Collinston Office 318.874.7011 Natchitoches Office 318.352.0006 Email info@pelicanbb.com Pay by Phone 844-964-1657
Pelican Broadband is an independent, locally owned and operated telecommunications company headquartered in Collinston, Louisiana. As your local provider, Pelican Broadband is committed to providing the best possible customer service and the most advanced voice, Internet services and business solutions to the people and communities we serve throughout Morehouse Parish, Ouachita Parish, Natchitoches Parish, Sabine Parish, Desoto Parish, Red River Parish and the surrounding areas.
At Pelican Broadband, your privacy is very important to us. We want to make your experience on the Internet as enjoyable and rewarding as possible, and we want you to use the Internet’s vast array of information, tools, and opportunities with complete confidence.
We have created this Privacy Policy to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy and security. This Privacy Policy describes how Pelican Broadband collects information from all end users of Pelican Broadband’s Internet services (the “Services”) – those who access some of our Services but do not have accounts (“Visitors”) as well as those who pay a monthly service fee to subscribe to the Service (“Members”) – what we do with the information we collect, and the choices Visitors and Members have concerning the collection and use of such information. Pelican Broadband requests that you read this Privacy Policy carefully.
Pelican Broadband
6402 Howell Ave.PO Drawer 185
Collinston, LA. 71229
318-874-7011
This Pelican Broadband CPNI Policy Manual relies on the following definitions:
1. Account Information
“Account information” is information specifically connected to the customer’s service relationship with Pelican Broadband, including such things as an account number or any component thereof, the telephone number associated with the account, or the bill’s amount.
2. Address of Record
An “address of record,” whether postal or electronic, is an address that the carrier has associated with the customer’s account for at least 30 days.
3. Affiliate
The term “affiliate” means a person that (directly or indirectly) owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with another to own an equity interest (or the equivalent thereof) of more than 10 percent.
4. Call Detail Information
Any information that pertains to the transmission of specific telephone calls, including:
For outbound calls: the number called, and the time, location, or duration of the call.
For inbound calls: the number from which the call was placed, and the time, location, or duration of the call.
5. Communications-Related Services
The term “communications-related services” means:
Telecommunications services.
Information services typically provided by Pelican Broadband.
Services related to the provision or maintenance of customer premises equipment (CPE).
6. Customer
A customer of Pelican Broadband is a person or entity to which Pelican Broadband is currently providing service.
7. Customer Premises Equipment (CPE)
The term “customer premises equipment (CPE)” means equipment employed on the premises of a person (other than a carrier) to originate, route, or terminate telecommunications.
8. Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI)
The term “customer proprietary network information” means:
Information related to the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, and amount of use of a telecommunications service subscribed to by any Pelican Broadband customer, and that is made available to Pelican Broadband solely by virtue of the Pelican Broadband-customer relationship.
Information contained in the bill pertaining to telephone exchange service or telephone toll service received by a Pelican Broadband customer.
Note: This term does not include subscriber list information.
9. FCC
The acronym “FCC” refers to the Federal Communications Commission.
10. Information Services Typically Provided by Pelican Broadband
The phrase “information services typically provided by Pelican Broadband” means only those information services typically provided by Pelican Broadband, such as:
Internet access
Voicemail services
Note: This phrase does not include retail consumer services provided using Internet websites (e.g., travel reservation services or mortgage lending services).
11. Local Exchange Carrier (LEC)
The term “local exchange carrier (LEC)” means any person engaged in the provision of telephone exchange service or exchange access.
Exclusion: This term does not include persons providing commercial mobile service under section 332(c) of TA-96, except where the FCC determines otherwise.
12. Opt-In Approval
A method for obtaining customer consent to use, disclose, or permit access to the customer’s CPNI.
Requires Pelican Broadband to obtain affirmative, express consent from the customer after appropriate notification.
13. Opt-Out Approval
A method for obtaining customer consent to use, disclose, or permit access to the customer’s CPNI.
If a customer does not object within the waiting period, consent is deemed granted.
14. Password
A secret word or sequence of alphanumeric characters used to limit access to a customer’s account to authorized individuals.
15. Pretexting
The practice of pretending to be a customer or authorized person in order to obtain access to that customer’s call detail or other private communications records.
16. Readily Available Biographical Information
Information drawn from the customer’s life history, such as:
Social Security Number (or last four digits)
Mother’s maiden name
Home address
Date of birth
17. Subscriber List Information (SLI)
Information identifying the listed names of Pelican Broadband subscribers, including:
Telephone numbers
Addresses
Primary advertising classifications
18. Telecommunications Service
The offering of telecommunications for a fee directly to the public, or to such classes of users as to be effectively available directly to the public, regardless of the facilities used.
19. Telephone Number of Record
The telephone number associated with the underlying service, not the contact information supplied by the customer.
20. Valid Photo Identification
An official identification document issued by a federal or state governmental agency that includes:
The holder’s photo
Sufficient clarity to positively identify the holder
Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) is information obtained when providing telecommunications services to customers. Under federal law, customers have the right, and Pelican Broadband has the duty, to protect the confidentiality of CPNI.
This confidential information includes:
Specific services the customer purchases.
The number of services purchased.
Who the provider is for a service.
Call detail records.
Charges related to services purchased.
1. Authorized Use of CPNI
Authorized Pelican Broadband employees may use CPNI only to:
Initiate, render, bill, and collect for telecommunications services.
Protect the rights/property of Pelican Broadband or protect users from fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful use of services.
Provide inbound telemarketing, referral, or administrative services during a customer-initiated call with approval.
Disclose CPNI upon written request by the customer.
2. Marketing & CPNI
Pelican Broadband does not use CPNI for marketing outside of FCC-allowed categories.
Employees are trained to avoid using CPNI for marketing.
No opt-in or opt-out process is necessary since CPNI is not used for marketing campaigns.
3. Release of Call Detail Information
Call Detail CPNI will be released only if:
The customer provides a password or proper backup answer to a secret question.
Information is sent to the customer’s address of record.
Pelican Broadband calls the telephone number of record.
4. Business Customer Exemption
Business customers with a dedicated Pelican Broadband representative and a contract specifying CPNI protection are exempt from authentication rules.
5. Notification of Account Changes
Customers will be immediately notified of any account changes, including:
Passwords
Online accounts
Addresses of record
Customer Approval Necessary
Pelican Broadband does not use, disclose, or permit access to CPNI data that would allow Pelican Broadband or its affiliates to market additional products or services outside the category of services currently being purchased by the customer. The FCC defines three categories of telecommunications service (local, interexchange, and CMRS), and Pelican Broadband personnel are trained not to use CPNI for marketing purposes. Because CPNI is not used for such marketing, Pelican Broadband has established safeguards—including policy documentation and employee training—to ensure non-use of CPNI for these purposes.
No marketing campaigns are based on CPNI; accordingly, neither opt-in nor opt-out approval is obtained from customers for marketing.
Customer Approval Not Necessary
Pelican Broadband is permitted to use, disclose, or allow access to customer CPNI by our affiliate(s) who provide telecommunications services for marketing purposes when:
The customer obtains a category of service from both Pelican Broadband and the telecommunications affiliate simultaneously; or
As the provider of local service, Pelican Broadband may use, disclose, or permit access to customer CPNI for marketing adjunct-to-basic services. Such services include (but are not limited to):
Speed dialing
Call monitoring
Call tracing
Call blocking
Call return
Call waiting
Call forwarding
Pelican Broadband may also use, disclose, or permit access to customer CPNI for marketing additional services such as:
Call answering
Voice mail or messaging
Voice storage and retrieval services
Fax storage and retrieval services
CPEI
Pelican Broadband may use CPNI of a customer lost to a competitor in an attempt to “Win Back” the customer.
Release of Call Detail Information
Password Protection
Because call detail CPNI includes sensitive information (e.g., telephone numbers, times, dates, charges, location, and duration of calls), the FCC requires that customers be allowed to establish a password to verify their identity before call detail information is disclosed during a customer-initiated call. Important points:
The password cannot be derived from readily available biographical or account information (such as a social security number, mother’s maiden name, home address, or date of birth).
If a customer loses or forgets their password, Pelican Broadband may implement a back-up authentication method. For example, the customer may be asked to provide a secret question and answer.
