Appendix 4
PUBLIC INTEREST NETWORKS / INTERNET AREA NETWORK SERVICE
AGREEMENT
I. DEFINITIONS
“Agreement”: This Service Agreement by and between
Public Interest Network Services, Inc., a corporation
with office located at 50 West 17th Street, Ninth Floor,
New York, NY 10011 and “Client” as identified in
Appendix A.
“PINS”: The term Public Interest Network Services, as it
is used hereafter in this Agreement, shall mean Public
Interest Network Services, Inc., its related corporate
entities and its subcontractors involved in the
provisioning of Service.
“Order”: One or more Appendixes, attached to this
Agreement, detailing the services provided by PINS.
“Billing Period”: A period of time, generally one month,
as agreed to between Client and PINS.
“Services”: The term “Services” encompasses both “data
Services” and “telephone Services.”
“Data Services”: The equipment, facilities, programming
and software provided by PINS to facilitate hosting of
Client data on the PINS network, private networks
maintained on behalf of the Client by PINS, and the
connection of the PINS network to the Internet. Through
the Data Services, PINS provides Internet hosting
services enabling public access via the Internet of
Client’s Worldwide Web site as well as Internet access
from Client’s dedicated or dial in access service.
“Telephone Services”: Access lines, telephone numbers,
800/888/877 (toll-free) telephone numbers, conference
calls, calling cards, pre-paid calling cards, directory
assistance, 1+ direct dial, equal access service, local,
regional, intrastate, interstate and international
inbound and outbound telephone calls, international
callback, remote call forwarding, voicemail and related
services.
“Service Commencement”: The first day in which Data
and/or Telephone Services become available for use by
the Client.
“IAREANET”: The Internet Area Network and associated
entities.
II. TERM
This Agreement begins on the date of Service
Commencement and extends on a month-by-month basis
unless otherwise specified in the Order. If multiple
services are ordered, the date of Service Commencement
is the availability date of the last service which is
delivered. Unless cancelled by Client in writing at
least thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the
Term, any services are renewed on a month-to-month basis
until cancelled as described in section VI. Should
additional service orders be executed at any time, the
Term shall be understood to extend until the expiration
of the last delivered service.
III. PAYMENT AND INVOICING
Client agrees to pay all recurring and non-recurring
charges specified in the Order. Charges shall be
invoiced at the start of each billing period, as
specified in the Order, and payment in U.S. currency
shall be due within thirty (30) days of receipt of such
invoice. Interest charges of one and one-half (1.5)
percent per month or the highest rate permitted by law,
whichever is less, may accrue daily on all amounts not
paid within thirty (30) days of the date of the invoice.
Upon receipt of the signed Order for Service under this
Agreement, PINS will begin Service Commencement. Charges
for Access Lines do not commence until delivered by
PINS’ underlying carrier and tested as working. Charges
do commence upon acceptance, whether or not such lines
are connected to Client’s equipment and actually used by
Client. At its next monthly billing cycle, PINS will
invoice for the Non-Recurring Charges, plus amount of
one (1) month's recurring charges specified in the
Order. PINS reserves the right to suspend Service if
payment is not received within thirty (30) days of the
date of the invoice.
Client agrees to make payment arrangements via Credit
Card or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and authorizes
Internet Area Network to provide the necessary billing
information to PINS so automatic payment can be done. In
the event Client wishes to withhold some or all of the
payment due for cause, due to a service interruption,
incorrect billing/setup information, or other reason
allowed for in this contract. Client agrees to allow
PINS to collect payment for any and all portions of the
invoice not in dispute. PINS agrees to defer collection
of disputed amount until the dispute has been resolved.
IV. SERVICE INTERRUPTION AND CONTACT PROCEDURES
Client will contact the PINS designated point of contact
identified in the Order for all problems that relate to
PINS Service. Client will contact PINS if the problem is
not resolved within a reasonable time or if there is any
customer dissatisfaction with working with PINS to
resolve a problem. Problems may be addressed via e-mail
to support@pins.net, which reaches PINS’ management and
service personnel; via phone at 212-479-1700; or via
postal mail at Public Interest; 50 West 17th Street, 9th
Floor; New York, NY 10011.
