Terms of Service

Rhode Island Telephone Terms and Conditions

These are the full Terms and Conditions that accompany any and all quote and service agreement between the Customer and Rhode Island Telephone, Inc. (“Service”). These Terms and Conditions govern all Rhode Island Telephone quotes, proposals, contracts and service agreements, and all accompanying equipment and services provided by Rhode Island Telephone. By executing any Rhode Island Telephone quote, proposal, contract or service agreement, you acknowledge that you have read and understood, and you agree, to the terms and conditions herein, and you represent that you understand that you are bound by these terms. Note that (1) there is no warranty, as identified herein, provided for a Customer that purchases a Hosted Cloud System and utilizes the Customer’s own, non-Rhode Island Telephone equipment and/or hardware; (2) there is no service provided or warranty offered, as identified herein, for a Customer that purchases a Premise Based System but does not purchase or agree to a service and/or warranty agreement; and, (3) there is no service provided for those Customers that fail to execute a labor and hardware agreement.

1.1 Term

The term of service is provided in the Rhode Island Telephone quote and service agreement.  Billing begins on the date that you execute the quote and/or service agreement.  Including with any terms of service provided in the quote and/or service agreement, once the term outlined therein is completed, the Customer shall be transferred to a month to month term, unless the Customer gives a minimum of 30 days written notification of cancellation. This notice of cancellation may come during the last month of the term, or at any point thereafter, and must be sent by electronic mail to accounting@ritelephone.com. The Customer is responsible for paying the full month invoice for the month during which termination of service occurs, as well as any other usage charges.  Expiration of the term or termination of Service does not excuse the Customer from paying all unpaid, accrued charges due in relation to the service agreement.

1.2 Prices for Service

Pricing for service is provided in the form of a separate quotation document which has been signed and accepted by Customer.

1.3 Exclusions

These Terms and Conditions exclude system issues or failures caused by components not provided by Rhode Island Telephone, such as Internet service, electrical power or other components, as well as individual phones (in the event that Rhode Island Telephone is only providing service). If there is a service outage, it must be reported to Rhode Island Telephone’s help desk/call center immediately.

1.4 Customer Service and 24 hour Support

Rhode Island Telephone provides normal customer service during regular business hours, 8:30am to 5pm, Monday through Friday, Easter Standard Time, for the purpose of answering standard customer service requests and questions. Rhode Island Telephone will assist the customer, free of charge, with remote help desk and service requests. In the event of an onsite visit or service request, Rhode Island Telephone reserves the right to charge professional service fees and/or require that the customer incur an hourly service rate, as delineated by Rhode Island Telephone. Overall system failures may be reported 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to Rhode Island Telephone remote help desk via telephone. Trouble diagnosis and repair for problems not due to the fault of Rhode Island Telephone’ Service will be charged hourly, with a one hour minimum, at a rate agreed upon in the Customer’s written quote and service agreement with Rhode Island Telephone. These non-Service problems may include local network problems, customer owned equipment, such as routers and firewalls, or Internet Service Provider (ISP) related problems. Note that service will not be provided if the Customer purchases a Hosted Cloud System and utilizes the Customer’s own, non-Rhode Island Telephone equipment and/or hardware nor will it be provided if a Customer purchases a Premise Based System but does not purchase or agree to a service and/or warranty agreement. A labor and hardware agreement must be executed by the Customer in order for the Customer to have access to the rights, obligations and benefits of this Section of the Terms and Conditions. Absent a phone service and hardware service agreement, whether such is included with the Hosted Cloud System or purchased separately with the Premise Based System, Rhode Island Telephone shall not provide service nor a warranty to the Customer.

1.5 Loss of Service Due to Power Failure or Internet Service Outage or Termination or Suspension or Termination by Rhode Island Telephone

You acknowledge and understand that the Service does not function in the event of power failure. You also acknowledge and understand that the Service requires a fully functional LAN and broadband connection to the Internet and that, accordingly, in the event of an outage of customer provided network components, or termination or failure of service with or by your Internet service provider (“ISP”) and/or broadband provider, the Service will not function, but that you will continue to be billed for the Service unless and until you terminate the Service in accordance with this Agreement. Should there be an interruption in the power supply or ISP outage, the Service will not function until power is restored or the ISP outage is cured. A power failure or disruption may require the Customer to reset or reconfigure equipment prior to utilizing the Service. Power disruptions or failures or ISP outages will also prevent dialing to emergency service numbers, including the 911 calling feature. Should Rhode Island Telephone suspend or terminate your Service, for any reason authorized under these Terms and Conditions or the service agreement, the Service will not function until such time as Rhode Island Telephone restores your Service (which may require payment of all invoices and reconnection fees owed by you and/or cure of any breach by you).

