Seasonal Suspend & Restore

Seasonal Plan Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Seasonal Plan?

Consolidated Communications Seasonal Plans were designed for customers who are part-time residents or business owners. They allow you to put your Consolidated Communications services “on vacation” while you’re away – at reduced monthly rates – without canceling your service. On your scheduled restore date, your Internet and/or phone services will resume without needing to schedule a new installation or technician visit.

Benefits include:

  • Save money with a reduced rate while you’re away
  • Avoid early termination and new installation charges each season
  • No need to return equipment
  • Keep your phone number, voicemail greeting  and PIN
  • Keep your fairpoint.net email address and access it anywhere with an Internet connection
  • Continue to manage your online account at mycciaccount.com
  • Save time and enjoy automatic service reconnection with a call or click – no technician visit required!
  • Take advantage of our online scheduling tools. Online at MYCCIAccount.com or our NEW self-service phone option by calling 1.844.968.7224 and choose option 4.

How does a Seasonal Plan work?

You can put your Consolidated Communications service on hold for up to 275 days per calendar year at a reduced monthly rate – with no reconnection charge and no technician visit needed to reactivate service when you return. A non-recurring suspend fee applies for voice services and varies by location and plan. You may also be eligible for reduced or waived taxes, fees and equipment charges, which vary by plan. Check Seasonal Plan Pricing.

Who is eligible to enroll in a Seasonal Plan?

Consolidated Communications offers Seasonal Plans for both residential and business customers. The services you subscribe to and other factors, such as how long you’ve been in active service, your term commitment status, and the duration of any prior seasonal suspensions within the same calendar year, determine eligibility for a Seasonal Plan. The chart below explains the eligibility requirements in more detail. Login to the MyCCI Customer Portal to see if you have services eligible for a Seasonal Plan, or call Customer Service for more information about your eligibility.

 

 

                  Residential                                      Business

Eligible Services CCiTV, High-Speed Internet (excluding dial-up service), Voice Lines, Select Voice Calling Plans and Bundled Voice and Internet services.
First Month of Service Seasonal suspension of service cannot start during a customer’s first month of new service. 
Maximum Suspension Duration Per Calendar Year Customers can place their service on seasonal suspension for up to 275 days per calendar year. Therefore, the customer's service must be in active, working status for at least 90 days of each calendar year. A customer can seasonally suspend services more than once per calendar year, but there must be at least 30 days of active service paid following any prior suspension. A suspended service will automatically be restored to active status after the 275 day limit or if there are usage charges on any suspended voice lines.
Term Commitment Status CCiTV, High-Speed Internet, Voice Lines and Voice Calling Plans are eligible for seasonal suspension whether it is in or out of a term commitment period. Business Dryloop High-Speed Internet (without voice) cannot be seasonally suspended within a term commitment period. Voice Lines and Voice Calling Plans cannot be seasonally suspended when they are within a term commitment period.
Lifeline Discounts Customers who have a Lifeline discount cannot be placed on seasonal suspension.
Bundle Discounts & Promotional Discounts Customers with standard bundle and/or promotional discounts may be eligible to suspend, depending on their service and term commitment status. All applicable discounts will be reapplied after restoring to active service. (Grandfathered or expired promotions will not be reapplied upon service restoral.) If your service had time remaining in a term commitment agreement prior to suspending service, you are still responsible for fulfilling the remaining term commitment period in active status when you resume service.
Pending Orders Services are not eligible to seasonally suspend if there are open or pending order activities. These activities may include upgrades, moves, deletes, suspension for non-pay or port-outs to another carrier.  
Service Locations If you have eligible services at more than one service location, it’s possible to seasonally suspend services at one, some or all locations. 
MyCCIAccount.com Portal Order Limitations Customers who wish to seasonally suspend grandfathered long-distance plans must call Customer Service to first change to a current plan or have the grandfathered plan removed from their account. The customer will not be able to re-select the grandfathered plan when restoring the account. Customers who wish to suspend only certain services within a bundle must do so by calling Customer Service. In addition, DIRECTV service cannot be seasonally suspended by Consolidated Communications. Please call DIRECTV at 1.800.531.5000 to put your TV service on hold. Separate terms and conditions apply to seasonal suspension of DIRECTV service.

 

What services are available to me while on a Seasonal Plan?

Product

Available Services
While on Seasonal Status

Services Not Available
on Seasonal Status*

Consolidated Communications Internet

  • Access to fairpoint.net email accounts (from a working Internet connection) and any necessary technical support for email
  • Access to Online Backup and Sharing (from a working Internet connection)
  • Consolidated Communications Internet connection or Wi-Fi access
  • Consolidated Communications Premium Technical Support
  • Consolidated Communications Internet Security Suite

 

CCiTV

  • Can be suspended/restored from the portal

 

Consolidated Communications Voice

  • Ability to call 911
  • Ability to call Consolidated Communications Customer Service
  • Keep your phone number, voicemail greeting  and PIN
  • Local or long-distance calling
  • Calling features such as call waiting, caller ID and call forwarding

DIRECTV

  • DIRECTV service cannot be seasonally suspended by Consolidated Communications. Please call DIRECTV at 1.800.531.5000 for more information.

