Service Level Agreement (SLA)
Stephouse Networks, a Portland, OR, LLC, offers various network connectivity/Internet access options, and related services, to businesses. Stephouse Networks is committed to high quality performance and customer care. As part of every enterprise business circuit which you order from us, we are pleased to offer you the following Service Level Commitments, at no additional charge to you:
Time to Restore Service Commitment
a. Our Commitment: The time to restore service for an enterprise business access circuit (i.e., the “line”) is four (4) hours. The “time to restore” begins on the date and time when Customer reported the service impairment to Stephouse Networks, via Stephouse Networks’ standard customer support channels with all information necessary for Stephouse Networks to respond to the issue, and ends upon confirmation by Stephouse Networks to Customer that service has been restored (in each case, based upon Stephouse Networks’ records). This period shall be extended to account for any period of time spent by Stephouse Networks waiting for a response, availability, action, or access to the premises from Customer in furtherance of the repair effort, and any period of time during which a “force majeure” event (see below) affecting service has occurred and is continuing.
b. Your Remedy: If Stephouse Networks fails to meet the above “time to restore service” commitment, Customer may request a Service Credit equal to one (1) day’s contracted, monthly recurring service charge for the circuit. Customer is eligible for an additional day’s Service Credit for each subsequent 24-hour period (commencing upon expiration of the initial 4-hour cure period) that the line remains unavailable.
Installation Interval Commitment
a. Our Commitment: The guaranteed installation interval for a circuit is thirty (30) whole business days, unless otherwise specified in the service order, from the time when Stephouse Networks acknowledges receipt of a complete order, via “welcome call” or similar confirming correspondence to Customer, to the point in time when a working circuit has been delivered by Stephouse Networks to the premises, together with any related basic wiring included as part of basic service installation, or, if delivery of service is prevented or delayed by Customer, the point in time when Stephouse Networks notified Customer that Stephouse Networks stood ready to deliver such service. This interval shall be extended to account for any period spent by Stephouse Networks waiting for a response, availability, action or access to the premises from Customer in furtherance of the installation process, any change in due date by Customer, unavailability of ILEC facilities, Federal holidays, and any period of time during which a “force majeure” event affecting installation has occurred and is continuing.
b. Your Remedy: If Stephouse Networks fails to meet the above “installation interval” commitment, Customer is eligible for a Service Credit equal to 50% of the contracted monthly recurring service charge for one (1) month’s use of the circuit. This credit shall only be earned in the event that Customer permits ultimate installation of the circuit and does not cancel service, for any reason, prior to installation.
Latency Commitment
a. Our Commitment: Stephouse Networks commits to provide an average monthly roundtrip delay of 80 milliseconds or less within Stephouse Networks’ network in North America.
b. Your Remedy: Any Customer who experiences average latency in excess of 80 milliseconds for any calendar month may request a two day Service Credit. Any Customer who experiences average latency in excess of 80 milliseconds in each of two consecutive months may request a seven-day Service Credit.
Network Throughput Commitment
a. Our Commitment: Stephouse Networks commits to provide a circuit throughput equal to or greater than the committed CIR as defined in Customer service order within Stephouse Networks’ network in North America.
b. Your Remedy: Any Customer who experiences average throughput of less than committed data rate over our network for any calendar month may request a seven-day Service Credit.
Network Availability Commitment
a. Our Commitment: Stephouse Networks commits to provide 99.99% availability each month for your connection within Stephouse Networks’ network in North America.
b. Your Remedy: Any Customer who experiences availability of the network connection of below 99.99% in any calendar month may request a one-day Service Credit for each whole hour of unavailability in such month in excess of the above minimum commitment.
Customer Premise Equipment Commitment
a. Our Commitment: All Customer premise equipment (i.e., the installed bridge, modem or router (CPE) in support of service) leased from Stephouse Networks will be guaranteed by Stephouse Networks to be free from defects (other than those attributable to abuse, tampering or unauthorized repair or modification) during the term of service.
b. Your Remedy: Stephouse Networks will repair or replace all CPE devices owned by Stephouse Networks that is determined by Stephouse Networks to be defective (and not the subject of Customer misuse, tampering or unauthorized repair/modification) within the applicable warranty period.