1.6 Prohibition on Resale

If you have subscribed to Rhode Island Telephone Services, and the Service and any Equipment are provided to you as a customer, this means that you are not to resell or transfer the Service or Equipment to any other person for any purpose, without express written permission from Rhode Island Telephone in advance. In no instance shall a Customer sell equipment that is being leased or rented from Rhode Island Telephone. The expectation to this Section is in the instance where equipment was purchased in full and is owned and controlled by the Customer, whereby the Customer may sell this equipment; however, such sale shall void any warranty and/or service agreement with Rhode Island Telephone.

1.7 Lawful Use of Service and Equipment

1.7.1 Prohibited Uses

You agree to use the Service and Equipment only for lawful purposes. Without limitation, you agree not to use the Service or Equipment for transmitting or receiving any communication or material of any kind which, in Rhode Island Telephone’s sole judgment, the transmission, receipt or possession of such communication or material: (i) would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to a civil liability, or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, national or international law or (ii) encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to a civil liability, or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, national or international law (the uses described in clauses (i) and (ii) above are collectively referred to as “Prohibited Uses”). Rhode Island Telephone reserves the right to terminate your Service immediately and without advance notice if Rhode Island Telephone, in its sole discretion, believes that you are using the Service or Equipment for a Prohibited Use. Upon any such termination, you shall continue to be responsible for the full month’s charges to the end of the current term, including, without limitation, unbilled charges, plus a disconnect fee, all of which immediately become due and payable and may, at Rhode Island Telephone’s discretion, be immediately charged to your credit card. You are liable for any and all use of the Service and/or Equipment by yourself and by any person making use of the Service or Equipment provided to you and agree to indemnify and hold harmless Rhode Island Telephone against any and all liability for any such use. If Rhode Island Telephone, in its sole discretion, believes that you have used the Service or Equipment for a Prohibited Use, Rhode Island Telephone may forward the objectionable material, as well as your communications with Rhode Island Telephone and your personally identifiable information to the appropriate authorities for investigation and prosecution and you hereby consent to such forwarding.

1.7.2 Use of Service and Equipment by Customers Outside the United States

Rhode Island Telephone does not offer local phone service or 911 emergency services outside the United States.  If you use the Equipment in a country other than the United States, you do so at your sole risk, including the risk that such activity violates local laws and that 911 emergency services are unavailable.  You are liable for any and all charges, fees, fines, taxes, regulatory charges or penalties resulting from use of the Service and/or Equipment outside the United States by yourself or any person making use of the Service or Equipment provided to you and agree to indemnify and hold harmless Rhode Island Telephone against any and all liability for any such use. Should the removal from the United States of the Equipment violate any export control law or regulation, you will be solely liable for such violation and agree to indemnify and hold harmless Rhode Island Telephone against any and all liability for such violation. Rhode Island Telephone does not guarantee that the Service or Equipment will operate overseas.

1.8 Copyright / Trademark / Unauthorized Usage of Equipment, Firmware or Software

The Service, Equipment and all firmware and software used to provide the Service or provided to you in conjunction with providing the Service, or embedded in the Equipment, and all Services, information, documents and materials on Rhode Island Telephone’s website(s), including, but not limited to, the Cloudworx platform and the Voice over Internet Protocol network (“VoIP), are protected by trademark, copyright or other intellectual property laws and international treaty provisions. All websites, corporate names, service marks, trademarks, trade names, logos and domain names (collectively “marks”) of Rhode Island Telephone are and shall remain the exclusive property of Rhode Island Telephone and nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall grant you the right or license to use any of such marks. You acknowledge that you are not given any license to use the firmware or software used to provide the Service or provided to you in conjunction with providing the Service, or embedded in the Equipment, other than a nontransferable, revocable license to use such firmware or software in object code form (without making any modification thereto) during the Term, strictly in accordance with the terms and conditions herein and within the service agreement. You expressly agree that the Equipment is exclusively for use in connection with the Service and that Rhode Island Telephone will not provide any passwords, codes or other information or assistance that would enable you to use the Equipment for any other purpose. If you decide to use the Service through interface Equipment not provided by Rhode Island Telephone, which Rhode Island Telephone reserves the right to prohibit in particular cases or generally, you warrant and represent that you possess all required rights, including software and/or firmware licenses, to use such interface Equipment with the Service and you will indemnify and hold harmless Rhode Island Telephone against any and all liability arising out of your use of such interface Equipment 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.

