Policies
Union Telephone Downloadable Policies & Statements
Review the policies and statements below for Union related services.
Policies
Privacy Policy
PRIVACY POLICY
Union Telephone Company
c/o Privacy Administrator
PO Box 96
Plainfield, WI 54966
715-335-6301
715-335-6305 [fax]
Types of Information Collected
Generally, personal information is not collected from visitors to the Union Telephone website. However, in order to access certain special services, personal information is requested; those cases are described in more detail below.
Subscriber
If you have subscribed to any of Union Telephone’s services, considerable personal information was required including name, address, and phone number. Additionally, mechanized logs record a short history of your connections to the Union Telephone servers. These logs typically cycle every 60-90 days. Short of receiving a subpoena, Union Telephone will under no circumstances release any of your personal information without your explicit permission.
Statement of Non-Discrimination
Statement of Non-Discrimination.
Union Telephone Company is the recipient of Federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S., STOP 9410 W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call toll free (866) 632-9992 (English) or (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377-8642 (English Federal-relay) or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish Federal-relay). “USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender”.
Acceptable Use Policy
Acceptable Use of Union Telephone Internet Service for Publishing Content.
Acceptable Use Policy.This Acceptable Use Policy sets forth the basic rules of Internet use by Customer and any User. Union reserves the sole and unconditional right to immediately and without prior notice to Customer refuse, suspend or terminate Internet Services to anyone and to remove any material or information that in Union’s sole discretion violates this Acceptable Use Policy, regardless of Customer’s or any User’s knowledge or intent of such violation.
Unlawful Use. Customer agrees that the Internet Services shall not be used for any unlawful purpose.
Unsolicited Advertising/Spamming. Customer agrees not to post or transmit any unsolicited material through any active medium (e.g., e-mail, chat rooms). Customer agrees not to use the Internet Services for unsolicited mass e-mailing (“Spamming”) of any kind. To assist Union in preventing Spamming, Union may limit the number of recipients allowed per e-mail and/or limit the number of e-mails Customer can send over a short period of time.
Disruption/Hacking. Customer agrees not to attempt to obtain Internet Services by fraudulent means or device with intent to avoid payment, attempt to access, alter, or destroy any information of Union or of another Union subscriber, attempt to interfere with the use of the Internet by other lawful users or in violation of any laws, attempt to post or transmit any information or software which contains a virus, worm, cancelbot or other harmful component in aid of any unlawful activity, or attempt to access a record in electronic format that contains personally identifiable information in order to facilitate any violation of the law.
Disruptive Content. Customer agrees not to post or transmit any unlawful, illegal, obscene, offensive or pornographic information of any kind, including without limitation any transmissions constituting or encouraging conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any local, state, national, or international law, including without limitation the U.S. export control laws and regulations.
Harassment. Customer agrees not to use the Internet Services for harassment, threats, verbal abuse, and persistent, unwanted contact of any kind. Harassment covers any use of the Internet Services to directly or indirectly contact any other user (including users of another Internet service) in an unwanted fashion. Harassment can be in forms such as unwanted e-mail, chat messages, or verbal declarations on a public forum, or can be in the form of defamatory information posted on web sites.
Fraud/False Advertising. Customer agrees not to post or transmit fraudulent information on or through the Internet Services. This can include false advertising, identity theft, or misrepresentation of any kind including falsifying information, spoofing, phishing, forged e-mail headers or fictitious e-mail addresses.
Copyright Infringement. Customer agrees not to download, upload, post, publish, transmit, reproduce, distribute, or participate in the transfer or sale, or in any way exploit any information, software, or other material, obtained through the Internet which is protected by copyright or other proprietary rights or derivative works with respect thereto, without obtaining permission of the copyright owner or right holder.
Extended Passive Connections. Customer agrees not to use the Internet Services for extended periods of time in a standby or inactive mode. Use of programs intended to keep Customer online while Customer’s computer is unattended is prohibited. The Internet Services are intended for active use of the Internet, e-mail, games, etc. Customer may stay connected to the Internet so long as Customer is using the Internet Services for such active purposes.
