The Bermuda Telephone Company Limited ("the Company")
provides service to Customers subject to these Conditions of Service and the Company’s rates and charges (“Tariffs”) filed with the Department of Telecommunications from time to time, pursuant to the Telecommunications Act 1986 as amended.  A Customer is regarded as a person who accepts the provision of service from the Company according to its Tariffs at his/her residence or business premises.  The Company reserves the right to vary its rates and amend these Conditions of Service subject to Government regulation where appropriate.    For the most current version of the Company’s Conditions of Service, please visit our website at www.btc.bm or our offices at 30 Victoria Street, Hamilton HM 12.

1 INSTALLATION OF SERVICE
Prior to the provision of service, the Company requires that all installation charges (not refundable) together with one month's rental be paid.  The Company may also require advance deposits.

2 ACCESS CHARGES
Service is supplied at business rates, where it is of a business, professional, institutional or occupational nature.  Service is supplied at residential rates, where it is for social or domestic purposes.  The advertising of residence class telephone numbers for business purposes is not permitted.

3 ATTACHMENTS OR ALTERATIONS TO TELEPHONE EQUIPMENT
No alterations may be made to wiring, and any other equipment provided by the Company, except by the Company's employees as authorised. Customers must ensure that the Company has safe and reasonable access to its equipment at all times. In the event that the Customer has obstructed or failed to maintain the Company's access to its equipment, the Company may, at its sole discretion, decline to complete any work until such time as the Customer restores safe and reasonable access to the equipment. The Company may levy an extra charge, in the event that the Customer has not restored reasonable access to its equipment and the Company determines to proceed with the work. Furthermore, the Customer shall fully indemnify the Company for any loss, damage or injury that occurs as a result of the Customer's failure to provide safe and reasonable access to the Company's equipment. Customers may connect their own equipment/ devices at their own risk and subject to the rules set out in these Conditions of Service.  The equipment must conform to North American standards (e.g. FCC, CSA, and UL type approved).

Number of devices connected to a telephone access line
Customers are advised that there are technical limits (imposed by devices) to the total number of devices which may be connected and work satisfactorily over a single telephone access line.  Exceeding this limit will result in degradation to the quality of service. Where Customer provided equipment is used and the Company is requested to correct a problem and that problem is found to be caused by the Customer-provided equipment or the interior wiring at the premises a charge will be made.

4 CUSTOMER-OWNED EQUIPMENT
Equipment and accessories owned by the Customer may be used with Company facilities as long as the following rules are met:

