NexGen Communications Net Neutrality Disclosures
NexGen Communications is committed to providing high-quality Internet services to our customers and being a responsible member of the Internet community, including adhering to the "Net Neutrality" rules set forth by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") has adopted rules that require broadband Internet access service providers such as NexGen Communications to publish certain information about their services. See 47 C.F.R. §§ 8.1-8.11. In accordance with those rules, this document provides information concerning three aspects of NexGen Communications residential and small business broadband Internet access service offerings: (1) the practices that NexGen Communications employs to manage its broadband network, (2) key performance characteristics of NexGen Communications residential and small business broadband offerings, and (3) certain commercial terms applicable to these services. These disclosures are intended to provide information to customers who currently subscribe to NexGen Communications residential and small business broadband Internet access services or who may do so in the future, as well to providers of applications, services, and content that make use of NexGen Communications network to reach users.
TRANSPARENT NETWORK MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
NexGen Communications data network is designed to provide its customers with highly reliable Internet and data transmission services. NexGen Communications has redundant data backbone facilities and equipment that reroutes traffic in the event of a fiber cut or other outage. Network performance is monitored by employees twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week, checking network components to be able to prudently adjust for changes in network utilization characteristics to provide a suitable customer experience. Within the network, capacity utilization is measured at each routing and switching node. When peak utilization consistently exceeds seventy-five percent of capacity at a node, capacity is adjusted, where possible, to prevent customers from experiencing blockages. NexGen Communications manages the network capacity to avoid blockages and does not dedicate capacity to individual customers utilizing the mass market Internet broadband products.
NexGen Communications uses advanced industry tools to monitor for impairments. These tools provide NexGen Communications with the ability to identify deteriorating situations and resolve problems before the problem becomes service impacting. The fundamental network design is planned to avoid blockages, and uses industry best practices for those occasional instances when peak utilization exceeds capacity.
NexGen Communications has numerous peering partners and blocking may occur on the interconnecting networks. Consequently, customers may experience blockage due to the network serving the destination or origin of their traffic or because an intermediate carrier's network is congested. If a customer reports blockage or other service issues, every trouble report is investigated.
NexGen Communications continually seeks new peering partners to make data transmissions more efficient and works with our existing peering partners to improve service.
NO BLOCKING OR UNREASONABLE DISCRIMINATION
Subject to NexGen Communications Acceptable Use Policy and Excessive Bandwidth Use Policy, NexGen Communications does not block or impose rate-controls for specific protocols nor restrict interconnection of specific network devices. Read NexGen Communications Internet Terms and Conditions for complete details. Complaints and net neutrality concerns can be directed to NexGen Communications Customer Care. NexGen Communications reserves the right to terminate service to any customer without notice should they violate the terms of our Policies and jeopardize the integrity of the network.
INTERNET SERVICE SPEEDS
NexGen Communications provides residence and business customers with a variety of High-Speed Internet plans that may vary by location and facility availability. NexGen Communications provisions and designs the network to ensure that our customers can enjoy the speeds to which they subscribe. However, NexGen Communications does not guarantee that a customer will actually achieve those speeds at all times. NexGen Communications advertises its speeds as "up to" a specific level based on the tier of service to which a customer subscribes. If a customer desires a guaranteed speed, NexGen Communications has other products that provide quality of service and speed assurance.
The "actual" speed that a customer will experience while using the Internet depends upon a variety of conditions, many of which are beyond NexGen Communications control. These conditions include the following:
- The performance of a customer's computer, including its age, processing capability, its operating system, the number of applications running simultaneously and the presence of any spyware or viruses.
- The type of connection between a customer's computer and modem. For example, wireless connections may be slower than direct connections into a router or modem. Wireless connections also may be subject to greater fluctuations, interference and congestion. NexGen Communications does not recommend wireless modem connections for use with its higher speed tiers as many wireless connections do not perform at the speeds delivered by these tiers.
- The distance packets travel (round trip time of packets) between a customer's computer and its final destination on the Internet, including the number and quality of the networks of various operators in the transmission path. The Internet is a web of interacting networks. A customer's connection may travel the networks of multiple providers before reaching its destination, and the limitations of those networks will most likely affect the overall speed of that Internet connection.
- The congestion or high usage levels at the website or destination. If a large number of visitors are accessing a site or particular destination at the same time, the connection will be affected, if the site or destination does not have sufficient capacity to service all of the visitors efficiently.
- The capacity, speeds or access by the website or destination. In order to control traffic or performance, many websites limit the speeds at which a visitor can download from their site. Those limitations will carry through to a customer's connection.
If you have any questions regarding NexGen Communications Net Neutrality Disclosures, please contact us.
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