STARBAND SATELLITE INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE
ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY AND FAIR ACCESS POLICY
(Last Revised November 2007)
Click here to access the Acceptable Use Policy
Click here to access the Fair Access Policy
ACCEPTABLE
USE POLICY:
In order to provide all members with fair and equal use of the StarBand service
and to enhance the Internet access experience by preventing unacceptable use,
this Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") has been created. This AUP governs
use of the StarBand satellite-provided Internet access service (the "Service").
The Service is designed and engineered for periodic use of e-mail, newsgroups,
file transfers, Internet chat, instant messaging, non real-time interactive
games and browsing the World Wide Web. The Service does not support Voice over
IP (VoIP), including, but not limited to Vonage, Skype, etc. It is your responsibility
to ensure that your activity does not impose an unusually large burden on the
StarBand network or otherwise negatively affect the integrity of the system.
Your activity also must be respectful of, and must not have a negative impact
on, the online experience of the rest of the StarBand member community.
The StarBand Nova series, including Nova Pro, Ultimate, 1000 and 1500 services,
are intended for use with, bandwidth consumption by and support of a single
personal computer connected directly to the StarBand satellite modem or with
integrated modem cards (Rx/Tx) via the StarBand Hardware. StarBand call center
support is limited to this primary single PC or to one router or wireless access
point, and will not be extended to other computers should they be networked
in such a way as to utilize the Internet access provided by StarBand. The sharing
of Internet access by additional devices may result in slower speeds and unacceptably
excessive bandwidth utilization. If other software or applications residing
on a member's computer restrict or inhibit the ability of the StarBand software
to function properly, the offending software must be removed prior to the member's
seeking call center support.
To help ensure that all members have fair and equal use of the benefits of the
Service and to protect the integrity of the Service, StarBand reserves the right,
and will take necessary steps, to prevent improper or excessive consumption
of bandwidth used to provide the Service. You should be aware that the networking
of additional computers to access the Service may result in such excessive bandwidth
consumption. The action that StarBand may take includes, but is not limited
to, limiting any excessive throughput, discontinuing service via specific ports
or communication protocols, and a complete discontinuation of service to the
member with improper or excessive bandwidth consumption. This policy is effective
and will be enforced for intended and unintended (e.g., viruses, worms, malicious
code, or otherwise unknown causes) bandwidth consumption. Your on-line activity
will be subject to the then-current bandwidth, data storage and other limitations
of the Service, which StarBand may, from time to time, revise in its discretion
and without providing advance written notice.
In choosing to use the Service, you agree that you will not initiate or participate
in any of the following activities through or in connection with the Service,
which constitute examples of improper use of the Service and therefore are prohibited.
Engaging in one or more of these practices may result in suspension or termination
of your access to and use of the Service. You may not:
1. Use the Service for illegal purposes or for the transmission of material
that is known to be false, unlawful, harassing, libelous, defamatory, profane,
invasive of another's privacy, abusive, threatening, harmful, vulgar, obscene,
sexually explicit, hateful or otherwise objectionable; to post material, non-public
information about companies, without the authorization to do so; to post or
transmit third-party copyrighted information or in any way infringe on the intellectual
property, contractual, or fiduciary rights of others; for the transmission of
junk mail or chain letters, or to distribute bugs, viruses or such other harmful
elements; to post improper messages; or to violate the letter or spirit of the
Member Agreement, which is available at www.starband.net/useragreement.htm;
2. Post messages substantially similar in content to ten (10) or more news groups,
forums, automated e-mail lists or other similar groups or lists (each a "List")
or intentionally post to any List any content or information that violates or
is otherwise in consistent with the terms of use or other owner-published description
of the group or List;
3. Send any spam, unsolicited mass distribution of e-mail or other solicitations,
or otherwise unsolicited e-mail. Except as otherwise defined under applicable
law, "unsolicited e-mail" does not include any message (i) addressed
to an individual with whom the sender has a preexisting and ongoing business
or personal relationship, (ii) received from a non-commercial organization or
entity of which the individual is a pre-existing member or (iii) posted to a
List that does not otherwise violate this policy;
4. Falsify member information provided to StarBand or to users of the Service
in connection with use of the Service or impersonate someone else, including
but not limited to either a StarBand employee or non-employee serving with StarBand's
authorization as a chat moderator;
5. Engage in any of the foregoing activities by using the service of another
provider, but channeling such activities through a StarBand account or using
a StarBand account as a mail drop for responses or otherwise using the services
of another provider for the purpose of facilitating the foregoing activities
if such use of another party's service could reasonably be expected to adversely
affect the Service;
6. Use the Service for commercial purposes; resell, share, or otherwise distribute
the Service or any portion thereof to any third party; or provide network services
to others via the Service.