(i)	Where Customer-owned equipment is connected to the Company access lines, that equipment must not interfere with any Company service. It must not endanger the safety of Company employees or the public and must not change, damage or interfere with the operation of Company equipment.  If told by the Company that the Customer’s equipment is causing or might cause any hazard or interference, the Customer must also pay for any Company visits needed to detect trouble in such equipment.  If told by the Company that the Customer’s interior wiring or modular jack requires repairing or replacement, the Customer must also pay for any Company visits needed to repair or replace such interior wiring or modular jack. The charge is $80 per hour.
(ii)	The Customer undertakes to indemnify and holds the Company harmless against claims for libel, slander or infringement of copyright from material transmitted over its facilities, against claims for infringement of patents arising from, combining with, or using in connection with, facilities of the Company, equipment of the Customer and against all other claims arising out of any act or omission of the Customer in connection with facilities provided by the Company.
(iii)	When a Customer elects to provide his/her own communications system, the Customer must provide all station apparatus and associated wiring which are part of the system and which are located on the same premises as the system.
(iv)	Key telephone systems are defined as station apparatus, station wiring, controlling equipment and inter-communicating paths. When a Customer elects to provide his/her own Key telephone system, the Customer must provide all of these components.
(v)	On the basis of negotiations between the Customer and the Company, and when agreed to in writing and not otherwise, access to and control of the local exchange and message toll communications network by computer or any other device may be permitted, subject to the following considerations:
(a)	Existing load conditions of the serving central office and its ability to accept computer-oriented traffic without injurious effect to existing and contemplated services;
(b)	The recycle time of the computer for originating traffic; and
(c)	Other considerations which may, from time to time, be deemed by the Company to be of sufficient importance..
(vi)	The Company may require full payment by the Customer of all sums owed to the Company before providing interconnection service. This may include reimbursements for loss or damage to telephone facilities as provided herein, periodic charges for facilities and service, termination charges, installation charges, minimum charges or otherwise.
(vii)	The Customer undertakes to indemnify and holds the Company harmless from any and all loss, claims, demands, suits or other action, or any liability whatsoever, for any personal injury to or death of any person or persons, and for any loss, damage or destruction of any property, caused or claimed to have been caused directly or indirectly by the installation, operation, failure to operate, maintenance, removal, presence, condition, location or use of  Customer-owned and maintained equipment, other than injury or damage caused by the negligence of the Company or any of its employees in the course of authorised employment.
(viii)	The Company has no responsibility for installing, operating or maintaining any Customer-owned equipment or for the through transmission of signals or for the quality of or defects in signals sent or received by that equipment.
(ix)	The Company is not responsible for any damages caused by or not prevented by Customer-owned equipment. This includes property damage or personal injury from voltages or currents transmitted over Company facilities which are either caused by or not prevented by Customer-owned equipment.
(x)	The Company does not test, certify or inspect Customer-owned equipment except as needed for its own purposes, and the Company accepts no liability for personal injury or death or for property damage alleged to have resulted from the Company's failure to certify or inspect Customer-owned equipment.
(xi)	The Company will not give credit to interrupted service that is the result of failure of Customer-owned equipment.
(xii)	The Company is not responsible to the Customer if the Customer’s equipment becomes obsolete or requires modification due to changes in Company facilities, operations, or procedures or changes in its Tariffs.
(xiii)	The signal from Customer-owned terminal equipment must meet the minimum network protection criteria laid down by the Company as amended from time to time.
(xiv)	If a Customer violates these rules, the Company may take action, including suspending or disconnecting service.  The Customer must stop using the equipment or correct the violation immediately.  If violations continue, service may be permanently terminated.
(xv)	Notwithstanding anything contained in the preceding paragraphs the Company expressly reserves the right to refuse the connection of Customer-owned equipment which, in the opinion of the Company, could prove detrimental to any service provided by the Company.
(xvi)	If any of the Company's facilities or equipment are damaged or destroyed by or through the operation of any of a Customer's facilities or equipment, then the Customer shall pay the Company the cost of restoration or replacement of the Company's facilities or equipment which were damaged or destroyed.
(xvii)	If the operation of a Customer's facilities or equipment causes disruption in the Company's service to any other person, then the Customer shall indemnify and hold harmless the Company from any and all actions, causes of action, claims, demands or liability arising out of the disruption of service.

5 OVERLOADED TELEPHONE LINES
Customers shall rent additional access lines when their existing service has become overloaded, as determined by the Company.

6 RESPONSIBILITY FOR TELEPHONE EQUIPMENT
Telephone and ancillary equipment rented by the Company to Customers remains the property of the Company.  Customers are responsible for damage to, or the loss of, equipment rented by them, irrespective of how this damage or loss may occur (fair wear and tear excepted) and they will be charged accordingly, in the event of such damage or loss.

7 NUMBER CHANGE
Where necessary, the Company reserves the right to change telephone numbers. Prior notice will be given to the Customer before any such change is made.

8 NOTICE OF REMOVAL, TERMINATION OR TRANSFER OF SERVICE
Customers requiring service to be terminated, removed or transferred must give the Company 30 days notice in writing of any such requirement. Failure to provide such written notice will result in the continuing liability of the Customer for all access, service, rental and other charges.  Customers are again reminded that all equipment rented to them by the Company is the property of the Company and must therefore not be removed from the registered location except by the Company's employees, who will be provided with access by the Customer for this purpose. Customers are required to give 30 days notice in writing of any change in their mailing address. This is to ensure the correct presentation of monthly bills and continuation of the Customers telephone service.