1.9 Tampering with the Equipment or Service

In the event that any Equipment is provided by Rhode Island Telephone, you agree not to change the electronic serial number or equipment identifier of the Equipment, or to perform a factory reset of the Equipment, without express permission from Rhode Island Telephone, in each instance, which Rhode Island Telephone may deny in its sole discretion. You agree not to hire any third party, including an information technology professional, to perform any work upon, alter, touch or tamper with the equipment, or else shall be a violation of your service agreement with Rhode Island Telephone. Rhode Island Telephone reserves the right to terminate your Service should you tamper with the Equipment, in which case you shall be responsible for: (i) the full charges to the end of the current term, including without limitation unbilled charges; (ii) a disconnect fee, and (iii) the cost of all tampered Equipment, all of which immediately become due and payable. You agree not to hack or disrupt the service or to make any use of the Service that is inconsistent with its intended purpose or to attempt to do so.

1.10 Theft of Service

You agree to notify Rhode Island Telephone, immediately, in writing, and by calling the Rhode Island Telephone customer help line, if the Equipment is stolen or if you become aware at any time that your Service is being stolen or fraudulently used. When you contact Rhode Island Telephone, you must provide your account number and a detailed description of the circumstances of the Equipment theft or fraudulent 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 Rhode Island Telephone receives proper notice of the theft or fraudulent use, you will be liable for all use of the Service using Equipment stolen from you and any and all fraudulent use of the Service.

1.11 Equipment Purchase

All hardware, such as telephones, analog telephone adapters, modems, routers, and any other hardware, which is not provided by Rhode Island Telephone, must be certified for Rhode Island Telephone’s CloudWorx and VoIP network. The Rhode Island Telephone warranties apply to any equipment bought from Rhode Island Telephone. Any equipment returned to Rhode Island Telephone for replacement or credit, for any reason, must include all parts, accessories, documentation and packaging materials. You are responsible for any cost and risk of return shipping of equipment. The Rhode Island Telephone warranties do not apply to any equipment not purchased from Rhode Island Telephone, even if that equipment is certified for Rhode Island Telephone’s CloudWorx and VoIP network.

1.12 Number Transfer on Service Termination

Upon termination of the Service, Rhode Island Telephone will release any telephone number issued by Rhode Island Telephone, or ported in from a previous service provider, to your new service provider, if such new service provider is able to accept such number, and provided that: (i) your account has been terminated; (ii) your Rhode Island Telephone account is current, including payment for all charges and disconnect fees; and (iii) you request the transfer upon terminating your account.

1.13 Ownership and Risk of Loss

You shall be deemed the owner of any Equipment purchased by you from Rhode Island Telephone, and bear all risk of loss of, theft of, casualty to or damage to the Equipment, from the time it is shipped to you.

1.14 No 0+ Calling; May Not Support x11 Calling

Rhode Island Telephone’s Service does not support 0+ calling (including, without limitation, collect, third party billing or calling card calling). Rhode Island Telephone’s Service may not support 311, 511 and/or other x11 (other than 911 and 411, which are provided for elsewhere in these Terms and Conditions) services in one or more (or all) service areas.

1.15 Free Conference Calling Service may be blocked

Rhode Island Telephone reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to block calls to “Free conference calling” numbers.

2.0 Emergency Services – 911 Dialing

2.1 Non-Availability of Traditional 911 or E911 Dialing Service

You acknowledge and understand that the Service does NOT automatically support traditional 911 or E911 access to emergency services. Rhode Island Telephone does offer a 911-type service, without the dialing of any prefix, only on certified equipment as described herein. You acknowledge and understand that 911-type dialing is NOT automatic, that you must separately take affirmative steps, as described herein, to activate such 911-type dialing capabilities and that such 911-type dialing is different in a number of important ways (some, but not necessarily all, of which are described in these Terms and Conditions) from traditional 911 service. Rhode Island Telephone 911 dialing is only available on Rhode Island Telephone-certified Equipment.