Example:
Secret question: “What is the color of my eyes?” or “What is my dog’s name?”
Acceptable answers might be “Green” or “Gizmo,” respectively.
Although these password-protection methods are in place, Pelican Broadband has elected not to implement them for the release of call detail information. Instead, call detail information is released only through the methods outlined below.
Authorized Release
Pelican Broadband will release call detail information only if specific requirements are met:
Customer Initiated Telephone Account Access
Call detail CPNI requested via a customer-initiated telephone call will be released only by:
Providing a password of record or a proper back-up answer to a secret question; or
Sending the information to the customer’s address of record; or
Calling the telephone number of record and disclosing the call detail information.
Note: Pelican Broadband will only disclose the call detail information that the customer provided during that particular contact.
Retail Location Account Access
Customers must present a valid, government-issued photo identification (such as a driver’s license, passport, or comparable ID) to obtain call detail CPNI at a Pelican Broadband retail location.
Online Account Access
An online password is required to access CPNI via Pelican Broadband’s online services.
Passwords must be customer-designed and include both alphabetic and numeric characters.
Pelican Broadband will authenticate both new and existing customers seeking online access.
Pelican Broadband may reinitialize existing passwords, but online access will not rely on readily available biographical or account information.
Online access to CPNI will be blocked after repeated unsuccessful login attempts. Customers whose online accounts have been blocked must contact the Pelican Broadband business office to re-establish access.
Business Customer Exemption
Business customers served solely by a dedicated Pelican Broadband representative—and who have a contract that includes language regarding Pelican Broadband’s duty to protect CPNI—are exempt from these CPNI authentication rules.
Notification of Account Changes
Pelican Broadband will notify customers immediately of any account changes, including:
Changes to a password,
Customer responses to backup authentication methods,
Changes to an online account, or
Changes to the address of record.
Notifications will be sent via voicemail, text message, or to the address of record. In the case of an address change, notification is sent to the former address (not the new one). New customers are exempt from this notification at service initiation.
Procedures to Protect Against Pretexting
Pretexting is the practice of pretending to be a customer or authorized person to gain access to private communications records. Pelican Broadband employs the procedures and safeguards outlined above to detect and protect against pretexting.
Pelican Broadband will annually certify its compliance with CPNI rules. This certification will:
Be filed with the FCC and be made publicly available upon request.
Be signed by an Officer acting as an agent of Pelican Broadband, confirming that adequate operating procedures are in place to comply with FCC CPNI rules.
Be accompanied by a statement explaining how Pelican Broadband’s policies and procedures ensure compliance. This explanation will include:
Training provided to employees to protect CPNI.
The disciplinary process for improper disclosure of CPNI.
[Optional: The process used to record and follow up on all opt-in/opt-out requests.]
An explanation of any actions taken against data brokers.
Information regarding processes employed to counter pretexting attempts.
A summary of all customer complaints received concerning unauthorized CPNI releases.
Any other relevant measures demonstrating compliance with FCC CPNI rules.
A “breach” is defined as the unauthorized or excessive access, use, or disclosure of CPNI. In the event of a breach:
Notification to Law Enforcement:
As soon as practicable—but no later than seven (7) business days after the breach is reasonably determined—Pelican Broadband shall electronically notify the United States Secret Service (USSS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) via the FCC’s reporting facility at http://www.fcc.gov/eb/cpni.
Public/Customer Notification Restrictions:
Pelican Broadband will not notify customers or publicly disclose the breach until after:
Law enforcement has been notified as described above; and
Seven full business days have passed following notification to the USSS and FBI, except under the conditions outlined below:
Extraordinary Circumstances:
If there is an immediate need to notify affected customers (to avoid irreparable harm), Pelican Broadband may do so after consulting with the appropriate investigating agency. The notification must indicate the urgency, and Pelican Broadband shall cooperate with the agency’s efforts to minimize adverse effects.
Investigating Agency Direction:
If an investigating agency directs that public disclosure or customer notification would impede a criminal investigation or compromise national security, Pelican Broadband must delay notification for up to 30 days (or longer, as directed). The agency must provide written notice of its initial decision, any extensions, and when notification may resume.
Customer Notification:
After completing the required law enforcement notifications and any mandated delay, Pelican Broadband shall notify affected customer(s) of the breach.
Recordkeeping:
Pelican Broadband will maintain a record (electronically or otherwise) of:
The dates of discovery and notification.
A detailed description of the CPNI involved in the breach.
The circumstances surrounding the breach.
These records will be retained for a minimum of 2 years.
Safeguards by Company
Customer Records
When customer approval is required for a marketing campaign, Pelican Broadband’s customer service records will clearly document the customer’s CPNI approval status. These records:
Are maintained for a minimum of one (1) year.
Remain in effect until revoked by the customer.
Are designed and maintained by Pelican Broadband’s service bureau.
Are included in employee training (both for existing and new employees) regarding when CPNI may or may not be used.
Any infraction of these policies will be reported to the General Manager and documented, with disciplinary actions as follows:
First infraction: Letter of reprimand.
Second infraction: One day suspension without pay.
Third infraction (within 12 months): Termination.
Interface with CALEA Compliance
To comply with Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) rules, Pelican Broadband employs a Trusted Third Party. In the Trusted Third Party agreement, language similar to the following is used:
“Whereas Pelican Broadband is required by law and under its policies to protect the privacy and security of its customers’ information, Pelican Broadband’s Trusted Third Party, in rendering services for Pelican Broadband, receives Customer Proprietary Network Information (as defined under 47 U.S.C. Section 222 and interpreted by the FCC). The Trusted Third Party shall maintain the confidentiality of such CPNI in accordance with Pelican Broadband’s policies and procedures and shall promptly delete any CPNI that is not delivered to a Law Enforcement Agency pursuant to a lawfully authorized intercept request.”
Interface with Contractors
Pelican Broadband may use Contractors for specific projects. The Contractor agreement includes language similar to the following to protect customer CPNI:
“Whereas Pelican Broadband is required by law and under its policies to protect the privacy and security of its customers’ information, any Contractor rendering services for Pelican Broadband may have access to Customer Proprietary Network Information (as defined under 47 U.S.C. Section 222 and interpreted by the FCC). The Contractor shall maintain the confidentiality of such CPNI in accordance with Pelican Broadband’s policies and procedures and, upon completion of the project, shall promptly delete any CPNI obtained during its engagement.”
As part of employee training, Pelican Broadband emphasizes that:
Customers always retain the right to restrict Pelican Broadband or its affiliates’ use of CPNI data.
This restriction applies even to the authorized use and sharing of CPNI without customer approval (as detailed in the “Customer Approval Not Necessary” section).
A customer’s decision regarding CPNI use does not affect the provision of current services.
XIII. Annual Review by Company Management
Pelican Broadband treats customer privacy as a critical issue. To ensure that our practices remain robust:
The CPNI Policy Manual is reviewed annually by the General Manager.
This review reinforces Pelican Broadband’s long-standing commitment to reliable, trustworthy service and vigilant customer privacy protection.
Pelican Broadband or “Company”) provides this Policy in order to disclose its network management practices in accordance with the FCC’s Open Internet Rules. Information about Pelican Broadband’s other policies and practices concerning broadband are available at www.pelicanbroadband.com (“Pelican Broadband website”).
Pelican Broadband manages its network to ensure that all of its customers experience a safe and secure broadband Internet environment that is fast, reliable and affordable. Pelican Broadband wants its customers to indulge in all that the Internet has to offer, whether it is social networking, streaming videos and music, to communicating through email and videoconferencing.
Pelican Broadband manages its network for a number of reasons, including optimization, as well as congestion- and security-protocol-management. Pelican Broadband’s customers generally will not be impacted by the protocols and practices that Pelican Broadband uses to manage its network.
Pelican Broadband uses various tools and industry standard techniques to manage its network and deliver fast, secure and reliable Internet service. Such management tools and practices include the following:
Pelican Broadband’s employees periodically monitor the connections on its network in the aggregate to determine the rate of utilization. If congestion emerges on the network, Pelican Broadband will take the appropriate measures to relieve congestion such as shaping traffic or bandwidth restrictions to speeds purchased by customers. On Pelican Broadband’s network, all customers have access to all legal services, applications and content online and, in the event of congestion, most Internet activities will be unaffected. Some customers, however, may experience longer download or upload times, or slower surf speeds on the web if instances of congestion do occur on Pelican Broadband’s network.
