Accordingly, you, the customer, must consider the capabilities of your own equipment when choosing a VTel Wireless broadband service. Your computers and/or wireless or other networks in your homes or offices may need an upgrade in order to take full advantage of the chosen VTel Wireless broadband plan.
VTel Wireless uses industry-standard tools to estimate expected access speeds at the time of network installation to demonstrate that the service is capable of supporting the advertised speed.
Customers may also test their actual speeds using the speed test located at https://www.speedtest.net/ and may request assistance by calling our business office at (888) 885-4444 or by email at info@vtelwireless.com.
Based on the network information VTel Wireless receives from its monitoring efforts, VTel Wireless’s network is delivering data transmission rates advertised for the different high-speed Internet services. To be sure, VTel Wireless has implemented a program of testing the performance of its network by using a test protocol similar to the one sanctioned by the FCC. Speeds and quality of wireless service vary depending on customer location and factors including network capacity, your device, terrain, buildings, in-vehicle use, foliage, weather, network availability and coverage levels, tasks, file characteristics, applications and other factors. VTel Wireless network latency typically averages approximately 30ms, which varies based on network conditions and environmental factors.
- Impact of Non-BIAS Data Services
The FCC has defined Non-Broadband Internet Access Services (Non-BIAS) to include services offered by broadband providers that share capacity with Broadband Internet Access Services (BIAS) (previously known as “Specialized Services”) also offered by the provider over the last-mile facilities. Real time services, such as Non-BIAS services command optimal bandwidth. As Non-BIAS traffic is combined with general Internet traffic on VTel Wireless’s network, broadband customers could experience service delays, although very unlikely, if there is an occurrence of congestion on VTel Wireless’s network. In any such event, the Non-BIAS traffic is given priority over general Internet traffic.
- C. Commercial Terms
Pricing and additional service information may be found on our plan page.
In addition to this Network Transparency Statement, patrons may also find links to the following on the VTel Wireless Website:
For questions, complaints or requests for additional information, please contact VTel Wireless at:
Business Office at 802.885.4444
Email at info@vtelwireless.com