Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP")
Last Updated: January 1, 2023
Policy Introduction
ACN Communication Services, LLC dba Flash Mobile (“Flash Mobile”) offers all of its services, including, without limitation, any website and wireless voice and data, for residential use only (collectively referred to herein as “Services”) conditioned upon your agreement that you will not use the Services or conduct activities using the Services in a manner that may expose Flash Mobile and other persons or entities to claims of civil or criminal liability or other legal sanctions or may disrupt, degrade, or otherwise impair the Services.
Flash Mobile has adopted this “Acceptable Use Policy” (“AUP”) in an attempt to balance interference or risk of harm arising from the use of the Services with the interests of those who may be affected by such use.
For purposes of this AUP, “you,” “your,” “customer,” “user” and similar terms, mean any Flash Mobile account holder and/or user of the Services. “Flash Mobile,” “we,” “us,” “our” and similar terms, mean ACN Communication Services, LLC and its affiliates doing business as Flash Mobile.
AUP Coverage
This AUP applies to any use of the Services. If you or anyone using the Services that are on your account violates the AUP, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, Flash Mobile may suspend, terminate or take other action regarding the Services, as provided herein and/or as provided in the Flash Mobile Terms & Conditions. You agree that a violation of this Acceptable Use Policy harms Flash Mobile, which cannot be fully redressed by money damages, and that Flash Mobile shall be entitled to immediate injunctive relief in addition to all other remedies available.
Prohibited Actions Generally
Flash Mobile is committed to remaining in compliance with laws and regulations governing use of the Services and to preserving for all of its customers the ability to use the Services without interference or harassment from other users. To ensure the activities of some users do not impair the ability of our customers to have access to the Services, you may not use the Services in a manner that is in connection with any criminal or civil violation of any applicable local, state, provincial, federal, national, or international law, treaty, court order, ordinance, regulation, or administrative rule, or is otherwise unlawful. You may not use the Services in any manner that is fraudulent. You may not use the Services in a manner that infringes on intellectual property rights, or harms or unduly interferes with the use of Flash Mobile’s or any other network or system or conduct activities that adversely affect the operations or reputation of Flash Mobile, our affiliates, employees, customers, carriers, and other business partners. Flash Mobile reserves the right, without notice or limitation, to limit data throughput speeds or quantities or to deny, terminate, end, modify, disconnect, or suspend Service (i) if a user engages in any of the prohibited voice or data uses detailed below, (ii) if a user engages in any use of the service that it inconsistent with ordinary use of the service (including without limitation use of the Service in excess of normal/typical customer use or patterns) as determined by Flash Mobile in its sole discretion; or (iii) if Flash Mobile, in its sole discretion, determines action is necessary to protect its or any other wireless network from harm or degradation. Flash Mobile may also, when it deems it appropriate, refer any inappropriate, fraudulent or unlawful use of the Services to law enforcement authorities for prosecution.
Examples of prohibited voice uses:
Flash Mobile voice Services are provided solely for live dialogue between, and initiated by, individuals for personal use and as otherwise described in this policy, the Flash Mobile Terms & Conditions and other applicable terms and conditions to the Services. Services may not be used for any other purposes, including, but not limited to: monitoring services; transmission of broadcasts; transmission of recorded material; telemarketing; autodialed calls; other commercial uses; other connections that do not consist of live dialogue between individuals; for the sale of any type of calling card product or Service, including, but not limited to, any ‘grab and go’ or rechargeable product with a PIN code that allows a user to purchase and/or refill minutes, access the Internet or other features or services; using or attempting to use the Service for voice communications on a non-Flash Mobile branded SIM card, or in any manner that creates, or appears to create a new ‘brand’ of wireless service; utilizing a Flash Mobile SIM to make voice calls primarily over a Wi-Fi network, including without limitation, the use of any existing Flash Mobile add-on feature that allows Wi-Fi calling capability or to make voice calls primarily over a Wi-Fi network; or where more than 50% of a user’s voice and/or data usage is off-net (i.e., connected to another provider’s network) for any 2 billing cycles within any 12-month period.
