Last updated: [DATE]
DRAFT — for review by counsel before publication. Sections 2 and 3 are not boilerplate: they exist because of FCC obligations (Kari’s Law, RAY BAUM’s Act) that attach to a hosted phone system sold to US businesses.
These VoIP Service Terms apply in addition to our Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy. Where they conflict, these terms govern the voice service.
1. Nature of the service
We provide interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol service. Unlike traditional telephone service, it depends on your internet connection, your local network and your electrical power. If any of those fail, the service fails with them.
The service is not a replacement for traditional telephone service in situations where uninterrupted access is essential.
2. 911 and emergency calling
Read this section. It differs from the emergency service you get from a traditional phone line.
2.1 How 911 works on this service
You may dial 911 directly from any station, without an access code, prefix or additional digit. Your call is routed to the emergency call centre serving the registered service address for the station placing the call.
2.2 Your obligation to register and maintain addresses
Emergency responders are sent to the address registered for that station — not to wherever the device physically is. You must:
- provide a complete and accurate service address for every station at the time of activation, including building, floor, suite or room detail sufficient to locate the user;
- update that address before a station is moved to a different location; and
- maintain accurate location information for users who work remotely, travel, or move between sites.
2.3 Notification
When a 911 call is placed from your account, we transmit a notification to the contact or contacts you designate, so that someone at your organisation knows an emergency call has been made and can meet responders. You must designate at least one notification contact and keep it current.
2.4 Circumstances in which 911 may not be available
Emergency calling may not function during: loss of internet connectivity; loss of electrical power at your premises or to your equipment; suspension or termination of your account; network congestion or outage; or use of the service from a location whose address has not been registered.
2.5 Acknowledgement
You will acknowledge these limitations in writing at onboarding, and you will inform your users of them. We provide warning labels for stations on request.
2.6 Limitation of liability
[Counsel to draft. This clause must be written to the applicable standard and is not something to adapt from another provider’s site.]
3. Compliance representations
We provide the service in a configuration intended to satisfy applicable direct-dial and location-conveyance requirements for multi-line telephone systems. You are responsible for the accuracy of the location information you supply and for not reconfiguring the service in a way that defeats those functions.
4. Telephone numbers and porting
- Numbers we assign to you are assigned, not sold. You have no ownership interest in a number beyond the rights conferred by applicable numbering rules.
- You may port numbers out at any time, subject to the account being current. We will not refuse or delay a valid port request as leverage in a billing dispute.
- Porting in depends on the losing carrier and on the accuracy of the information you supply. We give target dates, not guarantees, for a process we don’t control.
- Numbers assigned during a free trial that does not convert to a paid account [are / are not] portable.
5. Service levels
[The uptime commitment advertised on this site must be defined here: what counts as downtime, what is excluded (scheduled maintenance, your internet connection, force majeure), how a credit is claimed, within what window, and what the credit is capped at. An uptime figure on a marketing page with no definition behind it is the worst version of this.]
6. Suspension
We may suspend the service for non-payment after [X] days and written notice, for use that violates the Acceptable Use Policy, for traffic that threatens network integrity, or where required by law or by an underlying carrier. Where suspension is for non-payment, we will give notice before suspending. Emergency calling is affected by suspension — see section 2.4.
7. Fair use and traffic
Plans described as unlimited are for normal business use. Automated dialling, continuous-duty calling, call-centre traffic, resale and traffic pumping are outside that and are addressed in the Acceptable Use Policy.
8. Messaging
SMS and MMS are subject to carrier registration requirements. You must register your brand and campaigns through us, describe your use case accurately, obtain and record consent from recipients, and honour opt-outs. Carriers may filter or block messages regardless of registration, and we cannot guarantee delivery.
9. Taxes, surcharges and regulatory fees
Prices are exclusive of federal, state and local taxes, universal service contributions, regulatory fees and surcharges, which are passed through and itemised. These change independently of your contract price.
10. Equipment
[Purchased outright / rented / bring-your-own — state which, and who is responsible for failure, replacement and return.]
11. Customer records
Call detail records are retained for [PERIOD]. Call recordings, where enabled, are retained for [PERIOD] and are accessible to you throughout. Recording law varies by state and some require all-party consent. Enabling recording is your decision and your compliance obligation; we provide the feature, not the legal basis for using it.