V. ALLOWANCE FOR SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS
A. PINS maintains a Service Level Agreement with its
Clients which describes the goals for uptime and service
availability. The service level agreement is available
online at http://www.pins.net/support/sla.shtml, and is
incorporated into this contract by reference.
B. Client shall not receive credit if an interruption
is:
i. caused by negligence or willful misconduct of Client
or others authorized by Client to use the services
provided by PINS;
ii. due to a failure of power, facilities, equipment,
systems or connections not provided by PINS;
iii. a result of scheduled maintenance, but only to the
extent that such interruption does not exceed the
interruption which would be caused by such scheduled
maintenance if properly performed;
iv. due to any cause beyond PINS’ control.
VI. TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT
A. Notice of Termination of Service by Client will only
be accepted in writing (including electronic mail to
support@pins.net) at least thirty (30) days in advance.
No other termination methods are acceptable. If Client
terminates the Agreement except in accordance with
Article VI.C, or if PINS terminates the Agreement for
Cause in accordance with Article VI.B, Client shall
immediately pay PINS an early termination charge for
each month remaining in the term calculated as follows:
i. For any of the first through twelfth months of the
term remaining, the early termination charge is 100% of
the minimum usage charge plus 100% of the fixed
recurring charges.
ii. For any months over the twelfth remaining in the
term, the early termination charge is only 50% of the
minimum usage charge plus 100% of the fixed recurring
charges.
B. For Cause – PINS reserves the right to suspend
Service to Client for failure to comply with the
requirements of Article VII, Sections B and C. Such
suspension will remain in effect until Client submits
written assurance, satisfactory to PINS, that it has
corrected the problem. Unless and until service is
restored, Client shall pay PINS an amount equal to 50%
of the minimum usage charges and the fixed recurring
charges applicable through the end of the Term as
specified on the Order.
C. For Cause – Client reserves the right to terminate
the service provided under this Agreement at any time
for cause. Specifically, if there are chronic
performance problems at a specific site that are
reported by Client to PINS, and PINS fails to rectify
these problems with thirty (30) days of written notice
as to the nature of the performance problems, Client may
cancel service without penalty. Client shall be
responsible for the payment for all usage charges and
service fees incurred up to the date of termination. The
minimum usage requirements provided under this Agreement
will be modified to reflect the cancellation of service.
Client may choose to retain some services provided under
this Agreement that were not affected by performance
problems. All terms of this Agreement will continue to
apply to the Client for any services that were not
cancelled under this clause.
D. For Non-Payment – PINS reserves the right to suspend
Service to Client for failure to keep account balance
current. Specifically, PINS may provide ten (10) days
written notice that Service will be suspended whenever
the Client’s account becomes sixty (60) days past due.
Client must then bring the account current or present a
payment plan acceptable PINS to avoid service
disruption. In the event service is interrupted for
non-payment, Client shall be deemed to have terminated
the Agreement, and shall immediately pay the overdue
amount, accrued late fees and the early termination
charges as specified in Article VI, Section A.
E. Changes in Service – Client may terminate this
Agreement without penalty in order to take advantage of
lower pricing offered through a revision of PINS’ price
list provided that Client enters into a new agreement
with PINS. Such new agreement shall begin on the date of
termination of this Agreement, and extend for the new
Term of the same or longer length as the original Term
of this Agreement.
F. Upgrade in Service during the Term of this Agreement
shall not be considered Termination.
VII. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATION OF CLIENT
A. Client shall at its own expense provide all necessary
preparations required to comply with PINS’ installation
and maintenance specifications. Support for resources at
the Client site, unless specifically indicated
otherwise, will be the responsibility of the Client.