9 RESPONSIBILITY FOR PAYMENT OF BILLS
Customers are responsible for all charges incurred. Payment is due on receipt of the monthly bill and should be paid no later than 30 days from the date of that bill. Customers will also be responsible for all debt collection, legal and other charges incurred in attempting to recover all overdue amounts.

(i)	Local Calls, which are billed in accordance with the readings recorded by the Company, less the relevant monthly allowance if any.
(ii)	Overseas Calls, which are billed as being made from that telephone number, and also those received collect or third party from elsewhere.
(iii)	Investigation charges will be levied by the Company for investigations of overseas or local telephone calls, as well as on request for copies of telephone bills.
(iv)	All calls are billed upon being answered. An answered call is one in which a connection is made between your telephone and some other device through the Public Switched Telephone Network. A connected call includes, but is not limited to, being a person, an answering machine, a wrong number, a voice mailbox, a fax machine tone, a pager tone and other tone devices. This includes any 900 number.
(v)	Customers who do not pay their bills within 30 days of the bill date will be charged a late payment fee of 1% (minimum charge $4.00). This charge applies only to the unpaid balance on accounts after 30 days. Customers who pay their bill by the due date will not be affected. Failure to pay bills within the allotted time will result in disconnection of service, with the imposition of a $50 charge for reconnection. Reconnection of service will be made only on payment being received of all outstanding charges (plus the reconnection fee). Customers should note that reconnection of service in these circumstances is not guaranteed, as that directory number may have been otherwise required.  Continued failure to pay due-charges will result in the disconnected Company-owned equipment being removed from the premises, and service may not be given in the future as a consequence, even if all outstanding charges are subsequently cleared.

10 DISCONNECTION OR REMOVAL OF SERVICE
The Company reserves the right to discontinue service, and remove all Company-owned equipment, in the following circumstances:

(i)	Delay in payment of billed charges (as in nine above). Failure to receive telephone bills through the postal system, etc., does not constitute a valid reason for non-payment of accounts.
(ii)	Interference with the Company's equipment or access line by the Customer.
(iii)	If used in a manner or for a purpose prohibited by law (including without limitation, to send or communicate messages, conduct activities or otherwise use the service in contravention of the Telecommunications Act 1986, the Obscene Publications Act 1973, the Criminal Code Act 1907, the Proceeds of Crime Act 1988, the Human Rights Act 1981, or the Tenth Schedule to the Companies Act 1981 as amended from time to time).
(iv)	If used to send or communicate bulk, unsolicited Electronic Records (as defined in the Electronic Transactions Act 1999, as amended from time to time) to persons with whom the Customer has no relationship (either contractual or personal) or to persons that have not otherwise consented to receive such Electronic Records.

11 WAYLEAVES
It is a condition to the provision of telephone service that Customers will provide access at all times to bona fide Company employees in the execution of their duties related to all the Company's plant and telephone equipment, and will grant permission to erect poles and run wires on their property through a suitable right-of-way for the provision of telephone service.

(i)	Out of Service Credit Program. The Company will provide any residential and single line business Customer, who is out of service, as defined herein, with a maximum of one (1) out of service credit, equivalent to one (1) month's access line rental charge, per access line per calendar month. The Company will consider such a Customer to be out of service in the event that the Customer cannot make and/or receive a call on his/her access line(s) for the following periods of time:
(a)	Residential Customers: a minimum of seven (7) consecutive days.
(b)	Single line business Customers: a minimum of two (2) consecutive days.

The period of time that the Company may consider a Customer to be out of service will commence upon the Customer reporting the outage to the Company. The Company will consider service interruptions reported after 3:00 p.m. to have been received at 9:00 a.m. on the following day. Credits will be applied automatically to the Customer's bill in the month following the service interruption.