2.2 Description of 911-Type Dialing Capabilities – Activation Required – Kari’s Law Act of 2017

Rhode Island Telephone does offer a 911-type dialing service in the U.S that is different in a number of important ways from traditional 911 service, but does not require any prefix in dialing or calling 911. You acknowledge and understand that 911-type dialing is NOT automatic, and must be activated through Rhode Island Telephone. In order to activate, the equipment must be certified by Rhode Island Telephone as having the capabilities to support 911 dialing without a prefix. Thereafter, when you dial 911 from any multi-line telephone system provided by Rhode Island Telephone, your call is immediately routed to the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) or local emergency service personnel designated for the address that you listed at the time of activation. You acknowledge and understand that when you dial 911 from your certified equipment it is intended that you will be routed to the general telephone number for the PSAP or local emergency service provider (which may not be answered outside business hours). You must provide the proper PSAP or local emergency service 911 dispatcher so that the call may be routed to the 911 dispatcher(s) who are specifically designated to receive incoming 911 calls using traditional 911 dialing. Rhode Island Telephone relies on the customer for the forwarding information underlying such routing, and accordingly Rhode Island Telephone disclaims any and all liability or responsibility in the event such information or routing is incorrectly provided. In addition, when a 911 call is placed, a notification shall be sent to on-site personnel, alerting them to the emergency. The customer must identify the on-site personnel to receive the notification. In addition, the customer must identify the form of notification to this contact, whether it be in the form of a phone call, visual alert on a monitor, audible alarm, text message or email. This is the obligation of the customer, and, thereafter, Rhode Island Telephone shall provide this service, assuming the equipment is capable of such. If the equipment is not capable of such, then the customer assumes such risks, including the risk of being in violation of Kari’s Law Act of 2017.  Neither Rhode Island Telephone 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 911 dialing unless it is proven that the act or omission proximately causing the claim, damage, or loss constitutes gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct on the part of Rhode Island Telephone. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Rhode Island Telephone from any claim or action arising out of misroutes of 911 calls, including, but not limited to, your failure to follow correct activation procedures for 911 calling or your provision to Rhode Island Telephone of incorrect information in connection therewith or your failure to provide or purchase the equipment necessary for such 911 activation.

2.2.1 Remote Access and Application Dialing

It is understood that, at the time of setting up your equipment, Rhode Island Telephone will request the notification number and/or contact number for dial back, as well as the address for the PSAP or local emergency service 911 dispatcher to send emergency services in response to the 911 call. It is understood that use of the telephone service, whether Hosted Cloud or Premise Based, shall utilize the same designated call back/dial in phone number and address associated therewith while making a 911 call. Accordingly, when a customer utilizes the same phone system, whether it be remotely or whether it is physically removed from the location and taken elsewhere, the customer understands and accepts the risk that the 911 call from this system will provide the same designated call back number and address as it would if it was at the main location for the system, as set up with Rhode Island Telephone when the customer established the service. Thus, the customer shall not bring the equipment outside of the designated service location or risk a disruption in service and a failure to obtain 911 services. Should the customer seek to move the system and/or equipment to a different location and/or operate remotely at a different location, the customer shall inform Rhode Island Telephone so that Rhode Island Telephone can update the 911 dispatch information associated with the customer’s system and phone number. As it pertains to the use of Rhode Island Telephone’s application, CloudWorks Mobile App, the customer acknowledges and agrees that it cannot and shall not dial out 911 from the Mobile App. In the event the customer dials out 911 from the Mobile App, the PSAP or local emergency service 911 dispatcher could be provided with a call back number for the customer’s physical business location, where the system and equipment are located, and an improper address, thus causing 911 services to be dispatched to the wrong location. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Rhode Island Telephone from any claim or action arising out of misroutes of 911 calls or dispatched services, including, but not limited to, your transfer of equipment and/or services to a different location without first informing Rhode Island Telephone and having your call out number and address updated with the PSAP or local emergency service 911 dispatcher or your use of CloudWorks Mobile App to dial 911.

2.3 Service Outage

2.3.1 Power Failure or Disruption

You acknowledge and understand that 911 dialing does not function in the event of a power failure or disruption. Should there be an interruption in the power supply, the Service and 911 dialing will not function until power is restored. A power failure or disruption may require the Customer to reset or reconfigure equipment prior to utilizing the Service or 911 dialing. This is the obligation of the Customer and not Rhode Island Telephone. The customer must notify Rhode Island Telephone of such outage.

