Terms of Service

June 12, 2006

BY REGESTERING OR USING THE EASY 911 SERVICE, YOU REPRESENT THAT YOU ARE OF LEGAL AGE TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT AND THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND FULLY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT.

1. EMERGENCY SERVICES - 911 DIALING
1.1 911 Dialing. IP Phone Service 911 Dialing is different than traditional 911 service.
Most of our customers have access to either basic 911 or Enhanced 911 (E911) service. With E911 service, when you dial 911, your telephone number and registered address is simultaneously sent to the local emergency center assigned to your location, and emergency operators have access to the information they need to send help and call you back if necessary. Customers in locations where the emergency center is not equipped to receive your telephone number and address have basic 911. With basic 911, the local emergency operator answering the call will not have your call back number or your exact location, so you must be prepared to give them this information. Until you give the operator your phone number, he/she may not be able to call you back or dispatch help if the call is not completed or is not forwarded, is dropped or disconnected, or if you are unable to speak. As additional local emergency centers become capable of receiving our customers' information, Easy 911 will automatically upgrade customers with basic 911 to E911 service. Easy 911 will not give you notice of the upgrade.

You authorize us to disclose your name and address to third-parties involved with providing 911 Dialing to you, including, without limitation, call routers, call centers and local emergency centers.

1.2 Notify All Users. You should inform any household residents, guests and other third persons who may be present at the physical location where you utilize the IP Phone Service of the important differences in and limitations of IP Phone 911 Dialing as compared with basic 911 or E911.

1.3 Registration of Physical Location Required. For each phone number that you use for the IP Phone Service, you must register with Easy 911 the physical location where you will be using the Service with that phone number. When you move the Device to another location, you must register your new location. If you do not register your new location, any call you make using the 911 Dialing feature may be sent to an emergency center near your old address. For purposes of the 911 Dialing feature, you may only register one location at a time for each phone line you use with the IP Phone Service.

1.5 Service Outages.
(a) Service Outages Due to Power Failure or Disruption. 911 Dialing does not function in the event of a power failure or disruption. If there is an interruption in the power supply, the Service, including 911 Dialing, will not function until power is restored. Following a power failure or disruption, you may need to reset or reconfigure the Device prior to utilizing the Service, including 911 Dialing.
(b) Service Outages Due to Internet Outage or Suspension or Disconnection of Broadband Service or ISP Service. Service outages or suspensions or disconnections of service by your broadband provider or ISP will prevent all Service, including 911 Dialing, from functioning.
(c) Service Outage Due to Disconnection of Your IP Phone Account. Service outages due to disconnection of your account will prevent all Service, including 911 Dialing, from functioning.
(d) Service Outages Due to ISP or Broadband Provider Blocking of Ports or Other Acts. Your ISP or broadband provider or other third party may intentionally or inadvertently block the ports over which the Service is provided or otherwise impede the usage of the Service. In that event, provided that you alert us to this situation, we will attempt to work with you to resolve the issue. During the period that the ports are being blocked or your Service is impeded, and unless and until the blocking or impediment is removed or the blocking or impediment is otherwise resolved, your Service, including the 911 Dialing feature, may not function. You acknowledge that Easy 911 is not responsible for the blocking of ports by your ISP or broadband provider or any other impediment to your usage of the Service, and any loss of service, including 911 Dialing, which may result. In the event you lose service as a result of blocking of ports or any other impediment to your usage of the Service, you will continue to be responsible for payment of the Service charges unless and until you disconnect the Service in accordance with this Agreement.
(e) Other Service Outages. If there is a Service outage for any reason, such outage will prevent all Service, including 911 Dialing, from functioning. Such outages may occur for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, those reasons described elsewhere in this Agreement.

1.6 Re-Activation Required if You Change Your Number or Add or Port New Numbers. 911 Dialing does not function if you change your phone number or if you add or port new phone numbers to your account, unless and until you successfully register your location of use for each changed, newly added or newly ported phone number.

1.7 Network Congestion; Reduced Speed for Routing or Answering 911 Dialing Calls. There may be a greater possibility of network congestion and/or reduced speed in the routing of a 911 Dialing call made utilizing the Service as compared to traditional 911 dialing over traditional public telephone networks.