Customers using conduct that abuses or threatens the Pelican Broadband network or which violates the company’s Acceptable Use Policy, Internet service Terms and Conditions, or the Internet Service Agreement will be asked to stop any such use immediately and may have some network access disabled. A failure to respond or to cease any such conduct could result in service suspension or termination.
Pelican Broadband uses QoS and dedicated paths for internal VoIP service.
Pelican Broadband’s network and congestion management practices are ‘application-agnostic’, based on current network conditions, and are not implemented on the basis of customers’ online activities, protocols or applications. Pelican Broadband’s network management practices do not relate to any particular customer’s aggregate monthly data usage.
Pelican Broadband knows the importance of securing its network and customers from network threats and annoyances. The company promotes the security of its network and patrons by providing resources to its customers for identifying and reporting such threats as spam, viruses, firewall issues, and phishing schemes. Pelican Broadband offers NAT routers/modems to customers. Pelican Broadband also deploys spam filters in order to divert spam from an online customer’s email inbox into a quarantine file while allowing the customer to control which emails are identified as spam. Customers may access the spam files through the email. Spam files are automatically deleted if not accessed within __7__ days.
As its normal practice, Pelican Broadband does not block any protocols, content or traffic for purposes of network management except that the company may block or limit such traffic as spam, viruses, malware, or denial of service attacks to protect network integrity and the security of our customers. Pelican Broadband also offers customer-controlled, web-based content filtering by request in some areas.
Except as provided herein, Pelican Broadband does not currently engage in any application-specific behaviors nor does it employ device attachment rules for its network. Customers may use any lawful applications or devices with Pelican Broadband.
Pelican Broadband checks its usage logs on a weekly basis to determine utilization on its network. Pelican Broadband also checks for abnormal traffic flows, network security breaches, malware, loss, and damage to the network. If a breach is detected or high volume users are brought to light by complaint, Pelican Broadband provides notification to the customer via email or phone. If a violation of Pelican Broadband’s policies has occurred and such violation is not remedied, Pelican Broadband will seek to suspend or terminate that customer’s service.
Pelican Broadband employs a variety of industry-standard tools, applications and devices to monitor, secure and maintain its network, including the following:
Pelican Broadband offers broadband service over Fiber Internet technologies. Pricing and service information for Pelican Broadband’s services can be found here.
Pelican Broadband makes every effort to support advertised speeds and will dispatch repair technicians to customer sites to perform speed tests as needed to troubleshoot and resolve speed and application performance caused by Pelican Broadband’s network. Pelican Broadband measures availability, latency, and aggregate utilization on the network and strives to meet internal service level targets. However, customer’s service performance may also be affected by one or more of the following: (1) the particular websites being accessed; (2) capacity in the public Internet beyond Pelican Broadband’s network; (3) customer’s computer and equipment (including wireless router); and (4) inside wiring at customer’s premise.
For Fiber service, Pelican Broadband measures traffic every 5 min. All services are best effort.
Pelican Broadband tests each service when installed to demonstrate that the service is capable of supporting the advertised speed. Customers can also test their actual speeds using the speed test found on the company website. Pelican Broadband is in the process of developing additional systems that will allow us to measure these indicators out to test points at each major network aggregation site on the edge of our last mile network. Once these systems are developed, Pelican Broadband will be able to measure system metrics on a network-wide basis and will disclose the results on its website.
Pelican Broadband provides Voice-over-the-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) to its fiber customers. The VoIP traffic uses private RFC 1918 addresses, dedicated paths for VoIP and QoS on the routers/switches it touches. The QoS priority is based on the source and destination IP. Where VoIP traffic is combined with best effort Internet traffic and QoS priority is employed, the network could endure marginal delays if there are instances of bandwidth contention, although very unlikely.
In addition to this Network Management Policy, patrons may also find links to the following on the Pelican Broadband Website:
For questions, complaints or requests for additional information, please contact Pelican Broadband at: info@pelicanbb.com.
Pelican Broadband is committed to complying with U.S. copyright and related laws, and requires all customers and users of the Service to comply with these laws. Accordingly, you may not store any material or content on, or disseminate any material or content over, the Service (or any part of the Service) in any manner that constitutes an infringement of third party intellectual property rights, including rights granted by U.S. copyright law. Owners of copyrighted works who believe that their rights under U.S. copyright law have been infringed may take advantage of certain provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the “DMCA”) to report alleged infringements. It is NortheastTel’s policy in accordance with the DMCA and other applicable laws to reserve the right to terminate the Service provided to any customer or user who is either found to infringe third party copyright or other intellectual property rights, including repeat infringers, or who NortheastTel believes in its sole discretion is infringing these rights. NortheastTel may terminate the Service at any time with or without notice for any affected customer or user.
Copyright owners may report alleged infringements of their works that are stored on the Service or the Personal Web Features by sending Pelican Broadband’s authorized agent a notification of claimed infringement that satisfies the requirements of the DMCA. Upon Pelican Broadband’s receipt of a satisfactory notice of claimed infringement for these works, Pelican Broadband will respond expeditiously to either directly or indirectly (i) remove the allegedly infringing work(s) stored on the Service or the Personal Web Features or (ii) disable access to the work(s). NortheastTel will also notify the affected customer or user of the Service of the removal or disabling of access to the work(s). If the affected customer or user believes in good faith that the allegedly infringing works have been removed or blocked by mistake or misidentification, then that person may send a counter notification to Pelican Broadband. Upon Pelican Broadband’s receipt of a counter notification that satisfies the requirements of DMCA, Pelican Broadband will provide a copy of the counter notification to the person who sent the original notification of claimed infringement and will follow the DMCA’s procedures with respect to a received counter notification. In all events, you expressly agree that Pelican Broadband will not be a party to any disputes or lawsuits regarding alleged copyright infringement.
Designation of Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement
Agent Designated to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement:
Rick Darsey, Director of Network Operations
Full Address of Designated Agent to which Notification Should be Sent:
6402 Howell Ave., Collinston, LA 71229
Telephone Number of Designated Agent: (318) 874-7011
Facsimile Number of Designated Agent: (318) 874-2041
E-Mail Address of Designated Agent: Infringement@199.19.233.95
The following are the Terms of Service and Network Management Practices for Pelican Broadband. The bandwidth you purchase (your service package or nominal bandwidth) is the maximum bandwidth available to you. Pelican Broadband will make its best effort to transmit your data in a timely fashion. However, Pelican Broadband does not guarantee you that you will be able to use your entire nominal bandwidth at any given time. This is referred to as “best effort” service. Pelican Broadband strives to make your total nominal bandwidth available for you to use within our network. Pelican Broadband’s prices for its service offerings and access speeds are set forth by the company elsewhere on our website – http://199.19.233.95.
Pelican Broadband cannot control bandwidth availability, congestion, or service quality on those parts of the Internet beyond our network. When other customers use our network, you may not be able to use your maximum nominal bandwidth because all customers share total bandwidth capacity at some points on our network and on the Internet. If the bandwidth demand of all customers at a particular network location exceeds the bandwidth capacity provided, you may not be able to use your entire nominal bandwidth.
Service is provided equally to all customers, and every customer’s data has an equal chance to be served. Service is provided equally to all customers, Internet services, protocols, and sources or destinations on the Internet such as websites, email servers, etc.
Affiliated Prioritization /Paid Prioritization. Pelican Broadband does not practice directly or indirectly any prioritization of traffic that favors some traffic over other traffic, whether it is to an affiliated company or to any other customer in exchange for consideration, money, or otherwise.
Due to limited bandwidth capacity on an upstream basis (customer to Internet), service is provided equally to all customers, protocols, and sources or destinations on the Internet such as websites, e-mail servers, etc. Service is not prioritized by customer or source or destination on the Internet. No services, protocols, or legal sources and destinations on the Internet are blocked other than for reasonable network management. Any effects on service may only be noticeable in times of significant congestion.