2.3.2 Broadband Service / ISP Outage or Termination / Suspension or Termination by Rhode Island Telephone

You acknowledge and understand that service outages or suspension or termination of service by your broadband provider and/or ISP will prevent ALL Service, including 911 dialing.

2.3.3 Service Outage Due to Suspension of Your Account

You acknowledge and understand that service outages due to suspension of your account as a result of billing issues will prevent ALL Service, including 911 dialing.

2.3.4 Other Service Outages

You acknowledge and understand that, if there is a service outage, for ANY reason, such outage will prevent ALL Service, including 911 dialing. Such outages may occur for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, those reasons described elsewhere herein.

2.3.5 Limitation of Liability and Indemnification

You acknowledge and understand that Rhode Island Telephone’s liability is limited for any Service outage and/or inability to dial 911 from your line or to access emergency service personnel, as set forth in these Terms and Conditions. You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Rhode Island Telephone, its officers, directors, employees, affiliates and agents and any other service provider who furnishes services to Customer in connection with these Terms and Conditions, the service agreement or the Service, from any and all claims, losses, damages, fines, penalties, costs and expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable attorney’s fees) by, or on behalf of, Customer or any third party or user of Customer’s Service relating to the absence, failure or outage of the Service, including 911 dialing and/or inability of Customer or any third person or party or user of Customer’s Service to be able to dial 911 or to access emergency service personnel.

2.4 Dialing Requires Registration

You acknowledge and understand that 911 dialing does not function unless you have successfully registered your phone location by designating the correct physical address of each phone by means of a signed customer order form. You acknowledge and understand that you cannot dial 911 from this line unless and until you have received a confirming email. You acknowledge that you are responsible for re-registering the phone’s address if you move the phone to another location. This reregistration must be done via the specific toll free number provided by Rhode Island Telephone for this purpose.

2.5 Failure to Designate the Correct Physical Address When Activating 911 Dialing

Failure to provide the current and correct physical address and location of your certified equipment will result in any 911 communications you may make being routed to the incorrect local emergency service provider. This must be the actual physical street address where you are located, not a post office box, mail drop or similar address.

2.6 Requires Re-Activation if You Change Your Number or Add or Port New Numbers

You acknowledge and understand that 911 dialing does not function if you change your phone number or (for such newly added or ported numbers) if you add or port new numbers to your account, unless and until you have successfully registered the new location with Rhode Island Telephone by means of a signed order form, and until such later date that such activation has been confirmed to you through a confirming email. Although you may have activated 911 dialing with your former Rhode Island Telephone phone number, you must separately register for 911 dialing for any changed or newly added or ported number.

2.7 Requires Re-Activation if You Move or Change Location

You acknowledge and understand that 911 dialing does not function properly or at all if you move or otherwise change the physical location of your Certified equipment to a different street address, unless and until you have successfully registered the new location with Rhode Island Telephone by means of a signed order form, and until such later date that such activation has been confirmed to you through a confirming email. 911 dialing must be re-activated although you may have activated 911 dialing using your former address, and you must separately activate 911 dialing for any new physical address. Failure to provide the current and correct physical address and location of your Certified equipment will result in any 911 dialing you may make being routed to the incorrect local emergency service provider.

2.8 Possibility of Network Congestion and/or Reduced Speed for Routing or Answering 911

Due to the technical constraints on the manner in which it is possible to provide the 911 dialing feature for Rhode Island Telephone Service at this time, you acknowledge and understand that there is a greater possibility of network congestion and/or reduced speed in the routing of a 911 communication made utilizing your certified equipment as compared to traditional 911 dialing over traditional public telephone networks. You acknowledge and understand that 911 dialing from your Certified equipment will be routed to the general telephone number for the local emergency service provider (which may not be answered outside business hours), and will not be routed to the 911 dispatcher(s) who are specifically designated to receive incoming 911 calls at such local provider’s facilities when such calls are routed using traditional 911 dialing, unless you identify such 911 dispatcher. You acknowledge and understand that there may be a greater possibility that the general telephone number for the local emergency service provider will produce a busy signal or will take longer to answer, as compared to those 911 calls routed to the 911 dispatcher(s) who are specifically designated to receive incoming 911 calls using traditional 911 dialing. You acknowledge and accept that Rhode Island Telephone relies on the customer for the forwarding of information underlying such routing, and, accordingly, Rhode Island Telephone disclaims any and all liability or responsibility in the event such information or routing is incorrect. Rhode Island Telephone, or its officers or employees, may not 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 911 dialing unless it is proven that the act or omission proximately causing the claim, damage, or loss constitutes gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct on the part of Rhode Island Telephone.