7. Improperly restrict, inhibit, or degrade any other member's use of the Service,
or restrict, inhibit, disrupt, degrade or impede StarBand's ability to deliver
the Service and monitor its delivery of the Service;
8. Install automated search and retrieve programs or similar automated and manual
routines which generate excessive amounts of net traffic;
9. Engage in any activity that compromises or threatens StarBand's ability to
provide the Service in a reasonable and efficient manner. Examples of prohibited
use include, but are not limited to, running servers for mail, http, ftp, irc,
and multi-user interactive forums, and providing Internet access to others through
a dial-up connection, multi-user interactive forums, or similar means;
10. Engage in any other activity which is in violation of law, or threatens
the integrity of any computer system, or violates generally accepted standards
of Internet conduct and usage, including but not limited to denial of service
attacks, web page defacement, port and network scanning and unauthorized system
penetrations.
StarBand reserves the right to implement technical mechanisms which block postings
and messages which, in StarBand's sole discretion, violate this AUP before they
are forwarded or otherwise sent to their intended recipients. StarBand also
reserves the right to take such action as may be necessary to protect the integrity
of the system, including, but not limited to, regular system monitoring, as
well as port scanning and shutting down of ports affected by viruses, worms
or other malicious code.
Nothing contained in this policy shall be construed to limit StarBand's rights
or remedies in any way with respect to any of the foregoing activities, and
StarBand reserves the right to take any and all additional actions that it may
deem appropriate with respect to such activities, including without limitation,
investigating suspected violations of this AUP, taking action to recover the
costs and expenses of identifying offenders and terminating their access to
and use of the Service, and levying cancellation charges to cover StarBand's
costs in the event of termination of access to the Service. In addition, StarBand
reserves at all times all available rights and remedies with respect to such
activities at law or in equity.
This AUP may be clarified or modified periodically. Any member who does not
agree to abide by all of the terms of this AUP should not continue to use the
Service.
If you would like to report any activity you believe to be a violation of this
AUP, please direct such information to StarBand's Abuse Department, at abuse@starband.com.
FAIR
ACCESS POLICY:
The goal of the Fair Access Policy is to help ensure that all StarBand customers
receive a high quality of service. By monitoring and regulating bandwidth consumption
according to consumption levels specified in the company's AUPs and FAPs, StarBand
will help improve the network for everyone.
To help ensure that all members have fair and equal use of the benefits of the
service and to protect the integrity of the service, StarBand reserves the right,
and will take necessary steps, to prevent excessive consumption of bandwidth.
By regulating this excessive consumption, StarBand can improve upload and download
speeds, congestion and VSAT capacity for all of our customers. Please note that
the FAP thresholds are only monitored between the hours of 6:00am and 12:00am.
Nova Pro 1000 (1024/128)
Download Threshold (rolling 7 day period) - 1600 Mbytes
Download Recovery Rate - 150 Kbps
Download Exit threshold (rolling 7 day period) - 1024 Mbytes
Upload Threshold (rolling 7 day period) - 400 Mbytes
Upload Recovery Rate - 56 Kbps
Upload Exit threshold (rolling 7 day period) - 275 Mbytes
Nova Pro 1500 (1.5/256)
Download Threshold (rolling 7 day period) - 4000 Mbytes
Download Recovery Rate - 400 Kbps
Download Exit threshold (rolling 7 day period) - 2750 Mbytes
Upload Threshold (rolling 7 day period) -1000 Mbytes
Upload Recovery Rate - 96 Kbps
Upload Exit threshold (rolling 7 day period) - 700 Mbytes
Customers who are close to exceeding their assigned bandwidth usage for a rolling period of seven days will be sent a warning message via a web message and via their StarBand email account. Customers who exceed their assigned bandwidth usage for a rolling period of seven days will again be notified via a web message and via their StarBand email account. The web message will specify that the customers’ speeds will be temporarily reduced until the customers’ seven day rolling average drops below the ‘exit limit’. The customer's normal high-speed access (as specified in the customer’s contract) will be restored after that time period. Because there is a seven-day monitoring period, customers are not penalized for one-time or occasional bandwidth bumps unless the total for the entire seven days is very high. In addition, customers get one free pass to remove the restriction by calling StarBand customer service and requesting a restriction removal. Customers who repeatedly use excessive bandwidth and have received multiple warnings may be suspended from using StarBand services for a specified period of time.
Customers may or may not be aware of when they are using high amounts of bandwidth. Intended causes of high bandwidth consumption may include uploading and downloading large files and networking additional computers to access the service. Some unintended causes of high bandwidth consumption may include viruses, worms, malicious code and downloads that occur with web browsing. By monitoring activity, StarBand can identify when customers are using excessive bandwidth, whether it is intentional or not.