Throttling. Pelican Broadband does not, other than for reasonable network management, throttle, degrade or impair access to lawful internet traffic on the basis of content, application, service, user, or use of a non-harmful device.
Blocking. Pelican Broadband may block any service, protocol, source, or destination that Pelican Broadband determines to be illegal or a threat to life, property, or national security, or if ordered to block or otherwise modify your data by law enforcement agencies.
Congestion Management. At this time, Pelican Broadband does not implement network management techniques when congestion occurs, however, in times of congestion on Pelican Broadband’s network, Pelican Broadband may, at its sole discretion, implement reasonable network management techniques to protect the services of all of Pelican Broadband’s customers so that each customer has adequate service quality. Pelican Broadband will not implement network management if degradation of service is caused by congestion on portions of the Internet outside of the Pelican Broadband’s network.
Devices & Software
There are no restrictions on types of devices you may connect to Pelican Broadband’s network other than that they must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for use in the US telecommunications network. You may not connect any equipment to Pelican Broadband’s network that is not approved by the FCC. Most commercially available equipment such as modems, routers, and PCs are approved. All equipment approved by the FCC will have a label stating that it is approved and what the type of the approval is. This information is also found in the user’s manual or printed instructions that are provided with the equipment and may be found online at the manufacturer’s website. You should read this label whenever you buy any equipment you wish to connect to Pelican Broadband’s network. If you have questions about any particular equipment, please call us at 318-874-7011.
Pelican Broadband’s Internet access service is designed to function with accepted industry standard interface software such as provided by Microsoft, Apple, and others. If you use a type of software not widely used in the worldwide Internet, you may experience some problems with compatibility between your software and Pelican Broadband’s Internet access service. If you have any questions, please call us at 318-874-7011, and we will try to help you resolve this problem. It is the customer’s responsibility to assure that their software and operating interfaces conform to industry accepted specifications.
Network Security
Pelican Broadband uses the latest industry-best-practices to maintain integrity and security of its network. This may include security protections that interfere with some types of customer traffic. If you believe your services are being disrupted by our security systems, please contact us at 318-874-7011.
It is the customer’s responsibility to protect their computers and other devices from unwanted or harmful items. It is very strongly recommended that you provide your own virus and malware protection, spam filtering, and firewall software.
There are additional considerations regarding Internet security related to Pelican Broadband’s Internet access service. Please review the Terms and Conditions portion of your service agreement.
Use of Pelican Broadband’s Services for Real-Time Applications
The Best Effort services above may be suitable for real-time applications if the customer has purchased adequate bandwidth for that service. Disruption during times of congestion, if any, will be minimized if you purchase adequate bandwidth for the services you wish to use. However, since there are occasionally conditions of extreme congestion at various points in the Internet. Pelican Broadband does not guarantee that your service will never be degraded.
Note that bandwidth requirements will differ by real-time application. For example, video such as that offered by various services such as YouTube may require somewhat less total bandwidth than entertainment quality streaming video. Bandwidth requirements may also differ among providers.
Privacy of Customer Information
Pelican Broadband uses industry standard protocols to route traffic to and from customers. An example of this protocol is TCP/IP. Part of the IP protocol uses information contained in the header of packets sent to and from our customers to determine the final destination and route accordingly.
Pelican Broadband does not examine the content of your data, i.e.: the data which you send or receive, such as the from and to e-mail addresses of your e-mail, which web sites you visit, the sources of your video, or the contents of files you send or receive.
Pelican Broadband does not sell or reveal your data to any third parties.
Pelican Broadband may provide any of your data, both on an active, real time basis and stored data such as your billing records, to law enforcement under appropriate legal orders if law enforcement requests your information in matters dealing with illegal acts or a threat to life, property, or national security.
Contact Us
If you have any complaints, questions or comments regarding our network management policies or practices, please contact us at 318-874-7011 or info@pelicanbb.com
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NortheastTel – Our History: How we got here!
NortheastTel began serving customers in 1946 as Northeast Louisiana Telephone Company. As we look back over the history of our company, we find that many people and events helped shape who we are today.
The Collinston exchange portion of NortheastTel was originally part of the Oak Ridge-Collinston Telephone Company owned by W. Clarke Williams in the 1930’s. The “Gum Swamp” area around Collinston was hard to serve. The area around Collinston was the last large section of Morehouse Parish to be settled. The area was heavily covered with timber and was a favorite place to hunt bear. The Collinston exchange was separated from the Oak Ridge exchange and sold to E.N. Gibbs who in turn sold it to Tom Linzay who operated under the name Collinston Telephone Company until 1946.
In late 1946, Ben W. “Hop” Hopgood purchased the Collinston Telephone Company from Tom Linzay. Hop worked for the Missouri-Pacific Railroad at the time and later went to work for International Paper as a liaison between the railroad and IP. A magneto switchboard was used to process calls through an operator at the Linzay residence. Tom’s wife, Lula Mae and his children, Tommie Mae, Audrey Faye, David, and Shirley, operated the switchboard along with Hop’s wife Mary Elizabeth Rector Hopgood, and Dorothy Anne Norsworthy. Mary Elizabeth was the daughter of Dr. James M. Rector and Ida Robinson Rector. Dr. Rector had a medical practice in Collinston.
Sometime in the early 1950’s the switchboard was moved to a back room in the Hopgood home on Main Street in Collinston. Mary Elizabeth Hopgood and Lillian Justice served as the switchboard operators at that time. Joyce Takewell and Dorothy Anne Norsworthy helped out between college school terms. Hop’s sister, Ethel Daniels, also assisted on the switchboard for a time while she lived with Hop and Mary Elizabeth. During this time, the switchboard was open for calls 24 hours per day and 7 days per week even if you had to wait for the operator to get out of bed to make the call.
During 1952, the Bonita-Jones exchange which was also still using the old magneto switchboard system was purchased from Victor Watts. Victor’s wife, Doris, served as the telephone operator while they owned the system. At that time the Collinston Telephone Company became Northeast Louisiana Telephone Co., Inc. with Ben W “Hop” Hopgood and Alton Norsworthy serving as officers of the corporation. The Charles Bilbury family operated the switchboard for the Bonita-Jones exchange for several years. Faye and Lorrain Sims operated the Bonita-Jones exchange from 1952 until Mr. Sims retired in 1976. Bill Sims worked alongside Mr. Bilbury for several years and then with his father until going into the service in 1955. David Justice, Jr. was hired to help with the construction and maintenance in 1950 on a part-time basis as he worked for the Missouri-Pacific Railroad full time. He later became a full time employee and general manager after Hop’s death in 1960. Dave retired in June 1984. Dave’s wife, Lillian, worked in the business office in Collinston for many years also retiring in 1984. Mrs. Alton Norsworthy (Mrs. Dee) was secretary-treasurer for the company from 1956 until her retirement in early 1980. Mary Ann Harkness assisted in the commercial office from 1979 to 1987.
In 1949, Congress authorized the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) to make loans to rural telephone companies who could not get reasonable funding from the banks for the construction or upgrades to the service. Northeast management operated on a shoestring budget for many years and they took every penny made from the telephone company and used it to purchase materials to expand and upgrade the system. With financial assistance from REA, many small companies were able to reconnect isolated areas and expand to new locations. In 1955, Northeast applied for and received funding for a loan from the REA to provide dial service to all of the subscribers located in Bonita, Jones, and Collinston. By 1957, the old manual switchboards were replaced with new Stromberg Carlson dial offices. All of the old “open wire” circuits were also replaced. Some of these “open wire” circuits were literally tacked on fence posts and sweet gum saplings. In 1956, a new business office was built next to the dial equipment office in Collinston and that building still serves as Northeast’s commercial business office today. Throughout the years with the help of the REA, telephone service has been extended to all rural subscribers and no area in the Company’s exchange boundaries is left unserved.
Mike George, CEO/Chairman, Doug George, Vice-President, and Erin Jarrell, Secretary, serve as the officers for the corporation today. Many changes have occurred since the Company started operations. In the early 1950’s only 168 subscribers could afford or could be provided telephone service, but at the present time over 900 subscribers in the Bonita, Jones, and Collinston communities are served. In late 1968, IMTS mobile telephone service was added to the overall company service. This proved to be a valuable service to the area farmers.