1.8 Disclaimer of Liability and Indemnification. We do not have any control over whether, or the manner in which, calls using our 911 Dialing service are answered or addressed by any local emergency response center. We disclaim all responsibility for the conduct of local emergency response centers and the national emergency calling center. We rely on third parties to assist us in routing 911 Dialing calls to local emergency response centers and to a national emergency calling center. We disclaim any and all liability or responsibility in the event such third party data used to route calls is incorrect or yields an erroneous result. Neither Easy 911 nor its officers or employees may be held liable for any claim, damage, or loss, and you hereby waive any and all such claims or causes of action, arising from or relating to our 911 Dialing service unless such claims or causes of action arose from our gross negligence, recklessness or willful misconduct. You shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Easy 911, its officers, directors, employees, affiliates and agents and any other service provider who furnishes services to you in connection the Service, from any and all claims, losses, damages, fines, penalties, costs and expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys fees) by, or on behalf of, you or any third party relating to the absence, failure or outage of the Service, including 911 Dialing, incorrectly routed 911 Dialing calls, and/or the inability of any user of the Service to be able to use 911 Dialing or access emergency service personnel.

1.9 Alternate 911 Arrangements. If you are not comfortable with the limitations of the 911 Dialing service, you should consider having an alternate means of accessing traditional 911 or E911 services or disconnecting the Service.

2. SERVICE
2.1 Term. Service is offered on a monthly basis for a term that begins on the date that Ziptel.us activates your Service. Subsequent terms of this Agreement automatically renew on a monthly basis unless you give us written notice of non-renewal. You are purchasing the Service for monthly terms, meaning that billing is prorated for the first month and then will begin our normal billing cycle from the first to the thirtieth. Upon termination of the service, you will be responsible for the month's prorated charges to the end of the then-current term, including, without limitation, unbilled charges, plus a termination fee, if applicable, all of which will immediately become due and payable. Expiration of the term or termination of Service will not excuse you from paying all accrued and unpaid charges due under this Agreement. We will not provide any passwords, codes or other information or assistance that would enable you to use the Device for any other purpose. We reserve the right to prohibit the use of any interface device that we have not provided to you. You hereby represent and warrant that you possess all required rights, including software and/or firmware licenses, to use any interface device that we have not provided to you. In addition, you shall indemnify and hold us harmless against any and all liability arising out of your use of such interface device with the Service. You shall not reverse compile, disassemble or reverse engineer or otherwise attempt to derive the source code from the binary code of the firmware or software.

2.2 Tampering with the Device or Service. You shall not change the electronic serial number or equipment identifier of the Device or to perform a factory reset of the Device without our prior written consent. We reserve the right to terminate your Service if we believe, in our sole and absolute discretion, that you have tampered with the Device. In the event of such termination, you will remain responsible for the full month's charges to the end of the current term, including, without limitation, unbilled charges, plus a termination fee, if applicable, all of which will immediately become due and payable. You shall not attempt to hack or otherwise disrupt the Service or make any use of the Service that is inconsistent with its intended purpose.

2.3 Theft of Service. You shall notify us immediately, in writing or by calling our customer support line, if the Device is stolen or if you become aware at any time that your Service is being stolen, fraudulently used or otherwise being used in an unauthorized manner. When you call or write, you must provide your account number and a detailed description of the circumstances of the Device theft, fraudulent use or unauthorized use of Service. Failure to do so in a timely manner may result in the termination of your Service and additional charges to you. Until such time as we receive notice of the theft, fraudulent use or unauthorized use, you will be liable for all use of the Service using a Device stolen from you and any and all stolen, fraudulent or unauthorized use of the Service.

2.4 Service Distinctions. The Service is not a telecommunications service and we provide it on a best efforts basis. Important distinctions exist between telecommunications service and the Service offering that we provide. The Service is subject to different regulatory treatment than telecommunications service. This treatment may limit or otherwise affect your rights of redress before regulatory agencies.

2.13 Ownership and Risk of Loss. You will own the Device and bear all risk of loss of, theft of, casualty to or damage to the Device, from the time it is shipped to you until the time (if any) when it is returned to us in accordance with this Agreement.

2.14 No 0+ or Operator Assisted Calling; May Not Support x11 Calling. The Service does not support 0+ or operator assisted calling (including, without limitation, collect calls, third party billing calls or calling.

3. BILLING
3.1 Billing Disputes. You must notify us in writing within seven days after receiving your statement if you dispute any Ziptel.us charges on that statement or you will be deemed to have waived any right to contest such charges. All notices of disputed charges should be sent to:
Billing Department
Ziptel.us
317 N. Farr
San Angelo, TX. 76903
-or- ziptel@zipnet.us

3.2 Taxes. You are responsible for all applicable federal, state, provincial, municipal, local or other governmental sales, use, excise, value-added, personal property, public utility or other taxes, fees or charges now in force or enacted in the future, that arise from or as a result of your subscription or use or payment for the Service or a Device. Such amounts are in addition to payment for the Service or Devices and will be billed to your account as set forth in this Agreement. If you are exempt from payment of such taxes, you must provide us with an original certificate that satisfies applicable legal requirements attesting to tax-exempt status. Tax exemption will only apply from and after the date we receive such certificate.

4. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY; INDEMNIFICATION; WARRANTIES
4.1 Limitation of Liability. We will not be liable for any delay or failure to provide the Service, including 911 Dialing, at any time or from time to time, or any interruption or degradation of voice quality that is caused by any of the following:
· an act or omission of an underlying carrier, service provider, vendor or other third party; · equipment, network or facility failure; · equipment, network or facility upgrade or modification; force majeure events such as (but not limited to) acts of God, acts of nature, strikes, fire, war, riot, acts of terrorism and government actions; · equipment, network or facility shortage; · equipment or facility relocation; · service, equipment, network or facility failure caused by the loss of power to you; outage of, or blocking of ports by, your ISP or broadband service provider or other impediment to usage of the Service caused by any third party; · any act or omission by you or any person using the Service or Device provided to you; or any other cause that is beyond our control, including, without limitation, a failure of or defect in any Device, the failure of an incoming or outgoing communication, the inability of communications (including, without limitation, 911 Dialing) to be connected or completed, or forwarded. Our aggregate liability under this agreement will in no event exceed the Service charges with respect to the affected time period.

4.2 Disclaimer of Liability for Damages. IN NO EVENT WILL ZIPTEL.US, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES OR AGENTS OR ANY OTHER SERVICE PROVIDER WHO FURNISHES SERVICES TO YOU IN CONNECTION THE SERVICE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY OTHER DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO PERSONAL INJURY, WRONGFUL DEATH, PROPERTY DAMAGE, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF REVENUE OR PROFITS, OR DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, INCLUDING INABILITY TO ACCESS EMERGENCY SERVICE PERSONNEL THROUGH THE 911 DIALING SERVICE OR TO OBTAIN EMERGENCY HELP. THE LIMITATIONS SET FORTH HEREIN APPLY TO CLAIMS FOUNDED IN BREACH OF CONTRACT, BREACH OF WARRANTY, PRODUCT LIABILITY, TORT AND ANY AND ALL OTHER THEORIES OF LIABILITY AND APPLY WHETHER OR NOT WE WERE INFORMED OF THE LIKELIHOOD OF ANY PARTICULAR TYPE OF DAMAGES.

4.3 Indemnification and Survival. (a) Indemnification. You shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Ziptel.us, its officers, directors, employees, affiliates and agents and any other service provider who furnishes services to you in connection with the Service, from any and all claims, losses, damages, fines, penalties, costs and expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys fees) by, or on behalf of, you or any third party or user of the Service, relating to the Services, including, without limitation, 911 Dialing, or the Device.
(b) Survival. The provisions of this Agreement that by their sense and context are intended to survive the termination or expiration of this Agreement shall survive.

4.4 No Warranties on Service. WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS OF THE SERVICE OR DEVICE FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OR ANY WARRANTY ARISING BY USAGE OF TRADE, COURSE OF DEALING OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE OR ANY WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICE WILL MEET CUSTOMER'S REQUIREMENTS. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE OR DEVICE WILL BE WITHOUT FAILURE, DELAY, INTERRUPTION, ERROR, AND DEGRADATION OF VOICE QUALITY OR LOSS OF CONTENT, DATA OR INFORMATION. NEITHER ZIPTEL.US NOR ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES OR AGENTS, OR ANY OTHER SERVICE PROVIDER OR VENDOR WHO FURNISHES SERVICES DEVICES, OR PRODUCTS TO CUSTOMER IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICE, WILL BE LIABLE FOR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OUR OR YOUR TRANSMISSION FACILITIES OR PREMISES EQUIPMENT OR FOR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO, OR ALTERATION, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OF, CUSTOMER'S DATA FILES, PROGRAMS, PROCEDURES OR INFORMATION THROUGH ACCIDENT, FRAUDULENT MEANS OR DEVICES OR ANY OTHER METHOD, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH DAMAGE OCCURS AS A RESULT OF ZIPTEL.US 'S OR ITS SERVICE PROVIDER'S OR VENDORS' NEGLIGENCE. STATEMENTS AND DESCRIPTIONS CONCERNING THE SERVICE OR DEVICE, IF ANY, BY ZIPTEL.US OR ZIPTEL.US'S AGENTS OR INSTALLERS ARE INFORMATIONAL AND ARE NOT GIVEN AS A WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.