3.1 Changes to this Agreement

Rhode Island Telephone may change its Terms and Conditions from time to time. Notices will be considered given and effective on the date posted on Rhode Island Telephone’s webpage. Such changes will become binding on Customer, on the date posted to the Rhode Island Telephone website, and no further notice by Rhode Island Telephone is required. The updated Terms and Conditions, as posted, supersedes all previously agreed to electronic and written terms of service, including, without limitation, any terms included within the service agreement or with the packaging of the Equipment.

4.0 Charges / Payments / Default / Taxes / Termination

4.1 Billing

At the time of execution of the service agreement, you must give us a valid credit card number, or ACH information, before the Service is activated. Rhode Island Telephone reserves the right to stop accepting credit cards from one or more issuers. If the card expires, you close your account, your billing address changes, or the card is cancelled and replaced owing to loss or theft, and you must advise Rhode Island Telephone at once. We will bill all charges, applicable taxes and surcharges monthly in advance (except for usage-based charges, which will be billed monthly in arrears, and any other charges which Rhode Island Telephone decides to bill in arrears) to your credit card, including but not limited to: activation fees, monthly Service fees, international usage charges, advanced feature charges, equipment purchases, disconnect fees and shipping and handling charges. Rhode Island Telephone reserves the right to bill at more frequent intervals if the amount due at any time exceeds $50. Invoice payment are due within Thirty days of the invoice date.

4.2 Billing Disputes

You must notify Rhode Island Telephone, in writing, within 7 days after receiving your Rhode Island Telephone statement if you dispute any Rhode Island Telephone charges on that statement, or such dispute will be deemed waived. You agree to notify Rhode Island Telephone in writing of any disputed charges ten business days prior to requesting a credit card chargeback from your credit card company to give Rhode Island Telephone an opportunity to resolve the dispute. If you do not, then you will be liable and owe such charge, plus any expenses or penalties incurred by Rhode Island Telephone. In the event that only a portion of the charges are in dispute, you agree to pay for all charges that are not in dispute. Billing disputes should be notified to the following address:

175 Metro Center Boulevard, Warwick, RI 02886

AND

accounting@ritelephone.com

4.3 Payment

Rhode Island Telephone accepts payments by credit card as set forth in Section 4.1. Your initial use of the Service authorizes Rhode Island Telephone to charge the credit card account number on file with Rhode Island Telephone, including any changed information given Rhode Island Telephone if the card expires or is replaced, or if you substitute a different card, for Rhode Island Telephone charges as set forth in Section 4.1, and those charges provided in your service agreement. You authorize Rhode Island Telephone to use your new credit card expiration date of the credit card on file in the event your credit card is renewed. This authorization will remain valid until 30 days after Rhode Island Telephone receives your written notice terminating Rhode Island Telephone’s authority to charge your credit card, whereupon Rhode Island Telephone will charge you the disconnect fee and any other outstanding charges and terminate the Service. Rhode Island Telephone may terminate your Service at any time in its sole discretion, if any charge to your credit card on file with Rhode Island Telephone is declined or reversed, your credit card expires and you have not provided Rhode Island Telephone with a valid replacement credit card or in case of any other non-payment of account charges. Termination of Service for declined or expired card, reversed charges or non-payment leaves you FULLY LIABLE to Rhode Island Telephone for ALL CHARGES ACCRUED BEFORE TERMINATION, and for all amounts due and owing for the remainder of your service agreement, as well as for all costs incurred by Rhode Island Telephone in collecting such amounts, such as (but not limited to) collection costs and attorney’s fees.