In 1982, Northeast Telepage was established by NortheastTel to offer personal paging capabilities throughout Morehouse Parish, which was not being served at that time. Through the utilization of antennae and tower placement in the Monroe, Collinston, and Bonita, subscribers were provided pager coverage for all of Morehouse Parish and portions of Ouachita Parish.
In 1987, TV Northeast, Inc. was established by NortheastTel to provide cablevision service to Bonita, Collinston and the Bayou Galion area in Mer Rouge. Community support and subscription to this service was widely received.
In 1993, a fiber optic toll (long distance) cable was buried between Bonita and Collinston connecting the two exchanges by NortheastTel connecting the exchanges in the South Central Bell network in Mer Rouge. This fiber optic cable provides quality digital long distance service to our subscribers.
In 1994, NortheastTel replaced the Stromberg Carlson step-by-step dial offices originally installed in 1957 with a new state-of-the-art digital switching system manufactured by Siemens Stromberg Carlson. The REA once again provided loan funds for this replacement to help hold the cost down to our rural subscribers. This new switching system provides digital service as well as many special calling features to our subscribers such as call waiting, call forwarding, call return and caller ID to mention a few
In 1995, NortheastTel began the first phase of a major replacement of equipment and cable which connected each subscriber with our office. The Collinston exchange was completed in June of 1996. The second phase of the replacement was completed in 1997 for the Bonita exchange. This construction provided sharp and clear service to our subscribers.
In 1999, Internet services were added to NortheastTel’s family of offerings. Beginning with dialup services, customers were able to access the world from their homes and businesses in rural Morehouse Parish.
In 2000, Northeast Long Distance made it easy for NortheastTel customers to make long distance phone calls at rates comprisable to national long distance providers while giving customers the convenience of having everything on one bill.
In 2010, NorthesastTel started a three year construction project that converted all of our existing services over a 300 mile fiber optic ring that not only upgraded services for our existing customers, but also expanded our service area to the Horseshoe Lake, Holly Ridge, Little Missouri, and Cooper Lake Road areas. The upgraded services included converting to a digital television service that offers hundreds of high quality channel options, including local stations and premium channels.
In 2014, the Siemens Stromberg Carlson digital telephone switching system was replaced by the Metaswitch VP2510 Integrated Softswitch. The new switch reduces power consumption, increases capacity capability, and adds support for the latest voice-over-IP (VoIP) technologies.
In 2016, Rector Hopgood decided he was ready to retire and renew his interests in travel and recreational activities. The Norsworthy and George families took over his interests in the company to guarantee the company would remain locally owned.
In 2017, NortheastTel has expanded to open an office location in Monroe, LA to offer VoIP and Networking services to Monroe and the surrounding areas. Other milestones reached in 2017 are the ability to offer Gigabit services to our local services areas and the celebration of our 70th year of providing services to Morehouse Parish.
In 2024, NortheastTel acquired CP-TEL, a telecommunications company with a rich history of serving customers in northwest Louisiana. Founded in 1933 as Campti-Pleasant Hill Telephone Company, CP-TEL provided reliable telephone service to rural communities for decades. As technology evolved, CP-TEL expanded into broadband and fiber-optic services, becoming a key provider of high-speed internet in the region. With shared values of customer service, innovation, and a commitment to rural connectivity, NortheastTel and CP-TEL joined forces and rebranded as Pelican Broadband. This merger combined decades of expertise, expanded service areas, and strengthened the mission of delivering cutting-edge internet and communication services to Louisiana communities.
The officers and staff of Pelican Broadband are dedicated to improving the quality of life for our subscribers. Area residents have expressed the desire to have services usually available in large cities, but to also have the many wonderful amenities of small town life. At NortheastTel we all recognize the vital role that telecommunications and high speed broadband service will play in the continued development and support of our rural communities.
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
Please read these Guidelines, and the Terms and Conditions for Internet services carefully before opening or continuing a Internet account with us. By using our services, you agree to comply with these acceptable use guidelines, and we may terminate your account if you fail to comply with these guidelines.
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE GUIDELINES, YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY END YOUR USE OF OUR SERVICES AND OUR SOFTWARE AND NOTIFY US SO THAT WE MAY INITIATE A CLOSURE OF YOUR ACCOUNT.
PELICAN BROADBAND ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY
This policy is by and between Pelican Broadband with its office at 6402 Howell Ave. Collinston, LA. 71229, and the Customer for the provision by Pelican Broadband Internet or its subcontractors of certain electronic communication services and related items.
WARNING:
Sexually explicit material can be obtained over the Internet. Pelican Broadband will not be responsible for any activity in which you, as the user, conduct your Internet travels. Parents may want to obtain software that will disable this type of activity.
At NortheastTel, your privacy is very important to us. We want to make your experience on the Internet as enjoyable and rewarding as possible, and we want you to use the Internet’s vast array of information, tools, and opportunities with complete confidence.
We have created this Privacy Policy to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy and security. This Privacy Policy describes how NortheastTel collects information from all end users of NortheastTel’s Internet services (the “Services”) – those who access some of our Services but do not have accounts (“Visitors”) as well as those who pay a monthly service fee to subscribe to the Service (“Members”) – what we do with the information we collect, and the choices Visitors and Members have concerning the collection and use of such information. NortheastTel requests that you read this Privacy Policy carefully.
This Northeast Louisiana Telephone Company, Inc. (hereafter NELTC) CPNI policy manual relies on the following definitions:
Customer proprietary Network Information (CPNI) is information that NELTC obtains when providing telecommunications services to our customers, including services provided by our affiliates. Under federal law, customers have the right and NELTC has the duty to protect the confidentiality of information regarding the telecommunication services to which customers subscribe. This confidential information includes such things as, specific services the customer purchases, the number of services purchased, who the provider is for a service, call detail records, and charges related to services purchased. NELTC takes our responsibility to protect our customers CPNI very serious and we do not use, disclose, or allow access to our customers CPNI except as allowed by law.
NELTC authorized employees are allowed to use CPNI as necessary to:
NELTC shall also disclose CPNI upon affirmative written request by the customer, to anyone designated by the customer.
Other use, disclosure, or permitting access to CPNI for marketing purposes must be conducted within FCC defined rules.
In this effort, NELTC must follow all applicable FCC rules as contained in Subpart U – Customer Proprietary Network Information – of Part 64 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
This CPNI Policies and Procedures Manual does not supersede any statute, regulation, order, or interpretation in any State, except to the extent that such statute, regulation, order, or interpretation is inconsistent with the provisions of this Manual, and then only to the extent of the inconsistency.
NELTC will notify customer immediately of any account changes including password, customer response to NELTC designed back-up means of authentication, online account, or address of record. This notification will be through a voicemail, text message or sent to the address of record. Such notification will not reveal the changed account information and in the case of an address change, notification will be sent to the former address, not the new. New customers are exempt from this notification at service initiation.
Pretexting is the practice of pretending to be a particular customer or other authorized person in order to obtain access to that customer’s call detail or other private communications records. NELTC has employed the above procedures and safeguards in order to achieve reasonable measures designed to discover and protect against pretexting.
NELTC will certify annually compliance to the CPNI rules. This certification will be filed with the FCC and will be made publicly available by request.
NELTC’s annual certification will be signed by an Officer as an agent of NELTC, stating that he/she has personal knowledge that NELTC has established operating procedures that are adequate to comply with the FCC CPNI rules.
In addition to the annual certification, NELTC will provide an accompanying statement explaining how its policies and procedures ensure NELTC is or is not in compliance with the FCC’s CPNI rules. In the explanation, NELTC will include:
As used in this section, a “breach” has occurred when a person, without authorization or exceeding authorization, has intentionally gained access to, used, or disclosed CPNI.
As soon as practicable, but in no event later than seven (7) business day, after reasonable determination of the breach, NELTC shall electronically notify the United States Secret Service (USSS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through a central reporting facility. This will be done through the FCC’s link to the reporting facility at http://www.fcc.gov/eb/cpni.
NELTC will not notify any of its customers or disclose the breach publicly, whether voluntarily or under state or local law or these rules, until it has completed the process of notifying law enforcement as required and spelled out below.