4.5 Device Warranties. (a) Limited Warranty. Except as set forth herein, if you received the Device new from us and the Device included a limited warranty at the time of receipt, you must refer to the separate limited warranty document provided with the Device for information on the limitation and disclaimer of certain warranties. Remedies for breach of any such warranties will be limited to those expressly set forth in such documentation.
(b) No Warranty. If your Device did not include a limited warranty from us at the time of receipt, you are accepting the Device "as is". You are not entitled to replacement, repair or refund in the event of any defect.
(c) Disclaimer. OTHER THAN WARRANTIES AS TO THE DEVICE EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN THE DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED WITH THE DEVICE AND THE RETAIL CUSTOMER LIMITED WARRANTY EXPRESSLY SET FORTH HEREIN, WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS OF THE DEVICE FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OR ANY WARRANTY ARISING BY USAGE OF TRADE, COURSE OF DEALING OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE OR ANY WARRANTY THAT THE DEVICE OR ANY FIRMWARE OR SOFTWARE IS "ERROR FREE" OR WILL MEET CUSTOMER'S REQUIREMENTS. THE FOREGOING WILL NOT BE DEEMED TO LIMIT ANY DISCLAIMER OR LIMITATION OF WARRANTY SET FORTH IN THE DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED WITH THE DEVICE. DEVICE WARRANTIES DO NOT APPLY TO BUSINESS PLUS CUSTOMERS.

4.6 No Third Party Beneficiaries. No provision of this Agreement provides any person or entity not a party to this Agreement with any remedy, claim, liability, reimbursement, or cause of action or creates any other third party beneficiary rights.

4.7 Content. You will be liable for any and all liability that may arise out of the content transmitted by you or to any person, whether authorized or unauthorized, using your Service or Device (each such person, a "User"). You shall assure that your and your User's use of the Service and content comply at all times with all applicable laws, regulations and written and electronic instructions for use. We reserve the right to terminate or suspend your Services and remove your or your Users' content from the Service, if we determine, in our sole and absolute discretion, that such use or content does not conform with the requirements set forth in this Agreement or interferes with our ability to provide Services to you or others. Our action or inaction under this Section will not constitute any review or approval of your or Users' use or content.

5. MISCELLANEOUS
5.1 Governing Law. The Agreement and the relationship between you and us is governed by the laws of the State of Texas without regard to its conflict of law provisions. To the extent court action is initiated to enforce an arbitration award or for any other reason consistent with Section 5.2, you shall submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within the state of Texas and waive any objection as to venue or inconvenient forum.

5.2 Mandatory Arbitration and No Jury Trial. Any dispute or claim between you, any member of your household or any guest or employee of you and us arising out of or relating to the Service or Device will be resolved by arbitration before a single arbitrator administered by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitration will take place in Kerrville, Texas. The arbitrator's decision will follow the plain meaning of the relevant documents, and will be final and binding. Without limiting the foregoing, the parties agree that no arbitrator has the authority to: (i) award relief in excess of what this Agreement provides; or (ii) award punitive or exemplary damages. Judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrators may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. REGARDLESS OF ANY STATUTE OR LAW TO THE CONTRARY, ANY CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE MUST BE FILED WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER SUCH CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION AROSE OR BE FOREVER BARRED. All claims shall be arbitrated individually. You shall not bring, or join any class action of any kind in court or in arbitration or seek to consolidate or bring previously consolidated claims in arbitration. THIS ARBITRATION PROVISION CONSTITUTES A WAIVER OF ANY RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND AN AGREEMENT TO BE SUBJECT TO JURISDICTION IN, AND CONDUCT ARBITRAL PROCEEDINGS IN, TEXAS.

5.3 No Waiver of Rights. Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement will not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

5.4 Entire Agreement. This Agreement, including any future modifications as may occur within the terms of the Agreement, and the rates for Services found on our website constitute the entire agreement between you and Ziptel.us and govern the use of the Service by you, members of your household, guests and employees. This Agreement supersedes any prior agreements between you and Ziptel.us and any and all prior or contemporaneous statements, understandings, writings, commitments, or representations concerning its subject matter.

5.5 Severability. If any part of this Agreement is legally declared invalid or unenforceable, all other parts of this Agreement will remain valid and enforceable. Such invalidity or non-enforceability will not invalidate or render unenforceable any other portion of this Agreement.

6. FUTURE CHANGES TO THIS AGREEMENT
We may change the terms and conditions of this Agreement from time to time. Notices will be considered given and effective on the date posted on www. Ziptel.us telecom.com. Such changes will become binding on you on the date they are posted to our website and no further notice by us is required upon your continued use of the Service. The Agreement as and when posted supersedes all previously agreed to electronic and written terms of service, including, without limitation, any terms included with the packaging of the Device and also supersedes any written terms provided to Retail Customers in connection with retail distribution, including, without limitation, any written terms enclosed within the packaging of the Device.

7. PRIVACY
Ziptel.us Service utilizes, in whole or in part, the public Internet and third party networks to transmit voice and other communications. Ziptel.us is not liable for any lack of privacy which may be experienced with regard to the Service.