Reselling the Internet Service. Customer agrees not to resell, redistribute or reconfigure the Internet Services to allow others to use the Internet Services. Abuse. Customer agrees not to use the Internet Services in violation or contravention of any upstream Internet access provider’s or underlying communications carrier’s acceptable use policy. Customer agrees not to abuse or fraudulently use the Internet Services in any way.
Union Liability. Customer agrees not to subject Union to liability of any kind.
Network Testing. In certain geographic service areas where the Company receives certain types of federal high-cost universal service support, we may be required by the FCC to measure and collect information concerning the speed and latency of broadband services provided to randomly-selected subscribers. Pursuant to applicable FCC guidelines, any required testing would be accomplished by using existing network management systems and tools. The FCC has adopted requirements regarding when tests would begin, when exactly we may perform the tests, and the number of active subscriber locations we would be required to test. Once testing begins, test results must be reported and certified to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) and State Commission on an annual basis. As it relates to randomly-selected subscribers, this required performance testing is in addition to the automatic testing we may do to measure or monitor performance and improve our service levels generally.
Compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Copyright Policy
Amherst Telephone Company, doing business as Amherst Communications, including its divisions and affiliates, complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512 (the “DMCA”). This policy describes the procedures for reporting alleged copyright infringement and the actions Amherst Telephone Company may take in response.
Amherst Telephone Company acts as a service provider and, where applicable, as a conduit for user communications. In accordance with the DMCA, Amherst Telephone Company has adopted and reasonably implements a policy providing for the termination of subscribers who are repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances.
Designated DMCA Agent
Pursuant to the DMCA, Amherst Telephone Company has designated the following agent to receive notifications of claimed copyright infringement:
DMCA Agent
Copyright Manager
Amherst Telephone Company
120 Mill Street
Amherst, WI 54406
Phone: 715-824-5529
Email: copyright@amherstcomm.net
Reporting Alleged Copyright Infringement
A notification of claimed infringement must be a written communication and must include substantially the following information:
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A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed
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Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or a representative list of such works
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Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to permit Amherst Telephone Company to locate the material or identify the subscriber involved
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Information reasonably sufficient to permit Amherst Telephone Company to contact the complaining party, including name, address, telephone number, and email address
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A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law
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A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed
Notices that fail to substantially comply with these requirements may not be processed.
Response to DMCA Notices
Upon receipt of a valid DMCA notice, Amherst Telephone Company may take one or more of the following actions, as appropriate:
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Notify the affected subscriber of the allegation
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Disable access to the identified material or take reasonable steps related to the subscriber’s access
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Maintain records of infringement notices for repeat infringer tracking
First time infringers may be subject to corrective action. Subscribers who are determined to be repeat infringers may have their accounts suspended or terminated in appropriate circumstances.
Counter-Notification Procedure
If a subscriber believes that material was removed or access was disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification, the subscriber may submit a counter-notification. The counter-notification must include the following:
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The subscriber’s physical or electronic signature
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Identification of the material that was removed or to which access was disabled and the location where the material appeared before it was removed or access was disabled
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A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the subscriber has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification
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The subscriber’s name, address, telephone number, and email address
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A statement that the subscriber consents to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the subscriber’s address is located, or if outside the United States, for any judicial district in which Amherst Telephone Company may be found, and that the subscriber will accept service of process from the person who submitted the original notification or that person’s agent
Counter-notifications should be sent to the Designated DMCA Agent listed above.
Restoration of Material or Access
Upon receipt of a valid counter-notification, Amherst Telephone Company will provide a copy to the original complaining party. Unless the Designated DMCA Agent receives notice that the complaining party has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the subscriber from engaging in infringing activity, the removed material or disabled access may be restored within ten to fourteen business days.
Policy Revisions
Amherst Telephone Company reserves the right to modify this policy at any time to remain compliant with applicable law or operational requirements.
Revised 02/05/2026