In order to comply with certain Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) rules, NELTC has engaged the services of a Trusted Third Party. This Trusted Third Party is involved in the event of a request for certain types of surveillance activities by Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). The following or similar language will be included in the Trusted Third Party agreement to protect customer CPNI.
Whereas NELTC is required by law and under NELTC policies to protect the privacy and security of the information regarding its customers,
NELTC ’s Trusted Third Party, in rendering services for NELTC receives customer proprietary network information, as that term is defined under 47 U.S.C. Section 222 and interpreted by the FCC (“CPNI”), the Trusted Third Party shall maintain the confidentiality of such CPNI according to the policies and procedures implemented by NELTC . The Trusted Third Party shall promptly delete from its records any CPNI that is received which is not delivered to an LEA pursuant to a lawfully authorized intercept request.
NELTC has occasion to utilize Contractors for specific projects in conducting its normal business. The following or similar language will be included in the Contractor agreement to protect customer CPNI.
Whereas NELTC is required by law and under NELTC policies to protect the privacy and security of the information regarding its customers,
NELTC ’s Contractors, in rendering services for NELTC may have access to customer proprietary network information, as that term is defined under 47 U.S.C. Section 222 and interpreted by the FCC (“CPNI”). Contractors shall maintain the confidentiality of such CPNI according to the policies and procedures implemented by NELTC . Upon completion of the project, Contractor shall promptly delete from its records any CPNI that is received in its engagement with NELTC .
Included as a part of the employee training is the need to communicate to NELTC employees that the customer always retains the right to restrict NELTC or affiliate use of CPNI data. This restriction applies to the authorized use and sharing of CPNI without customer approval as stated in Section “Customer Approval Not Necessary” of this policies and procedures manual. The customer decision regarding NELTC use of CPNI will not affect NELTC ’s provision of any current customer services.
Included as a part of the employee training is the need to communicate to NELTC employees that the customer always retains the right to restrict NELTC or affiliate use of CPNI data. This restriction applies to the authorized use and sharing of CPNI without customer approval as stated in Section “Customer Approval Not Necessary” of this policies and procedures manual. The customer decision regarding NELTC use of CPNI will not affect NELTC ’s provision of any current customer services.
NELTC treats customer privacy as a serious issue. NELTC is proud of its long history of reliable, trustworthy service and is vigilant in the steps that will be taken to ensure customer privacy. Accordingly, NELTC policy requires this CPNI Policy Manual to be reviewed by the General Manager on an annual basis.
NortheastTel (“NortheastTel” or “Company”) provides this Policy in order to disclose its network management practices in accordance with the FCC’s Open Internet Rules. Information about NortheastTel’ other policies and practices concerning broadband are available at www.ne-tel.com (“NortheastTel Website”).
NortheastTel manages its network to ensure that all of its customers experience a safe and secure broadband Internet environment that is fast, reliable and affordable. NortheastTel wants its customers to indulge in all that the Internet has to offer, whether it is social networking, streaming videos and music, to communicating through email and videoconferencing.
NortheastTel manages its network for a number of reasons, including optimization, as well as congestion- and security-protocol-management. NortheastTel’s customers generally will not be impacted by the protocols and practices that NortheastTel uses to manage its network.
NortheastTel uses various tools and industry standard techniques to manage its network and deliver fast, secure and reliable Internet service. Such management tools and practices include the following:
NortheastTel’s employees periodically monitor the connections on its network in the aggregate to determine the rate of utilization. If congestion emerges on the network, NortheastTel will take the appropriate measures to relieve congestion such as shaping traffic or bandwidth restrictions to speeds purchased by customers. NortheastTel On NortheastTel’ network, all customers have access to all legal services, applications and content online and, in the event of congestion, most Internet activities will be unaffected. Some customers, however, may experience longer download or upload times, or slower surf speeds on the web if instances of congestion do occur on NortheastTel’ network.
Customers using conduct that abuses or threatens the NortheastTel network or which violates the company’s Acceptable Use Policy, Internet service Terms and Conditions, or the Internet Service Agreement will be asked to stop any such use immediately and may have some network access disabled. A failure to respond or to cease any such conduct could result in service suspension or termination.
NortheastTel uses QoS and dedicated paths for internal VoIP service.
NortheastTel’s network and congestion management practices are ‘application-agnostic’, based on current network conditions, and are not implemented on the basis of customers’ online activities, protocols or applications. NortheastTel’ network management practices do not relate to any particular customer’s aggregate monthly data usage.
NortheastTel knows the importance of securing its network and customers from network threats and annoyances. The company promotes the security of its network and patrons by providing resources to its customers for identifying and reporting such threats as spam, viruses, firewall issues, and phishing schemes. NortheastTel offers NAT routers/modems to customers. NortheastTel also deploys spam filters in order to divert spam from an online customer’s email inbox into a quarantine file while allowing the customer to control which emails are identified as spam. Customers may access the spam files through the email. Spam files are automatically deleted if not accessed within __7__ days.
As its normal practice, NortheastTel does not block any protocols, content or traffic for purposes of network management except that the company may block or limit such traffic as spam, viruses, malware, or denial of service attacks to protect network integrity and the security of our customers. NortheastTel also offers customer-controlled, web-based content filtering by request in some areas.
Except as provided herein, NortheastTel does not currently engage in any application-specific behaviors nor does it employ device attachment rules for its network. Customers may use any lawful applications or devices with NortheastTel.
NortheastTel checks its usage logs on a weekly basis to determine utilization on its network. NortheastTel also checks for abnormal traffic flows, network security breaches, malware, loss, and damage to the network. If a breach is detected or high volume users are brought to light by complaint, NortheastTel provides notification to the customer via email or phone. If a violation of NortheastTel’ policies has occurred and such violation is not remedied, NortheastTel will seek to suspend or terminate that customer’s service.
NortheastTel employs a variety of industry-standard tools, applications and devices to monitor, secure and maintain its network, including the following:
NortheastTel offers broadband service over Fiber Internet technologies. Pricing and service information for NortheastTel’ services can be found here.
NortheastTel makes every effort to support advertised speeds and will dispatch repair technicians to customer sites to perform speed tests as needed to troubleshoot and resolve speed and application performance caused by NortheastTel’ network. NortheastTel measures availability, latency, and aggregate utilization on the network and strives to meet internal service level targets. However, customer’s service performance may also be affected by one or more of the following: (1) the particular websites being accessed; (2) capacity in the public Internet beyond NortheastTel’ network; (3) customer’s computer and equipment (including wireless router); and (4) inside wiring at customer’s premise.
NortheastTelFor Fiber service, NortheastTel measures traffic every 5 min. All services are best effort.
NortheastTel tests each service when installed to demonstrate that the service is capable of supporting the advertised speed. Customers can also test their actual speeds using the speed test found on the company website. NortheastTel is in the process of developing additional systems that will allow us to measure these indicators out to test points at each major network aggregation site on the edge of our last mile network. Once these systems are developed, NortheastTel will be able to measure system metrics on a network-wide basis and will disclose the results on its website.
NortheastTel provides Voice-over-the-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) to its fiber customers. The VoIP traffic uses private RFC 1918 addresses, dedicated paths for VoIP and QoS on the routers/switches it touches. The QoS priority is based on the source and destination IP. Where VoIP traffic is combined with best effort Internet traffic and QoS priority is employed, the network could endure marginal delays if there are instances of bandwidth contention, although very unlikely.
In addition to this Network Management Policy, patrons may also find links to the following on the NortheastTel Website:
For questions, complaints or requests for additional information, please contact NortheastTel at: info@199.19.233.95
NortheastTel is committed to complying with U.S. copyright and related laws, and requires all customers and users of the Service to comply with these laws. Accordingly, you may not store any material or content on, or disseminate any material or content over, the Service (or any part of the Service) in any manner that constitutes an infringement of third party intellectual property rights, including rights granted by U.S. copyright law. Owners of copyrighted works who believe that their rights under U.S. copyright law have been infringed may take advantage of certain provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the “DMCA”) to report alleged infringements. It is NortheastTel’s policy in accordance with the DMCA and other applicable laws to reserve the right to terminate the Service provided to any customer or user who is either found to infringe third party copyright or other intellectual property rights, including repeat infringers, or who NortheastTel believes in its sole discretion is infringing these rights. NortheastTel may terminate the Service at any time with or without notice for any affected customer or user.