B. Client shall neither permit nor assist others to use
Service for any purpose other than that for which they
are intended; fail to maintain a suitable environment as
specified by PINS; or alter, tamper with, adjust or
repair the Service. In the event of such alterations,
tampering, adjustments or repairs by Client, PINS shall
be completely released from any liability or obligation
(including any warranty or indemnity obligation) to
Client relative to the Service; and client shall be
liable to PINS for costs or damages incurred by PINS.
C. Client agrees that service is to be used for typical
residential or business use, and agrees not to sell,
resell or transfer the Service to any other person for
any purpose, or make any charge for the use of the
Service, without the prior express written permission of
PINS. Client understands that voice services under
unlimited calling plans is not for auto-dialing,
call-center activities, continuous or extensive call
forwarding, call relaying, telemarketing, fax
broadcasting or fax blasting, or least-cost routing of
ILEC or other high-cost domestic traffic termination.
If, in its sole discretion, PINS determines that the
service is being used for these tasks, PINS reserves the
right to terminate or modify the service agreement, and
apply an administrative penalty of up to $150 per day
while Client is engaged in prohibited activies.
D. Client shall not nor shall it permit or assist others
to abuse or fraudulently use Service, including but not
limited to the following:
i. Obtaining or attempting to obtain Service by any
fraudulent means or device with intent to avoid payment;
ii. Accessing, altering, or destroying any information
of any third party by any fraudulent means or device, or
attempting to do so; or
iii. Using Service so as to intentionally or maliciously
interfere with the use of the PINS Network by other
Clients or authorized users; or in violation of the law
or in aid of any unlawful act;
iv. Violation of any of the terms and conditions of this
Agreement.
E. Connectivity to the PINS Network for Service,
maintenance, and information retrieval is generally
provided via local access through the public telephone
system to provide Client a link to PINS. It is
understood that PINS does not normally own or control
the various cable, telecom¬munications or other
facilities to which it may require access, except those
specifically identi¬fied as belonging to PINS.
Arrangements for use of, or access to, and payment for
such facilities will be made on Client’s behalf by PINS
with those who own or control them.
F. Client shall notify PINS in writing of any change in
the information provided by the Client in the Order.
G. Client shall identify technical and user-services
contacts (name, address, phone, e-mail, fax number) at
its site for problem resolution. Client is responsible
for notifying PINS of any changes in contact
information.
H. Client is given permission to send any valid 10D
caller ID (ANI or CLI) to the PSTN via PINS’ network.
Client will not use this facility to “spoof” or
otherwise send a fraudulent ANI or ANI they are not
legally and contractually allowed to send. Violations of
this provision may result in the immediate termination
of outbound service. Client may, in some circumstances,
be permitted to send international caller ID to the PSTN.
As the PINS network is located in the United States,
PINS can make no guarantees about the successful
transmission of an international caller ID or other
caller ID that is not a geographic NA10D number.
I. Client understands that the billing jurisdiction of
the call is in part determined by the ANI of the call,
and understands that the interstate or intrastate
jurisdiction is determined by comparing the ANI and DNIS
of calls on an individual basis. Calls with an
international, non-geographic, or otherwise unparseable
caller ID will be billed based on the jurisdiction of
the customers equipment (if such equipment is located in
the United States), or New York State as the final point
of interconnection to the PSTN.
J. PINS, as part of it’s network and traffic planning
and management may request Client provide projections of
utilization. PINS may also, at its sole discretion,
impose limitations, restrictions, or penalties for
unusual or extreme calling patterns, such as high
numbers of “short calls” , calls which are not answered,
calls to numbers which are disconnected or otherwise
invalid, and high call setup rates. Should PINS need to
impose such, notification will be given no less than 30
days in advance of implementation.
VIII. EQUIPMENT OR SOFTWARE NOT PROVIDED BY PINS
A. PINS shall not be responsible for the installation,
operation or maintenance of equipment or software not
provided by PINS; nor shall PINS be responsible for the
transmission or recep¬tion of information by equipment
or software not provided by PINS.