The following fault categories are excluded from the credit program:

• Faults resulting from acts or omissions of the Customer.
• Faults resulting from acts or omissions of third parties.
• Faults resulting from Customer-owned or third party equipment, including, but not limited to, wiring, jacks or grounding equipment.
• Repeat faults due to failure of Customer's underground cable where the Company has requested that the Customer open a trench for new conduit and cable to be installed.
• Faults where rectification involves the Customer settling a boundary dispute.
• Faults caused by third party infrastructure or excavation.
• Troubles caused by events beyond the Company's reasonable control, including, but not limited to, hurricane, thunder storms, flooding, power surges or loss of power.
• Troubles with Centrex lines, PBXs and PBX extensions.
• Delays by the Company with respect to installation of service or the transfer of existing service.
• Service interruptions where the Company has disconnected the Customer line pursuant to its Tariffs, or otherwise pursuant to law.

(ii)	Except as is specifically set out in these Conditions of Service, and to the maximum extent permitted by law, the Company shall have no liability under the terms of this agreement (including incidental procedures for the operation thereof or for its negligence or otherwise):
(a)	for any failure in the provision of service;
(b)	for any indirect loss, loss of business, revenue, profit, expected savings, wasted expense, financial loss or loss or harm to data;
(c)	for libel, slander, defamation or the infringement of copyright arising from material or messages transmitted over the Company's telecommunications network from a Customer's property or premises or recorded by a Customer's equipment or the Company's equipment;
(d)	for the infringement of patents arising from the combining or using of the Customer's facilities or equipment with the Company's equipment or the Company's telecommunication network;
(e)	for damages arising out of the act, default, neglect or omission of the Customer in the use or operation of equipment provided by the Company;
(f)	for damages arising out of the transmission of material or messages over the Company's telecommunications network on the Customer's behalf, which is in any way unlawful; or
(g)	for any damages or injuries which may occur through lightning or other currents being carried over or through the Company's equipment or facilities; or
(h)	for any damages arising out of defects in transmission, mistakes, interrupts, delays or errors occurring in the course of providing service.

(i)	Definition "Directory" means the printed Bermuda Telephone Directory®, and any other telephone directory published by Bermuda Yellow Pages Limited electronically, in print or otherwise, including, but not limited to any on line directory or CD-ROM directory.
(ii)	Copyright Copyright in the Bermuda Telephone Directory® is vested in Bermuda Yellow Pages Limited and copies of the Bermuda Telephone Directory® are the property of Bermuda Yellow Pages Limited and shall be returned on the issue of new copies. Directory contents may not be published or reproduced without prior written permission of the Bermuda Yellow Pages Limited.  No auxiliary binder or holders may be used without permission and no advertising labels or stickers may be affixed to a Directory.
(iii)	Liability The Company cannot accept any liability for accidental errors, omissions, misplacements or other irregularities in any listings or Directory contents, or for any loss incurred thereby. The Company is not liable for any damages arising out of continuation of a Customer listing in a Directory or out of continued inclusion in the Company's Directory assistance records after termination or cancellation of the Customer's service.
(iv)	Listings - Local Subject to the following reservation, the Company's residential and business Customers will be entitled to one free listing per access line in light face type in the White Pages™ of the printed Bermuda Telephone Directory® and one entry in the Company's Directory assistance records.  In addition to these listings, business Customers will be entitled to one free listing in light face type in the Yellow Pages® of the printed Bermuda Telephone Directory®.  The Company may, at its discretion, allow Bermuda Yellow Pages Limited to publish any business Customer listing published in the printed Bermuda Telephone Directory® in any other Directory.  The Company may also, with the consent of the Customer, allow Bermuda Yellow Pages Limited to publish any residential Customer listing published in the printed Bermuda Telephone Directory® in any other Directory.
(v)	General The Company expressly reserves the absolute right to accept or reject for publication in the Directory assistance records and/or any Directory any listing (whether local or overseas).
(vi)	Unpublished Numbers
(a)	General Unpublished service means that the Customer's telephone number is not listed in a Directory, nor is it available in the Directory assistance records of the Company. A charge may be made for this service.
(b)	Regulations The Company's personnel will not complete calls to a Customer having an unpublished number, but in a case of emergency, will make every endeavour to advise that Customer of the caller identity or number.
(c)	Liability Where the Company agrees to keep a Customer's number unpublished, it does so without obligation.  The Company will not accept liability for any damages that may arise from the publication of such a number in a Directory or for disclosing it in any way.

 

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