Copyright owners may report alleged infringements of their works that are stored on the Service or the Personal Web Features by sending NortheastTel’s authorized agent a notification of claimed infringement that satisfies the requirements of the DMCA. Upon NortheastTel’s receipt of a satisfactory notice of claimed infringement for these works, NortheastTel will respond expeditiously to either directly or indirectly (i) remove the allegedly infringing work(s) stored on the Service or the Personal Web Features or (ii) disable access to the work(s). NortheastTel will also notify the affected customer or user of the Service of the removal or disabling of access to the work(s). If the affected customer or user believes in good faith that the allegedly infringing works have been removed or blocked by mistake or misidentification, then that person may send a counter notification to NortheastTel. Upon NortheastTel’s receipt of a counter notification that satisfies the requirements of DMCA, NortheastTel will provide a copy of the counter notification to the person who sent the original notification of claimed infringement and will follow the DMCA’s procedures with respect to a received counter notification. In all events, you expressly agree that NortheastTel will not be a party to any disputes or lawsuits regarding alleged copyright infringement.
Designation of Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement
Agent Designated to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement:
Rick Darsey, Director of Network Operations
Full Address of Designated Agent to which Notification Should be Sent:
6402 Howell Ave., Collinston, LA 71229
Telephone Number of Designated Agent: (318) 874-7011
Facsimile Number of Designated Agent: (318) 874-2041
E-Mail Address of Designated Agent: Infringement@199.19.233.95
The following are the Terms of Service and Network Management Practices for NortheastTel. The bandwidth you purchase (your service package or nominal bandwidth) is the maximum bandwidth available to you. NortheastTel will make its best effort to transmit your data in a timely fashion. However, NortheastTel does not guarantee you that you will be able to use your entire nominal bandwidth at any given time. This is referred to as “best effort” service. NortheastTel strives to make your total nominal bandwidth available for you to use within our network. NortheastTel’s prices for its service offerings and access speeds are set forth by the company elsewhere on our website – http://199.19.233.95.
NortheastTel cannot control bandwidth availability, congestion, or service quality on those parts of the Internet beyond our network. When other customers use our network, you may not be able to use your maximum nominal bandwidth because all customers share total bandwidth capacity at some points on our network and on the Internet. If the bandwidth demand of all customers at a particular network location exceeds the bandwidth capacity provided, you may not be able to use your entire nominal bandwidth.
Service is provided equally to all customers, and every customer’s data has an equal chance to be served. Service is provided equally to all customers, Internet services, protocols, and sources or destinations on the Internet such as websites, email servers, etc.
Affiliated Prioritization /Paid Prioritization. NortheastTel does not practice directly or indirectly any prioritization of traffic that favors some traffic over other traffic, whether it is to an affiliated company or to any other customer in exchange for consideration, money, or otherwise.
Due to limited bandwidth capacity on an upstream basis (customer to Internet), service is provided equally to all customers, protocols, and sources or destinations on the Internet such as websites, e-mail servers, etc. Service is not prioritized by customer or source or destination on the Internet. No services, protocols, or legal sources and destinations on the Internet are blocked other than for reasonable network management. Any effects on service may only be noticeable in times of significant congestion.
Throttling. NortheastTel does not, other than for reasonable network management, throttle, degrade or impair access to lawful internet traffic on the basis of content, application, service, user, or use of a non-harmful device.
Blocking. NortheastTel may block any service, protocol, source, or destination that NortheastTel determines to be illegal or a threat to life, property, or national security, or if ordered to block or otherwise modify your data by law enforcement agencies.
Congestion Management. At this time, NortheastTel does not implement network management techniques when congestion occurs, however, in times of congestion on NortheastTel’s network, NortheastTel may, at its sole discretion, implement reasonable network management techniques to protect the services of all of NortheastTel’s customers so that each customer has adequate service quality. NortheastTel will not implement network management if degradation of service is caused by congestion on portions of the Internet outside of the NortheastTel’s network.
Devices & Software
There are no restrictions on types of devices you may connect to NortheastTel’s network other than that they must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for use in the US telecommunications network. You may not connect any equipment to NortheastTel’s network that is not approved by the FCC. Most commercially available equipment such as modems, routers, and PCs are approved. All equipment approved by the FCC will have a label stating that it is approved and what the type of the approval is. This information is also found in the user’s manual or printed instructions that are provided with the equipment and may be found online at the manufacturer’s website. You should read this label whenever you buy any equipment you wish to connect to NortheastTel’s network. If you have questions about any particular equipment, please call us at 318-874-7011.
NortheastTel’s Internet access service is designed to function with accepted industry standard interface software such as provided by Microsoft, Apple, and others. If you use a type of software not widely used in the worldwide Internet, you may experience some problems with compatibility between your software and NortheastTel’s Internet access service. If you have any questions, please call us at 318-874-7011, and we will try to help you resolve this problem. It is the customer’s responsibility to assure that their software and operating interfaces conform to industry accepted specifications.
Network Security
NortheastTel uses the latest industry-best-practices to maintain integrity and security of its network. This may include security protections that interfere with some types of customer traffic. If you believe your services are being disrupted by our security systems, please contact us at 318-874-7011.
It is the customer’s responsibility to protect their computers and other devices from unwanted or harmful items. It is very strongly recommended that you provide your own virus and malware protection, spam filtering, and firewall software.
There are additional considerations regarding Internet security related to NortheastTel’s Internet access service. Please review the Terms and Conditions portion of your service agreement.
Use of NortheastTel’s Services for Real-Time Applications
The Best Effort services above may be suitable for real-time applications if the customer has purchased adequate bandwidth for that service. Disruption during times of congestion, if any, will be minimized if you purchase adequate bandwidth for the services you wish to use. However, since there are occasionally conditions of extreme congestion at various points in the Internet. NortheastTel does not guarantee that your service will never be degraded.
Note that bandwidth requirements will differ by real-time application. For example, video such as that offered by various services such as YouTube may require somewhat less total bandwidth than entertainment quality streaming video. Bandwidth requirements may also differ among providers.
Privacy of Customer Information
NortheastTel uses industry standard protocols to route traffic to and from customers. An example of this protocol is TCP/IP. Part of the IP protocol uses information contained in the header of packets sent to and from our customers to determine the final destination and route accordingly.
NortheastTel does not examine the content of your data, i.e.: the data which you send or receive, such as the from and to e-mail addresses of your e-mail, which web sites you visit, the sources of your video, or the contents of files you send or receive.
NortheastTel does not sell or reveal your data to any third parties.
NortheastTel may provide any of your data, both on an active, real time basis and stored data such as your billing records, to law enforcement under appropriate legal orders if law enforcement requests your information in matters dealing with illegal acts or a threat to life, property, or national security.
Contact Us
If you have any complaints, questions or comments regarding our network management policies or practices, please contact us at 318-874-7011 or info@199.19.233.95
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NortheastTel – Our History: How we got here!
NortheastTel began serving customers in 1946 as Northeast Louisiana Telephone Company. As we look back over the history of our company, we find that many people and events helped shape who we are today.
The Collinston exchange portion of NortheastTel was originally part of the Oak Ridge-Collinston Telephone Company owned by W. Clarke Williams in the 1930’s. The “Gum Swamp” area around Collinston was hard to serve. The area around Collinston was the last large section of Morehouse Parish to be settled. The area was heavily covered with timber and was a favorite place to hunt bear. The Collinston exchange was separated from the Oak Ridge exchange and sold to E.N. Gibbs who in turn sold it to Tom Linzay who operated under the name Collinston Telephone Company until 1946.
In late 1946, Ben W. “Hop” Hopgood purchased the Collinston Telephone Company from Tom Linzay. Hop worked for the Missouri-Pacific Railroad at the time and later went to work for International Paper as a liaison between the railroad and IP. A magneto switchboard was used to process calls through an operator at the Linzay residence. Tom’s wife, Lula Mae and his children, Tommie Mae, Audrey Faye, David, and Shirley, operated the switchboard along with Hop’s wife Mary Elizabeth Rector Hopgood, and Dorothy Anne Norsworthy. Mary Elizabeth was the daughter of Dr. James M. Rector and Ida Robinson Rector. Dr. Rector had a medical practice in Collinston.
