Consolidated Communications - Privacy Policy
Consolidated Communications Inc. is committed to protecting the privacy and security of the information provided by customers visiting our Web sites, including the Web site from which you accessed this page.
Visitors can generally browse our Web sites anonymously without providing any personal information. However, there are cases where we may request information from people visiting our Web sites. When personally identifiable information is collected, you will know because you will need to provide the requested information through the completion of a form. Personally identifiable information may include a visitor's name, address, telephone number and e-mail address. We will not collect any personally identifiable
information unless the visitor provides it to us voluntarily. If you choose not to
give information we request, you can still visit our Web site, but you may be unable to access certain options, offers, and services. Consolidated Communications is dedicated to building a long-term relationship with all of our Web site visitors and customers. We will not sell, share or rent this information to others in ways other than as set forth in this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy does not apply to the use or disclosure of information that is collected or obtained by us through means other than our Web sites.
Contents:
- Log Files
- Cookies
- Registration
- Ordering
- Security
- Newsletter
- Sharing of Personal Information
- Correction/Updating Personal Information
- Notification of Changes
- Links
- Policies for Children
- Special Cases
- Questions
Log Files
Our log tracking collects visitor's Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to analyze trends, administer our Web sites, track visitor movement, and gather broad demographic information to help determine the type of information visitors are interested in seeing on our Web sites. This tracking only collects IP addresses and not personally identifiable information. Visitors are not personally identifiable within our log files. Consolidated Communications only uses this information for internal purposes and does not share this information with non-affiliated companies or institutions.
Cookies
A "Cookie" is a piece of information that is sent from a Consolidated Communications Web server to a visitor's browser and stored on the visitor's hard drive. Consolidated Communications uses Cookies when a visitor orders a product or registers for a specific program. The Cookie stores information that allows Consolidated Communications Web sites to remember a visitor the next time he or she visits a particular Consolidated Communications Web site. Cookies also allow us to tailor our Web sites to better match visitors' interests and preferences. Visitors may choose to disable Cookies by changing their browser settings, however, they may not be able to access some of the information or features on our Web sites.
Registration
In some cases, a visitor may be required to complete a registration form to order a product or to receive certain information. During the registration process, the visitor is required to give specific information such as name and e-mail address. This information is used to contact the visitor regarding services offered by Consolidated Communications for which the visitor has expressed interest.
Ordering
When taking orders online, Consolidated Communications will request certain information from a customer to complete an order. The customer's information will include name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, payment information and other information as may be requested by Consolidated Communications in the order form. This information is used for billing purposes, fulfillment of orders, ongoing account maintenance and upgrades.
Security
Consolidated Communications utilizes VeriSign services to encrypt and secure sensitive information. VeriSign's Digital ID® allows Web servers to establish secure sessions with site visitors and establish the authenticity of the transmitting Web site.
When visitors are asked to enter certain sensitive information (such as credit card number and/or social security number), that information is encrypted and is protected through a Secure Socket Layer. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a technology developed by Netscape and adopted by companies producing Web-related software. SSL negotiates and employs the essential functions of mutual authentication, data encryption and data integrity for secure transactions. While on a secure page, such as an order form, the lock icon on the bottom of Web browsers such as Netscape Navigator® and Microsoft Internet Explorer® becomes locked, as opposed to unlocked, or open, when you are viewing other Web sites. Access to visitor information is restricted to Consolidated Communications developers, network operations personnel and other qualified employees or agents (such as billing clerks or customer care representatives). In addition, the servers on which Consolidated Communications stores personally identifiable information are kept in a secure location. While we use reasonable efforts to safeguard the confidentiality of your information, Consolidated Communications will have no responsibility for disclosure of any information obtained due to errors in transmission or the unauthorized acts of third parties.
Newsletter
If a visitor wishes to subscribe to newsletters or other marketing information, such as e-mail updates, Consolidated Communications will ask for contact information, including a street address or e-mail address. In addition, we may ask for information that will help deliver pertinent information to Consolidated Communications Web site visitors. Visitors who do not wish to receive Consolidated Communications newsletters or promotional materials may opt-out of receiving these communications by replying with unsubscribe in the subject line of an e-mail. Each newsletter the visitor receives from Consolidated Communications will inform the visitor how to unsubscribe from these newsletters.
Sharing of Personal Information
Collected personal information is only used for the business purposes of Consolidated Communications and its subsidiaries and affiliates and is not shared with external, non-affiliated companies except as provided in this Privacy Policy. Consolidated Communications may partner with other parties to provide specific services, such as billing solutions, which are designed to enhance the functionality of our products and services. When a customer signs up for these services, Consolidated Communications will only share names or other contact information that is necessary for the third party to provide these services. We may also provide your personal information to third party agents we have hired to help us provide a good or service you have requested. For example, we would need to provide your address to a shipping company to deliver a package you have ordered. In addition, we outsource certain functions of our business and those agents may have access to your personal information; however in such cases our agents are prohibited from disclosing your personal information to others.
We may share statistical or aggregated non-personal information about our visitors with advertisers, business partners, sponsors and other third parties. No personal information is supplied in these cases. This data is used to customize our Web site content and advertising to deliver a better experience to our users.
Correction/Updating Personal Information:
If a customer needs to update or change personal identification information, Consolidated Communications will help the customer to correct, update or remove personal data provided to Consolidated Communications. The customer can update or change personally identifiable information by contacting the Webmaster.
Notification of Changes
If we make any changes to the Consolidated Communications Privacy Policy, we will post those changes on Consolidated Communications Web sites so visitors are informed of what information we collect and how we use that information. We will only use information in accordance with the current Consolidated Communications Privacy Policy.
Links
Consolidated Communications Web sites contain links to other Web sites. Consolidated Communications is not responsible for the contents or privacy practices of these Web sites. We encourage our visitors and customers to read the privacy policy of each Web site they visit. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected on Consolidated Communications Web sites.
Policies For Children
Consolidated Communications does not knowingly collect or use any personal information from visitors under 13 years of age. No information should be submitted to our Web sites by guests under 13 years of age, and visitors under 13 years old are not allowed to register for our contests, newsletter, products or services.
Special Cases
Consolidated Communications reserves the right to disclose personal information in special cases, when we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference with (either intentionally or unintentionally) our rights or property, other Web site users, or anyone else that could be harmed by such activities. We may disclose personal information without notice to you in response to a subpoena or when we believe in good faith that the law permits it or to respond to an emergency situation.
In the event Consolidated Communications, Inc. or its subsidiaries or affiliates or their assets are sold, merged or otherwise involved in a corporate transaction, your personal information will likely be transferred as part of that transaction. We reserve to right to transfer your information without your consent in such a situation; provided that we will make reasonable efforts to see that your privacy preferences are honored by the transferee.
Specific areas or pages of our Web sites may include additional or different provisions relating to collection and disclosure of personal information. In the event of a conflict between such provisions and this Privacy Policy, such specific terms shall control.
Questions
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or the privacy practices of Consolidated Communications, please contact us by completing the Contact Us form on our corporate Web site at www.consolidated.com
© 2010 by Consolidated Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. Netscape Navigator is a registered trademark of Netscape Communications Corporation. Microsoft Internet Explorer is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. VeriSign is a registered trademark of VeriSign, Inc.