Examples of prohibited data uses:
Flash Mobile data Services are provided solely for the purposes of web surfing, sending and receiving email, photographs and other similar messaging activities, and the non-continuous streaming of videos, downloading of files, or online gaming. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, our data Services may not be used: (i) to generate excessive amounts of Internet traffic through the continuous, unattended streaming, downloading or uploading of videos or other files, or to operate hosting services including, but not limited to, web or gaming hosting; (ii) to maintain continuous active network connections to the Internet such as through a web camera, or machine-to-machine connections that do not involve active participation by a person; (iii) to disrupt email use by others using automated or manual routines, including, but not limited to, “auto-responders” or cancel bots, or other similar routines; (iv) to transmit or facilitate any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, telemarketing, promotional materials, “junk mail,” unsolicited commercial or bulk email, or fax; (v) for activities adversely affecting the ability of other people or systems to use either the Services or other parties’ Internet-based resources, including, but not limited to, the generation or dissemination of viruses, malware, or “denial of service” attacks against another network host or individual user; (vi) for an activity that connects any device to personal computers (including without limitation, laptops), or other equipment for the purpose of transmitting wireless data over the network (unless customer is using a plan designated for such usage); (vii) as a repeater or signal booster, except as expressly permitted by Flash Mobile; (viii) for machine-to-machine based remote monitoring to provide life-sustaining medical care for any individual, including without limitation, in health-care and assisted living environments; (ix) for monitoring third parties without their permission, including, but not limited to, prisoner and parolee monitoring; or (x) for any other reason that, in our sole discretion, violates this AUP or any other policy regarding the Services or interferes with or disrupts the Services.
Unlimited Use Plans
If you subscribe to rate plans, services or features that are described as unlimited, you should be aware that such “unlimited” plans are subject to these prohibited network uses and the other prohibited uses and limitations in this AUP. The remainder of this section is an explanation of Flash Mobile’s existing policy concerning unlimited data and is not in limitation of any other prohibited use or other restriction in this AUP, or the Flash Mobile Terms and Conditions. Flash reserves the right to reduce data speed for customers exceeding the applicable High-Speed Limit (please see below for the High-Speed Limit that applies to your plan). Data speed reduction may severely impair your ability to use services or programs requiring data access, including everyday applications. Flash Mobile will also slow cellular data usage under unlimited plans when Flash Mobile determines that data use is severely inconsistent with ordinary use of the Service, or otherwise violates Flash Mobile’s Acceptable Use Policy. Any reduced data speed will continue for the remainder of your monthly billing cycle. Flash Mobile reserves the right to modify data use thresholds (including the applicable High-Speed Limit) and speed level reductions in its sole discretion, from time to time, without notice, based on its determination of changes in what constitutes ordinary use, customer patterns, or other relevant factors. Flash Mobile may determine, in its sole discretion, what is inappropriate usage of Services provided pursuant to this AUP. Should this occur, you may be informed in writing, via email or otherwise, but Flash Mobile reserves the right to make this determination without notice to you. If Flash determines, in its sole discretion, that you are using an unlimited service repeatedly or consistently, in violation of this AUP, or the Flash Terms and Conditions, or in any other manner that is inconsistent with ordinary use of the Service, Flash will notify you of your violations and Flash may, in addition to the options listed above, terminate your Service, decline to renew your Service, or offer you a different Service plan with no unlimited usage component.
Plans featuring unlimited data will allow high-speed data access (up to 5G speeds with compatible network and device) only up to 50GB (Unlimited Plan) or 75GB (Unlimited Elite Plan) of high-speed data per monthly billing cycle (your applicable “High-Speed Limit”). After your High-Speed Limit is reached, you will experience slower data speeds, up to 128 Kbps for the remainder of the applicable billing cycle. During network congestion, our network provider may prioritize heavy data users lower than other customers. Customers whose data is prioritized lower, may notice speeds lower than customers with higher priority in times and locations where there are competing customer demands for network resources.
Intellectual Property
Service shall not be used to transmit, retransmit, or store any content or to engage in any activity that infringes the intellectual property rights or privacy rights of Flash Mobile or any individual, group or entity, including, but not limited to, any rights protected by any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, trade dress, right of privacy, right of publicity, moral rights, or other intellectual property right now known or later recognized by statute, judicial decision, government agency order or regulation. Flash Mobile reserves the right to restrict any actions alleged to violate the intellectual property rights of another party.