MyCCI Account Management Portal

  • All online tools are accessible
  • NA

Directory Listings

  • Any directory listing is retained during the suspension period
  • NA

 

*Services not available to customers on a Seasonal Plan are restored upon activation of normal monthly services and billing. Upgrades or other changes to impacted service plans must be made either before a customer enrolls in seasonal suspension or after the service returns to active status. Voice Lines that incur usage charges while on a Seasonal Plan will be automatically restored to active status.  

How do I pay for a Seasonal Plan?

Enrolling in a Seasonal Plan reduces your monthly rate for eligible service until your service is restored to active status. We will continue to mail monthly statements to your designated address. If you’re enrolled in paperless billing, you can continue to view and pay your statement online at mycciaccount.com. Automatic bill pay customers will continue to see charges withdrawn from their bank account for their services, but at the reduced Seasonal Plan rates.

How do I restore my services to active status?

Use our self-service tools, online at our customer portal MyCCIAccount.com or over the phone by calling NEW 1.844.968.7224 and choose option 4. You can restore all or just some of your services to active status, depending on your needs. You are able to set a date for service restoral once your order to seasonally suspend service has been completed. Please allow at least 1 business day between your request for service to be restored and your intended restore date.

Can I change my seasonal suspend or restore date?

It’s easy to change a suspend or restore date that was previously requested as long as your scheduled due date has not passed and you provide at least 1 business day notice before the desired restoral date, and as long as the services are still eligible for suspension.

 

Online Ordering Limitations: If you suspended bundled services through the portal, you must select a single revised suspend or restore date for the entire bundle.  If you suspended multiple unbundled services, you can select the same or different revised suspend or restore date for each unbundled service in individual transactions through the portal.

Am I required to seasonally suspend all my services at the same time?

No, you are not required to seasonally suspend all eligible services simultaneously. Some customers want to suspend Internet service while they are away but not voice because they are using their phone line to run a home security system.  Other customers want to suspend voice service but keep their Internet service running so they can run smart home technology.

 

Online Ordering Limitations: Bundled customers who wish to seasonally suspend only part – not all – of their bundle, must call Customer Service to complete their order. This capability is not currently available online.  

How often can I place services on seasonal status?

Customers can place a service on seasonal status multiple times per calendar year – for a maximum of 275 days (approximately 9 months). If a desired service restoral date is not set, the service will automatically restore to active status after the 275 day limit or if there are usage charges on any suspended voice lines.  Customers must be in active service for at least 30 days between each seasonal suspension and may not suspend in their first month of service.

How far in advance can I place an order to seasonally suspend or restore service?

Your services have to already be in seasonal suspend status to schedule a restoral date. Likewise, your services have to be in active status and eligible for suspension to schedule a suspend date.

 

If services are eligible for seasonal suspension, you can schedule a suspension of service any time in the current calendar year or the following calendar year. 

 

The length of time in advance that you can schedule a service restoral date depends on the date on which your service becomes seasonally suspended. You cannot place an order to restore service until that date.

 

NOTE: You will not be reminded by Consolidated Communications to schedule a service restoral date. Once your services have been seasonally suspended, use our self-service tools, online at our Customer Portal at MyCCIAccount.com or our NEW self-service phone option by calling 1.844.968.7224 and choose option 4, to set a service restoral date.

Can I seasonally suspend services at multiple locations?

Yes, if you have eligible services at more than one service location, it's possible to suspend services at one, some or all locations. If you are enrolling in a Seasonal Plan using our self-services tools online at our Customer Portal at MyCCIAccount.com or our NEW self-service phone option by calling 1.844.968.7224 and choose option 4, you must submit separate suspend orders for each service location.

Can I seasonally suspend services under multiple Billing Accounts?

If you have multiple Linked Billing Accounts and are the authorized account holder or are an authorized Linked User on MyCCIAccount.com, you can view services eligible for suspension or restoral by toggling between Billing Account Numbers in the drop-down menu at the top of the online portal.  You can also call Customer Service to complete your order.

Am I still responsible for taxes, fees and equipment charges while on a Seasonal Plan?

Certain taxes and fees may continue to apply to suspended services, but at discounted rates. Other fees and charges are waived during seasonal suspension. Leased modem equipment charges are waived during seasonal suspension of Internet service.

What happens to my discounts or term commitment while on a Seasonal Plan?

Customers with standard bundle and/or promotional discounts who suspend service will have applicable discounts reapplied after restoring to active service. However, grandfathered or expired promotions will not be reapplied upon service restoral.

If your service had time remaining in a term commitment agreement prior to suspending service, you are still responsible for fulfilling the remaining term commitment period in active status when you resume service.

Why doesn’t MyCCIAccount.com show me any services eligible for seasonal suspension?

We’re intentionally only showing services that are currently eligible for seasonal suspension on your  MyCCI Customer Portal. If you think the information shown (or lack thereof) is in error, please contact us and we’d be happy to review your account in more detail with you.