Network Management Policy
Mark Twain Rural Telephone Company and Mark Twain Communications Company (hereinafter “we,” “our,” “us”) provide this Network Management Policy (“Policy”) in accordance with Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) requirements to disclose certain network management practices, performance characteristics, and commercial terms. Additional information about our broadband policies and practices is available at https://portal.marktwain.net/contact-us/policies/. We reserve the right to update and modify this Policy and other policies from time to time. Thus, we encourage you to visit our website periodically to review our practices.
Network Practices
We engage in network management practices that are tailored and appropriate for achieving optimization on our network considering the particular network architecture and technology of our broadband Internet access service. Our goal is to ensure that all our customers experience a safe and secure broadband Internet environment that is fast, reliable, and affordable. We want our customers to experience all the Internet offers, whether it is social networking, streaming videos, listening to music, or communicating through email and videoconferencing.
We manage our network using various tools and industry-standard techniques to ensure fast, secure, and reliable Internet service.
- Blocking: We do not block or discriminate against lawful Internet content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices. We conduct only reasonable network management.
- Throttling: We do not impair, or degrade lawful Internet traffic based on content, application, service, user, or use of a non-harmful device. We engage in only reasonable network management practices.
- Affiliated Prioritization: We do not favor any Internet traffic over others, including through the use of techniques such as traffic shaping, prioritization, or resource reservation, to benefit an affiliate, and we have no plans to do so.
- Paid Prioritization: We have never engaged in paid prioritization. We do not favor or prioritize any Internet traffic over others, and we do not prioritize Internet websites over others in exchange for any consideration to benefit any content, applications, services, or devices.
Network Management Practices
Our network management practices are intended to ensure that we provide our customers with the best possible Internet access. We do not inspect traffic for any other purposes other than to keep track at the network level, where traffic flows ensuring that the network is adequate for the demands of customers. To achieve this goal, we employ network management techniques such as identifying spam and preventing its delivery to customer email accounts, detecting malicious Internet traffic, and preventing the distribution of, or inadvertent access to, malware, phishing, viruses, or other harmful code or content.
We have instituted a bandwidth management system to manage the traffic with the goal that all of our customers get equal access to the upstream pipe (Internet feed) regardless of the application they are using, allowing us to add capacity as we determine necessary and identify potential service-affecting issues. Please note that we do not control the different types of traffic. Rather, we strive to ensure that all customers should be able to use the service as they wish as long as it does not violate our Acceptable Use Policy or any Federal, State, or local laws and does not disrupt general traffic flow on the network or other individuals.
- Congestion Management
We monitor the connections on our network in the aggregate for all types of traffic to determine the utilization rate. We may take appropriate measures to relieve undue congestion if it occurs on the network.
Our network and congestion management practices do not discriminate based on the type of application being used, nor are they based on any particular customer’s aggregate monthly data usage. We examine only current network conditions, not our customers’ online activities.
We also check 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, we provide notification to the customer.
Customer conduct that abuses or threatens our network or violates our Acceptable Use Policy, Internet service Terms and Conditions, or Internet Service Agreement will be asked to stop immediately. If a customer fails to respond or cease such conduct, we may suspend service or terminate the user’s account.
If we take any congestion management actions, the vast majority of our customers’ Internet activities will be unaffected. Some customers may, however, experience more extended download or upload times or slower surf speeds.
- Application-Specific Behavior
Except as may be provided elsewhere herein, we do not engage in any application-specific network management activities on our network. Customers may use any lawful applications with us. We do not inhibit or favor applications or classes of applications over our High-Speed Internet/broadband data network. All traffic is treated in a “protocol-agnostic” manner, which means management is not based on applications and is also content neutral. We do not block specific protocols or protocol ports, modify protocol fields, or otherwise inhibit or favor certain applications or classes of applications.