Offensive or Threatening Material or Content
Services shall not be used to host, post, transmit, or re-transmit any content or material that is threatening, harassing, obscene, indecent, pornographic, hateful, malicious, racist, defamatory, libelous, treasonous, excessively violent or promotes the use of violence, or provides instruction, information or assistance in causing or carrying out violence against any government, organization, group or individual, or provides guidance, information or assistance with respect to causing damage or security breaches to any network.
Other Prohibited Uses
The following are also prohibited uses of the Services:
- Excessive Utilization of Resources: Consuming a disproportionate amount of available resources resulting in the potential to disrupt or degrade usage of the Services by others. Excessive use is determined by resource consumption relative to that of a typical individual user of any network relating to the Services and not by the use of any particular application. Without prejudice to the general application of the above, the following shall be considered excessive usage: data usage of more than 50GB in a month and where the majority of data usage is mobile hotspot/tethering for any 3 billing cycles within any 6-month period.
- Falsification/Impersonation: Using the Services to impersonate any person or entity; falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity; or create a false identity for the purpose of misleading others. Without limiting the foregoing, you may not use invalid or forged headers, invalid or non-existent domain names, or other means of deceptive addressing.
- Failure to Abide by Third-Party Network or Website Policies: Violating the rules, regulations, or policies that apply to any third-party network, server, computer database, or website that you access.
- Harmful Content: Disseminating or posting content that is harmful to any network or the Services or other users of the Services including, without limitation, viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, zombies, cancelbots, or any other computer programming routines that may damage, interfere with, secretly intercept or seize any system, program, data, or personal information.
- SPAM and Other Messages: You may not distribute, publish, or send through any network relating to the Services: (1) any spam, including any unsolicited advertisements, solicitations, commercial email messages, informational announcements, or promotional messages of any kind; (2) chain mail; (3) numerous copies of the same or substantially similar messages; (4) empty messages; (5) messages that contain no substantive content; (6) very large messages or files that disrupt a server, account, newsgroup, or chat service; or (7) any message that is categorized as phishing. Likewise, you may not: (1) participate in spidering, harvesting, or any other unauthorized collection of email addresses, screen names, or other identifiers of others, or participate in using software (including “spyware”) designed to facilitate such activity; (2) collect responses from unsolicited messages; or (3) use any of our mail servers or another site’s mail server to relay mail without the express permission of the account holder or the site.
- Resale of Services: You may not resell, or offer to resell any Service, or distribute or provide any Service to others on a service-bureau, time-sharing, or other commercial bases.
Additional Use Policies Regarding Mobile Hotspot
Hotspot is a feature that is available on certain rate plans. Hotspot allows you to tether certain other devices (“Other Devices”) to your Hotspot enabled Device so that the Other Devices can achieve Internet access. Disclaimers of warranties in the Flash Mobile Terms and Conditions apply to Hotspot. In addition, Flash Mobile makes no representations or warranties as to any Other Device you attempt to tether using mobile Hotspot, including without limitation as to functionality of the Other Device or its ability to connect to the Internet through Hotspot. Hotspot does not increase data availability or usage expectations under your Service. Hotspot is not intended as, nor should it be used as, a replacement or substitution for any home Internet connection. Limitations on data use as specified under the Flash Mobile Terms and Conditions and this AUP will continue to apply.
Network Security and Integrity
You may not violate the security of any network relating to the Services in any way. Such violations may result in criminal or civil liability. Flash Mobile may, but is not obligated to, investigate any violation of any such network. Flash Mobile may cooperate with law enforcement where criminal or unauthorized activity is suspected. By using Flash Mobile products and services or sending, receiving, posting, accessing, or storing any electronic transmission via any network relating to the Services, you agree to cooperate in any such investigation. Examples of network security violations include, without limitation:
- Hacking: Unauthorized access to or use of data, systems, or networks, including any attempt to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a system or network, or to breach security or authentication measures without the express prior authorization of the owner of the system or network.
- Interception: Unauthorized monitoring of data or traffic on any network or system without the express prior authorization of the owner of the system or network.
- Intentional Interference: Interference with service to any user, host, or network including, without limitation, denial-of-service attacks, mail bombing, news bombing, other flooding techniques, deliberate attempts to overload a system, and broadcast attacks.