4.4 Termination/Discontinuance of Service

Rhode Island Telephone reserves the right to suspend or discontinue providing the Service for prohibited or unlawful use, abuse or failure to pay at any time in its sole discretion. If your Service is terminated for any stated reason, including, without limitation violation, of these Terms and Conditions or the service agreement, or because of any improper use of the Service or Equipment (such as, but not limited to, your attempts to hack, disrupt, or misuse the Service or your acts or omissions that violate any acceptable use policy of Rhode Island Telephone or of a third party provider to which Rhode Island Telephone is subject), you will be responsible for the full charges to the end of the current term, including, without limitation, unbilled charges, plus any disconnect fee, all of which immediately becomes due and payable. Rhode Island Telephone may discontinue providing the Service generally due to reasons related to changes in service availability, in which case, Customer will only be responsible for charges accrued through the date of termination, including a pro-rated portion of the final month’s charges. Service is provided for a full month term, meaning that if you terminate Service prior to the end of the term, you will be responsible for the full charges through the end of the month in which service actually terminated, including, without limitation, unbilled charges. In any event, if the customer fails to make payment for amounts due within 30 days of the invoice and/or start of that months billing, then Rhode Island Telephone may terminate the service agreement, following a 30 day notice to the customer, and collect on the full amount due and owing by the customer through the end of the term of the service agreement. If there is any other dispute, disagreement or deadlock between Rhode Island Telephone and the Customer, then Rhode Island Telephone may provide a 30 day notice of termination of the service agreement. The Customer, in such event, shall be liable and owe the remainder of such monthly billing, but the remainder of the service agreement and all amounts due thereafter shall be terminated.

4.5 Taxes

You are responsible for, and shall pay, any 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 Equipment. If you are exempt from payment of such taxes, you shall provide Rhode Island Telephone with an original certificate that satisfies applicable legal requirement attesting to tax exempt status. Tax exemption will only apply from and after the date Rhode Island Telephone receives such certificate.

5.0 Warranty and Liability Limitations / Indemnification

5.1 Limitation of Liability

Rhode Island Telephone shall 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:

• 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; strikes; fire; war; riot; pandemics; government actions;
• Equipment, network or facility shortage;
• Equipment or facility relocation;
• Service, equipment, network or facility failure caused by the loss of power to Customer;
• Outage of Customer’s ISP or broadband service provider;
• Act or omission of Customer or any person using the Service or Equipment provided to Customer;
• Any other cause that is beyond Rhode Island Telephone’s control, including, without limitation, a failure of or defect in any Equipment, the failure of an incoming or outgoing communication, the inability of communications (including without limitation 911 dialing) to be connected or completed, or degradation of voice quality.

Rhode Island Telephone’s aggregate liability for (i) any failure or mistake; (ii) any claim with respect to Rhode Island Telephone’s performance or nonperformance hereunder; or, (iii) any Rhode Island Telephone act or omission in connection with the subject matter hereof shall, in no event, exceed Service charges with respect to the affected time period.

5.2 Disclaimer of Damages

IN NO EVENT SHALL Rhode Island Telephone, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES OR AGENTS OR ANY OTHER SERVICE PROVIDER WHO FURNISHES SERVICES TO CUSTOMER IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR 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, 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 BE ABLE TO DIAL 911 OR TO ACCESS EMERGENCY SERVICE PERSONNEL THROUGH THE SERVICE. 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 Rhode Island Telephone WAS INFORMED OF THE LIKELIHOOD OF ANY PARTICULAR TYPE OF DAMAGES.

5.3 Indemnification

Customer agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Rhode Island Telephone, its officers, directors, employees, affiliates and agents and any other service provider who furnishes services to Customer in connection with this Agreement or the Service, from any and all claims, losses, damages, fines, penalties, costs and expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys fees) by, or on behalf of, Customer or any third party or user of Customer’s Service, relating to the service agreement and these Terms and Conditions, the Services, including 911 dialing, or the Equipment. This paragraph shall survive termination of the service agreement and these Terms and Conditions.

5.4 No Warranties on Service

Rhode Island Telephone MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS OF THE SERVICE FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE OR NONINFRINGEMENT 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, Rhode Island Telephone DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE WITHOUT FAILURE, DELAY, INTERRUPTION, ERROR, AND DEGRADATION OF VOICE QUALITY OR LOSS OF CONTENT, DATA OR INFORMATION. NEITHER Rhode Island Telephone NOR ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES OR AGENTS OR ANY OTHER SERVICE PROVIDER OR VENDOR WHO FURNISHES SERVICES OR PRODUCTS TO CUSTOMER IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR THE SERVICE WILL BE LIABLE FOR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO Rhode Island Telephone’S OR CUSTOMER’S 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 EQUIPMENTS OR ANY OTHER METHOD, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH DAMAGE OCCURS AS A RESULT OF Rhode Island Telephone’S OR ITS SERVICE PROVIDER’S OR VENDORS’ NEGLIGENCE. STATEMENTS AND DESCRIPTIONS CONCERNING THE SERVICE OR EQUIPMENT, IF ANY, BY Rhode Island Telephone OR Rhode Island Telephone’S AGENTS OR INSTALLERS ARE INFORMATIONAL AND ARE NOT GIVEN AS A WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.