B. In the event that Client uses equipment or software
not provided or approved by PINS, which impairs the
Client's use of Service, Client shall nonetheless be
liable for payment for Service. Upon notice from PINS
that the equipment or software not provided or approved
by PINS is causing or is likely to cause hazard,
interference or service obstruction, Client shall
eliminate the likelihood of hazard, interference or
service obstruction. If Client requests PINS to
troubleshoot difficulties caused by equipment or
soft¬ware not provided by PINS, Client shall pay PINS at
its then current rates.
C. PINS shall not be responsible if any changes in
Service cause equipment or software not provided by PINS
to become obsolete, require modification or alteration,
or otherwise affect performance of equipment or software
not provided by PINS.
D. PINS reserves the right to allow or refuse the make,
model and or software revision of Client-pro¬vided
hardware and software to be used in connecting to the
PINS Network.
E. Client is responsible for providing, operating and
maintaining the necessary cabling and computer software
and hardware used for the Service at their site. All
local access installation and dial-up costs are the
responsibility of Client. Client shall also be
responsible for user/access security and network access.
PINS provides no user access security with respect to
any Client facilities or facilities of others. PINS will
assist in net¬work security breach detection or
identification, but shall not be liable for any
inability, failure or mistake in doing so.
IX. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATION OF PINS
A. PINS shall install, operate and maintain Service.
Service is designed to deliver the IAREANET office
products and is optimized for said service.
B. PINS warrants that Service will be in good working
order and will conform to IAREANET’s service
specifications upon the date installed. THE FOREGOING
WARRANTIES ARE IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
C. PINS shall not be liable, either in contract or in
tort, for protection from unauthorized access to or
alteration, theft or destruction of Client's data files,
programs, procedure or information through accident,
fraudulent means or devices, or any other method.
D. PINS shall not be liable for claims or damages caused
by Client's fault, negligence or failure to per¬form
Client's responsibilities; claims against Client by any
third party; any act or omission of any other party
furnishing products or services; or installation or
removal of equipment furnished by any service provider
or PINS, except where caused by the gross negligence of
PINS.
E. For any claim, Client's damages, if any, shall be
limited to those actually proven as directly
attributable to PINS. PINS will not be liable under any
circumstance for any lost profits or other
con¬sequential damages, even if PINS has been advised of
the possibility of such damages. In no event will PINS'
liability exceed the amount of fees payable under this
Agreement in accordance with Article V.
F. To the maximum extent allowed by law, PINS and its
affiliates and subcontractors do not warrant any
connection to, transmission over, nor results or use of,
any network connection or facilities provided (or failed
to be provided) through the Service. Client is
responsible for assessing its own computer and
transmission network needs, and the results to be
obtained therefrom. PINS makes no other warranties of
any kind, whether expressed or implied, including any
implied warranty of merchantability or fitness of the
Service for a particular purpose. PINS assumes no
responsibility for any damages suffered by Client,
includ¬ing, but not limited to, loss of data from
delays, non-deliveries, mis-deliveries, or Service
interruptions caused by PINS’ own negligence or Client's
errors and/or omissions. PINS makes no warranty with
respect to any related software or hardware used or
provided by PINS or company in connec¬tion with the
Service. Any patent, trademark, trade secret or warranty
infringements, whether actual or alleged, are the direct
responsibility of the manufacturer of said hardware or
software product. PINS assumes no responsibility for any
actions or liabilities arising form the possession or
use of these software or hardware products.
G. PINS reserves the right to take whatever actions it
deems appropriate in enforcing its policies. It also
reserves the right to change its policies without prior
notice at any time.
X. INSURANCE
Each party shall be responsible for assessing their own
need for property, casualty and liability insurance and
shall obtain such insurance covering their risks as it
sees fit. The parties agree not to make any claims
against the other for any property loss (whether or not
insured) and shall require their insurers, if any, to
waive any right of subrogation against the others for
any such loss.