Sometime in the early 1950’s the switchboard was moved to a back room in the Hopgood home on Main Street in Collinston. Mary Elizabeth Hopgood and Lillian Justice served as the switchboard operators at that time. Joyce Takewell and Dorothy Anne Norsworthy helped out between college school terms. Hop’s sister, Ethel Daniels, also assisted on the switchboard for a time while she lived with Hop and Mary Elizabeth. During this time, the switchboard was open for calls 24 hours per day and 7 days per week even if you had to wait for the operator to get out of bed to make the call.
During 1952, the Bonita-Jones exchange which was also still using the old magneto switchboard system was purchased from Victor Watts. Victor’s wife, Doris, served as the telephone operator while they owned the system. At that time the Collinston Telephone Company became Northeast Louisiana Telephone Co., Inc. with Ben W “Hop” Hopgood and Alton Norsworthy serving as officers of the corporation. The Charles Bilbury family operated the switchboard for the Bonita-Jones exchange for several years. Faye and Lorrain Sims operated the Bonita-Jones exchange from 1952 until Mr. Sims retired in 1976. Bill Sims worked alongside Mr. Bilbury for several years and then with his father until going into the service in 1955. David Justice, Jr. was hired to help with the construction and maintenance in 1950 on a part-time basis as he worked for the Missouri-Pacific Railroad full time. He later became a full time employee and general manager after Hop’s death in 1960. Dave retired in June 1984. Dave’s wife, Lillian, worked in the business office in Collinston for many years also retiring in 1984. Mrs. Alton Norsworthy (Mrs. Dee) was secretary-treasurer for the company from 1956 until her retirement in early 1980. Mary Ann Harkness assisted in the commercial office from 1979 to 1987.
In 1949, Congress authorized the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) to make loans to rural telephone companies who could not get reasonable funding from the banks for the construction or upgrades to the service. Northeast management operated on a shoestring budget for many years and they took every penny made from the telephone company and used it to purchase materials to expand and upgrade the system. With financial assistance from REA, many small companies were able to reconnect isolated areas and expand to new locations. In 1955, Northeast applied for and received funding for a loan from the REA to provide dial service to all of the subscribers located in Bonita, Jones, and Collinston. By 1957, the old manual switchboards were replaced with new Stromberg Carlson dial offices. All of the old “open wire” circuits were also replaced. Some of these “open wire” circuits were literally tacked on fence posts and sweet gum saplings. In 1956, a new business office was built next to the dial equipment office in Collinston and that building still serves as Northeast’s commercial business office today. Throughout the years with the help of the REA, telephone service has been extended to all rural subscribers and no area in the Company’s exchange boundaries is left unserved.
Mike George, CEO/Chairman, Doug George, Vice-President, and Erin Jarrell, Secretary, serve as the officers for the corporation today. Many changes have occurred since the Company started operations. In the early 1950’s only 168 subscribers could afford or could be provided telephone service, but at the present time over 900 subscribers in the Bonita, Jones, and Collinston communities are served. In late 1968, IMTS mobile telephone service was added to the overall company service. This proved to be a valuable service to the area farmers.
In 1982, Northeast Telepage was established by NortheastTel to offer personal paging capabilities throughout Morehouse Parish, which was not being served at that time. Through the utilization of antennae and tower placement in the Monroe, Collinston, and Bonita, subscribers were provided pager coverage for all of Morehouse Parish and portions of Ouachita Parish.
In 1987, TV Northeast, Inc. was established by NortheastTel to provide cablevision service to Bonita, Collinston and the Bayou Galion area in Mer Rouge. Community support and subscription to this service was widely received.
In 1993, a fiber optic toll (long distance) cable was buried between Bonita and Collinston connecting the two exchanges by NortheastTel connecting the exchanges in the South Central Bell network in Mer Rouge. This fiber optic cable provides quality digital long distance service to our subscribers.
In 1994, NortheastTel replaced the Stromberg Carlson step-by-step dial offices originally installed in 1957 with a new state-of-the-art digital switching system manufactured by Siemens Stromberg Carlson. The REA once again provided loan funds for this replacement to help hold the cost down to our rural subscribers. This new switching system provides digital service as well as many special calling features to our subscribers such as call waiting, call forwarding, call return and caller ID to mention a few
In 1995, NortheastTel began the first phase of a major replacement of equipment and cable which connected each subscriber with our office. The Collinston exchange was completed in June of 1996. The second phase of the replacement was completed in 1997 for the Bonita exchange. This construction provided sharp and clear service to our subscribers.
In 1999, Internet services were added to NortheastTel’s family of offerings. Beginning with dialup services, customers were able to access the world from their homes and businesses in rural Morehouse Parish.
In 2000, Northeast Long Distance made it easy for NortheastTel customers to make long distance phone calls at rates comprisable to national long distance providers while giving customers the convenience of having everything on one bill.
In 2010, NorthesastTel started a three year construction project that converted all of our existing services over a 300 mile fiber optic ring that not only upgraded services for our existing customers, but also expanded our service area to the Horseshoe Lake, Holly Ridge, Little Missouri, and Cooper Lake Road areas. The upgraded services included converting to a digital television service that offers hundreds of high quality channel options, including local stations and premium channels.
In 2014, the Siemens Stromberg Carlson digital telephone switching system was replaced by the Metaswitch VP2510 Integrated Softswitch. The new switch reduces power consumption, increases capacity capability, and adds support for the latest voice-over-IP (VoIP) technologies.
In 2016, Rector Hopgood decided he was ready to retire and renew his interests in travel and recreational activities. The Norsworthy and George families took over his interests in the company to guarantee the company would remain locally owned.
In 2017, NortheastTel has expanded to open an office location in Monroe, LA to offer VoIP and Networking services to Monroe and the surrounding areas. Other milestones reached in 2017 are the ability to offer Gigabit services to our local services areas and the celebration of our 70th year of providing services to Morehouse Parish.
The officers and staff of NortheastTel are dedicated to improving the quality of life for our subscribers. Area residents have expressed the desire to have services usually available in large cities, but to also have the many wonderful amenities of small town life. At NortheastTel we all recognize the vital role that telecommunications and high speed broadband service will play in the continued development and support of our rural communities.
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
Please read these Guidelines, and the Terms and Conditions for Internet services carefully before opening or continuing a Internet account with us. By using our services, you agree to comply with these acceptable use guidelines, and we may terminate your account if you fail to comply with these guidelines.
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE GUIDELINES, YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY END YOUR USE OF OUR SERVICES AND OUR SOFTWARE AND NOTIFY US SO THAT WE MAY INITIATE A CLOSURE OF YOUR ACCOUNT.
NORTHEASTTEL ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY
This policy is by and between NortheastTel with its office at 6402 Howell Ave. Collinston, LA. 71229, and the Customer for the provision by NortheastTel Internet or its subcontractors of certain electronic communication services and related items.
WARNING:
Sexually explicit material can be obtained over the Internet. NortheastTel will not be responsible for any activity in which you, as the user, conduct your Internet travels. Parents may want to obtain software that will disable this type of activity.
With offices in Collinston and Natchitoches, Pelican Broadband provides advanced broadband, voice, and web hosting services to over 4,000 residential and business subscribers in Louisiana.
We are proud to be your local telecommunications provider and are committed to providing you with the most technologically advanced communication services available.
Collinston Office:
Tel: 318-874-7011
Email: info@pelicanbb.com
6402 Howell Ave.
Collinston, LA 71229
Natchitoches Office:
Tel: 318-352-0006
Email: info@pelicanbb.com
5909 Highway 1 Bypass
Natchitoches, LA 71457
Pleasant Hill Office:
Tel: 318-352-0006
Email: info@pelicanbb.com
8350 Stoddard St
Pleasant Hill, LA 71065
Business Hours:
Collinston:
Monday – Friday
8:00 am – 12:00 pm
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Natchitoches:
Monday – Friday
8:00 am – 12:00 pm
1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Pleasant Hill:
Monday & Friday
8:00 am – 12:00 pm
1:00 pm – 5:00 pm