- Device Attachment Rules
For best results, gateways and wireless access points are provided by us. Customers may, however, attach their own devices to their ISP provided equipment, including laptops, desktop computers, video game systems, televisions, or other network-enabled electronics equipment. Customers are responsible for ensuring that their equipment does not harm our network or impair other customers’ service. We are not responsible for the functionality or compatibility of any equipment provided by our customers. Customers are responsible for securing their own equipment to prevent third parties from unauthorized access to our broadband network and will be held responsible for the actions of such third parties who gain unauthorized access through unsecured customer equipment. If we discover a customer device is harmful to our network, we have the right to request that the customer remove such device.
- Security
We know the importance of securing our network and customers from network threats and annoyances. We maintain the ability to implement reasonable practices to ensure network security and integrity, including by addressing traffic that is harmful to the network or traffic that is unwanted by the end users of our Internet service. We promote the security of our network and our customers by protecting them from threats like spam, viruses, firewall issues, and phishing schemes.
We also deploy spam filters for our email service 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 spam files through the email program. Spam files are automatically deleted if not accessed within 30 days.
As normal practice, we do not block protocols, content, or traffic for network management, but we may block or limit traffic such as spam, viruses, malware, or denial-of-service attacks to protect network integrity and the security of our customers.
These tools and practices may change from time to time to keep up with changing network technologies and new and innovative ways our customers use the network.
Performance Characteristics
- Service Description
Mark Twain’s internet service offerings include Fiber-to-the-Premise (“FTTP”), Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and Fixed Wireless. Information about our different service offerings can be found at https://portal.marktwain.net/Services/internet/ . Mark Twain Rural Telephone Company Internet service must be purchased with local telephone service as outlined in the Bylaws under Section 1. Requirements for Membership. Installation of Fixed Wireless Service will require an antenna to be mounted on the subscriber’s building. The technician will review the installation plan with the subscriber prior to installation. A line from the antenna will be run to a central location in the building for the best wireless coverage.
Service availability depends on location. Some restrictions apply. All of our broadband services are best effort and can support real-time applications. However, the performance of those applications may improve at higher transmission speeds.
- Network Performance
We make every effort to support advertised speeds and will dispatch repair technicians to customer sites to perform troubleshooting and resolve performance issues as needed.
The FCC requires that we disclose information regarding the expected and actual speed and latency of our Internet access service offerings. Latency measures the average time it takes for a data packet to travel from one point on a network to another. It is typically measured by round-trip time utilizing milliseconds. While latency generally does not significantly impact day-to-day Internet usage, certain applications, such as Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol, Video Conferencing, and Multiplayer Online Games may be particularly affected by it.
Our advertised speeds are estimates that we target to achieve for our customers. We cannot guarantee that a customer will achieve those speeds at all times. The actual speeds achieved by customers may vary based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: (a) the performance and capabilities of the customer’s computer; (b) the connection between a customer’s computer and service demarcation, such as the use of wireless routers; (c) variances in network usage; (d) the distance a packet of information must travel from the customer’s computer to its final destination on the Internet; (e) congestion or variable performance at a particular website or destination; or (f) performance characteristics of transmissions over the Internet that are outside of our control. Accordingly, customers should consider the capabilities of their own equipment when choosing broadband service. Customers may need to upgrade their computers and other networks in their homes or offices to take full advantage of the chosen broadband plan.
Mark Twain uses a variety of technologies to achieve maximum speed and reliability on its fixed wireless network. Most subscribers will achieve speeds of 50 to 300 Mbps downlink and 5 to 24 Mbps uplink. Mark Twain is constantly upgrading and evolving its wireless network to achieve even more throughput and reliability as technology advances. Below is a list of technologies and expected performance.
LTE Mark Twain primarily uses mid-band frequencies of b41 and b48 for its LTE access. These bands have good propagation and capacity characteristics and do not require line-of-sight to Mark Twain towers. Speeds range from 50 to 300 Mbps downlink and 5 to 24 Mbps uplink with around 35ms of latency.