XI. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS AND INFORMATION PROTECTION
A. Where Client utilizes Data Service containing
programming or software, PINS grants to Client a
non-exclusive and non-transferable license to use such
programming or software during the term of this
Agreement, for the sole purpose of enabling Client to
use such Service.
B. Title and property rights including all intellectual
property rights to Service are and shall remain with
PINS or IAREANET, whether or not embedded in the
programming or software.
C. Client recognizes that Service, programming and
software used hereunder constitute valuable trade
secrets of PINS. Client shall use its best efforts to
protect and keep confidential all PINS program¬ming and
software used by it and shall make no attempt to
examine, copy, alter, reverse-engineer, tamper with, or
otherwise misuse such Service programming and software.
XII. INDEMNITIES
A. Each party will be indemnified and saved harmless by
the other party from and against all loss, liability,
damage and expense, including reasonable counsel fees,
caused by:
i. Negligent acts or omissions of officers, employees,
agents or contractors of the other party which arise out
of or are caused by the construction, installation,
maintenance, presence, use or removal of systems,
chan¬nels or terminal equipment or software not leased
or purchased from PINS which are con¬nected or are to be
connected to the PINS Network and which result in claims
and demands for damages to property or for injury or
death to persons including payments made under any
Worker's Com¬pensations Law or under any plan for
employee's disability or death benefits.
ii. Claims for libel, slander, invasion of privacy,
infringement of copyright, and invasion and/or
alteration of private records or data arising from any
information, data or message transmitted over the
network by other party and its employees or contractors.
B. Client will indemnify PINS for infringement of
patents arising from the use by Client of equipment and
software, apparatus and systems not leased or purchased
from PINS in connection with Service.
XIII. GENERAL
A. Neither party shall assign or transfer this Agreement
without the prior written consent of the other party.
Such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.
B. Neither party shall be responsible for performance of
its obligations hereunder where delayed or hindered by
war, riots, embargoes, strikes or other occurrences
beyond the party's control. Each party shall notify the
other party in the event of any of the foregoing
occurrences. Should such occurrence continue for more
than sixty (60) days, the adversely affected party may
cancel this Agreement for the affected Service with no
further liability other than charges prorated to the
date of such occurrence.
C. This Agreement may not be modified except by written
amendment by the parties. No agent, employee or
repre¬sentative of PINS or Client has authority to bind
the parties to any representation or warranty unless
such is specifically included in this Agreement or
written amendments thereto.
D. All terms of this Agreement are as interpreted and
applied by the laws of the State of New York. All
disputes arising out of this Agreement which cannot be
resolved by the Client and PINS shall be settled by
binding arbitration at the office of the American
Arbitration Association (AAA) in New York City. The
arbitration shall be held in accordance with the
commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration
Association (AAA Rules). Either the Client or PINS may
initiate arbitration by providing written demand for
arbitration, a copy of this Agreement and the
administrative fee required by the AAA Rules to the AAA
at its offices in New York City. A copy of the notice
shall also be provided to the other Party. The remaining
cost of the arbitration, including the fees and expenses
of the arbitrator, shall be shared equally by the
Parties unless the arbitration award provides otherwise.
Each Party shall bear the cost of preparing and
presenting its case. The Arbitrator shall not be able to
award, nor shall any Party be entitled to receive
punitive, incidental, consequential, exemplary, reliance
or special damages, including damages for lost profits.
The Arbitrator’s decision shall follow the plain meaning
of the relevant documents, and shall be final, binding
and enforceable in a court of competent jurisdiction.
The decision of the Arbitrator can be appealed only for
perceived mistakes or misapplication of the law.
E. Notice to PINS under this Agreement shall be sent to:
PUBLIC INTEREST NETWORK SERVICES, INC.
50 WEST 17TH STREET – 9TH FLOOR
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10011
PHONE: (212) 479-1700 FAX: (212) 479-1799
EMAIL: support@pins.net
F. Notice to the Client via fax and email shall be sent
to the address designated on the Order.