- Falsification of Origin or Routing Information: Using, selling, or distributing in conjunction with the network, any computer program designed to conceal the source or routing information of electronic mail messages in a manner that falsifies an Internet domain, header information, date or time stamp, originating email address, or other identifiers.
- Avoiding System Restrictions: Using manual or electronic means to avoid any limitations established by Flash Mobile or owner of any network or system related to the Services or attempting to gain unauthorized access to, alter, or destroy any information that relates to any Flash Mobile customer or other end-user of the Services or other network or system related to the Services. Flash Mobile may, but is not obligated to, take any action it deems necessary to (1) protect any network or system relating to the Services, its rights, or the rights of its customers or third parties, or (2) optimize or improve any network or system relating to the Services, other services, systems, and equipment. You acknowledge that such action may include, without limitation, employing methods, technologies, or procedures to filter or block messages sent through any network or system relating to the Services. Flash Mobile may, in its sole discretion and at any time, filter “spam” or prevent “hacking,” “viruses,” or other potential harms without regard to any preference you may have communicated to us.
Investigation and Enforcement of the Policy
We have the right, but are not obligated, to strictly enforce this AUP through self-help, active investigation, litigation, and prosecution.
In addition to Flash Mobile’s rights under the Flash Mobile Terms and Conditions, Flash Mobile reserves the right to act immediately and without notice to restrict, suspend, or terminate your use of the Services if it determines in its sole discretion that your conduct may: (1) expose Flash Mobile or the owners of related networks or systems to sanctions, prosecution, civil action, or other liability; (2) cause harm to or interfere with the integrity or normal operations of any network or systems relating to the Services or otherwise; (3) interfere with another Flash Mobile customer’s use of the Services; (4) violate any applicable law, rule, or regulation; or (5) otherwise present an imminent risk of harm or damage to any person, entity or property.
Flash Mobile has the right, but not the obligation, to monitor or restrict any uses of the Services that Flash Mobile believes in its sole discretion violate this AUP. We may also access and disclose any information (including transactional information) related to your access and use of the Services and any network or system relating to the Services for any lawful reason, including, but not limited to: (1) responding to emergencies; (2) complying with the law (e.g., a lawful subpoena); (3) protecting our rights or property and those of our customers and end-users; or (4) protecting users, carriers, and providers of other services, networks, and systems from fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful use of or subscription to such services, networks, and systems. INDIRECT OR ATTEMPTED BREACHES OF THIS POLICY AND ACTUAL OR ATTEMPTED BREACHES BY A THIRD PARTY ON BEHALF OF OR THROUGH A COMPANY, CUSTOMER, OR USER, MAY BE CONSIDERED BREACHES OF THIS POLICY BY SUCH COMPANY, CUSTOMER, OR USER.
Miscellaneous
Any failure to insist upon or enforce performance of any provision in this AUP will not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right. Neither the course of conduct between the parties nor trade practice will act to modify any provision in this AUP. Flash Mobile may assign its rights and duties under these terms to any party at any time without notice to you. If any provision of this AUP is deemed unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision will be deemed severable from these terms and conditions so that it does not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.
The terms and conditions of this AUP apply while you are accessing or using the Services and remain in effect thereafter, subject to amendments by us from time to time. In the event that you terminate or are no longer entitled to use the Services, provisions relating to intellectual property, accuracy of information and appropriate use will survive thereafter.
Customer Responsibilities
You remain solely and fully responsible for your use of the Services and for any transmission you send, receive, post, access, or store via the Services, including the content of any communication, and you are responsible for any use and abuse of Services under your account by others. You are responsible for maintaining the basic security of your systems and devices, including implementation of necessary patches and operating systems updates and to prevent use by others in a manner that violates this AUP. You are responsible for taking corrective actions on vulnerable or exploited systems or devices to prevent abuse.
Incident Reporting
Any complaints regarding the violation of this AUP by a Flash Mobile customer or user should be directed to the legal notices email address or mailing address listed below. Where possible, include details that would assist Flash Mobile in investigating and resolving the complaint (i.e., expanded headers and a copy of the offending transmission).
Email: legalnotices@acninc.com Mail: 1000 Progress Place, Concord, NC 28025-2449
Revisions to this AUP
Flash Mobile may modify this AUP at any time, effective when posted to Flash Mobile’s website.
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