5.5 Warranties, or Limited Warranties, for Equipment

Under a Hosted Cloud System, if Customer received the Equipment new and purchased from Rhode Island Telephone, then the Equipment shall include a warranty, as long as the Customer remains a client/customer of Rhode Island Telephone. Under a Premises Based System, the Customer shall receive a one-year parts and labor warranty. If Customer’s Equipment did not include a warranty from Rhode Island Telephone at the time of receipt, because it was not purchased from Rhode Island Telephone, then the Customer agrees that it accepts its Equipment “as is” and that Customer is not entitled to replacement or refund in the event of any defect. If the Customer, for any reason, is no longer a client/customer of Rhode Island Telephone, then Rhode Island Telephone shall have no obligation to warranty the equipment, for any reason. OTHER THAN WARRANTIES AS TO THE EQUIPMENT EXPRESSLY SET FORTH HEREIN, Rhode Island Telephone MAKES NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS OF THE EQUIPMENT FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE OR NONINFRINGEMENT OR ANY WARRANTY ARISING BY USAGE OF TRADE, COURSE OF DEALING OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE OR ANY WARRANTY THAT THE, EQUIPMENT 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 EQUIPMENT.

5.6 No Third Party Beneficiaries

No provision of this Agreement provides any person or entity not a party to these Terms and Conditions and the service agreement with any remedy, claim, liability, reimbursement, or cause of action or creates any other third party beneficiary rights.

5.7 Content

You are liable for any and all liability that may arise out of the content transmitted by or to you or users of the Services. You shall assure that your or user’s use of the Services and content will at all times comply with all applicable laws, regulations and written and electronic instructions for use. Rhode Island Telephone reserves the right to terminate or suspend affected Services, and/or remove your or users’ content from the Services, if Rhode Island Telephone determines that such use or content does not conform with the requirements set forth in this Agreement or interferes with Rhode Island Telephone’s ability to provide Services to you or others or receives notice from anyone that your or Users’ use or Content may violate any laws or regulations. Rhode Island Telephone’s actions or inaction under this Section shall not constitute review or approval of your or users’ use or Content. You will indemnify and hold Rhode Island Telephone against any and all liability arising from the content transmitted by or to you or to users using the Services. A “user” means any person, whether authorized or unauthorized, using the Service and/or Equipment provided to you by Rhode Island Telephone.

6.0 Governing Law / Resolution of Disputes

6.1 Resolutions and Governing Law

These Terms and Conditions, the service agreement and the relationship between you and Rhode Island Telephone shall be governed by the laws of the State of Rhode Island, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. To the extent court action is initiated, or for any other reason consistent with Section 6.1, you and Rhode Island Telephone agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within the State of Rhode Island and waive any objection as to venue or inconvenient forum. Any and all disputes shall be resolved through an action filed within the Rhode Island Superior Court or District Court, Kent County. The failure of Rhode Island Telephone to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of the Agreement is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Agreement remain in full force and effect. You agree that, regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of the Service or these Terms and Conditions must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.

6.2 Entire Agreement

These Terms and Conditions, the proposal/quote, the signed quotations, the signed service agreement, any hosted agreement, labor and hardware agreement or any other written agreement and Rhode Island Telephone’s current rates constitute the entire agreement between you and Rhode Island Telephone and govern your use of the Service, superseding any prior agreements between you and Rhode Island Telephone and any and all prior or contemporaneous statements, understandings, writings, commitments, or representations concerning its subject matter. No amendment to this Agreement shall be binding upon Rhode Island Telephone unless and until posted in accordance with Section 3 hereof.

6.3 Severability

If any part of these Terms and Conditions is legally declared invalid or unenforceable, all other parts of these Terms and Conditions are still valid and enforceable. Such invalidity or non-enforceability will not invalidate or render unenforceable any other portion of these Terms and Conditions.

6.4 Privacy

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

6.5 Internet

Rhode Island Telephone shall not be held responsible for Internet Service Providers.  This shall include all Cable Internet Providers, DSL Providers, and Wireless Providers. Rhode Island Telephone shall not be held responsible for any of the following issues: Dropped Calls, Tinny calls, echo and other VoIP issues that may occur on these networks.  Rhode Island Telephone can make recommendations to “fix” these issues, but shall not be held responsible for these other company’s problems.