5G SA Mark Twain is currently upgrading all LTE sites to 5G SA and primarily uses frequencies of n41, n48, and n17 for its 5G SA access. These bands have good propagation and capacity characteristics and do not require line-of-sight to Mark Twain towers. Subscribers on 5G will achieve speeds of 50 to 600 Mbps downlink and 5 to 75 Mbps uplink with around 25ms of latency. Mark Twain is also enabling multiple techniques to mitigate interference on all 5G SA sites.
Millimeter Wave Mark Twain is deploying millimeter wave on sites with high population near its towers. Millimeter wave frequencies have limited distance and require complete line-of-sight. Subscribers will achieve speeds of 500 to 2500 Mbps downlink and 500 to 2500 Mbps uplink with around 15ms of latency. Customers requiring 2500 Mbps downlink and 2500 Mbps uplink must subscribe to Mark Twain’s Premium Support Subscription for an additional $50 per month. A more advanced piece of outdoor equipment is required to achieve this speed. Millimeter wave locations will perform on a level that rivals FTTP on speed and latency. Mark Twain is currently testing and planning millimeter wave expansion throughout its service area.
There are a number of available tools online that customers may utilize to measure Internet performance. Please note that all speed tests have biases and flaws and should be considered a guide rather than a conclusive measurement of performance.
We test each service for actual and expected access speeds at the time of network installation to demonstrate that the service is capable of supporting the advertised speed.
Customers may also test their actual speeds using the speed test located at http://marktwain.speedtestcustom.com/ or wifiman.com and request assistance by calling our business office at 660-423-5211 between 8:00 am and 4:45 pm Monday through Friday or by emailing techsupport@marktwain.net.
The following table shows our internal testing results.
Residential and Business Speeds
Advertised Download/Upload Speed (Mbps) | Technology | Typical Median Download/Upload Speed (Mbps) | Typical Median Latency (ms) |
Max
(50 to 300 DL) (5 to 24 UL) |
Fixed Wireless LTE | 100/10 | 35 |
Max
(50 to 600 DL) (5 to 75 UL) |
Fixed Wireless 5G | 100/20 | 25 |
Max
(500 to 2500 DL) (500 to 2500 UL) |
Fixed Wireless Millimeter Wave | 900/900 | 15 |
1000/1000 | Fiber | 940/940 | 10 |
2500/2500 | Fiber | 2500/2500 | 10 |
5000/5000 | Fiber | 5000/5000 | 10 |
- Impact of Non-BIAS Data Services
The FCC defines Non-Broadband Internet Access Services (“Non-BIAS”) to include services offered by broadband providers that share capacity with Broadband Internet Access Services (“BIAS”) (previously known as “Specialized Services”) also offered by the provider over the last-mile facilities. At this time, we are not offering any non-BIAS data services.
Commercial Terms
- Pricing
We offer multiple levels of internet service, all with no monthly data cap. The current pricing and other terms and conditions of the various tiers can be found at https://portal.marktwain.net/Services/internet/ or https://portal.marktwain.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Broadband-Label-Machine-Readable-Format-Mark-Twain.csv. Prices do not include applicable federal, state, or local taxes and regulatory fees. Prices and packages are subject to change.
- Privacy Policies
We value the privacy of our internet service customers. Like most companies, we collect certain information about our customers and use it to provide our services. We collect information when our customers interact with us, when our customers use our internet service, and when our customers visit our website. This information is used to deliver, provide, and repair our services and establish and maintain customer records and billing accounts. We protect the information we have about our customers and require those we share it with to protect it. We do not sell, license, or share information that individually identifies our customers with others without your consent, except as necessary when working with vendors and partners for business purposes and when necessary for them to do work on our behalf. Additional details about our Privacy Policy can be found at https://portal.marktwain.net/privacy-policy/.
- Redress Options
We strive to provide excellent customer service and resolve any issues promptly. If you have questions, complaints or need additional information, please call our business office at 660-423-5211 between 8:00 am and 4:45 pm Monday through Friday or email csrs@marktwain.coop.