Service Credit Specifications
In the event Stephouse Networks fails to achieve any Service Level Commitment, at your request, Stephouse Networks will credit your account in accordance with the applicable remedy set forth above in connection with such Service Level Commitment and subject to the following:
a. To be eligible for a Service Credit, you must report the commitment failure to Stephouse Networks within five (5) days of its occurrence (via telephone at 503-548-2000 or via e-mail notification to support@stephouse.net), and you must have notified Stephouse Networks of any service-affecting conditions at the time of such failure and have provided Stephouse Networks with all other information reasonably requested in furtherance of troubleshooting the reported issue.
b. All requests for Service Credits for validly reported commitment failures must be delivered in writing to Stephouse Networks at Stephouse Networks at 921 SW Washington St, STE 224 Portland, OR 97205, attention: Customer Service Dept./Service Credits. Requests must identify the Service Level Commitment at issue, include the “trouble ticket” number assigned to Customer’s report, and include such other information as Stephouse Networks may have reasonably requested to assist it in verifying the request. Stephouse Networks may reject any Service Credit request which does not provide sufficient supporting information to allow Stephouse Networks to verify the claim. All requests for Service Credits will be subject to confirmation by Stephouse Networks, and will be applied by Stephouse Networks as soon as possible to a subsequent recurring invoice following approval. Stephouse Networks shall promptly notify Customer of its resolution of the reported event. Customer must claim any applicable Service Credits by the 15th day of the month following the month in which (a) the reported incident was resolved (in the case of credits for “availability” or “time to restore” commitments), or (b) the billing start date of the affected circuit (in the case of the “installation interval” commitment). Stephouse Networks will inform Customer of credit requests rejected for insufficient information, and Customer will be allowed to resubmit such requests with additional supporting information within fifteen (15) days of Stephouse Networks’s notification of its rejection of the credit request. After Customer resubmits the credit request with the additional supporting information, the standard verification and crediting timelines outlined herein shall apply.
c. Service Credits are calculated based on the contracted monthly rate for the affected service, prorated by the number of days of credit provided as the remedy for the applicable Service Level Commitment, based on a 30-day month (e.g., a one-day Service Credit means the Customer will receive as a credit an amount equal to 1/30 of the applicable recurring monthly charge for the affected service). The maximum Service Credit to be granted for all failures within a given month shall not exceed the monthly recurring fees charged by Stephouse Networks for the given service for the month in which the given Service Credit is claimed. Any excess credits will not carry over into later invoices. Remedies available hereunder shall only be payable in the form of a Service Credit to Customer’s account. Stephouse Networks shall have no obligation to pay cash to Customer to fulfill any earned Service Credit, unless Stephouse Networks’ records verify that all services have been terminated and authorized Service Credits remain outstanding which are in excess of any remaining amounts due and owing from Customer to Stephouse Networks, and then, only to the extent of the excess amount.
d. If any event triggers a breach of two or more Service Level Commitments, Customer shall only receive a Service Credit equal to the highest applicable Service Credit being requested in connection with the breached Service Level Commitments. The “time to restore service” commitment does not cover CPE issues, which are handled separately, above.
e. Customer shall be ineligible for a Service Credit hereunder if Customer is not in financial good standing with Stephouse Networks (i.e., current on all billings) at the time of the request.
f. For purposes hereof, a “force majeure” event shall mean any natural disaster, act of God, power surge or failure, strike or labor dispute, war, civil disturbance, act of governmental authorities or the public enemy, act of terrorism, unavailability or failure of, or interruption or delay in, telecommunications or third party service, fuel or energy shortage, or any other cause beyond Stephouse Networks’ control, whether or not similar to the foregoing.
g. For purposes hereof, a “business day” shall mean any weekday other than a Federal holiday or day on which banks in the State of Connecticut or the State where service is to be delivered are authorized to close. The remedies set forth herein for each Service Level Commitment shall be the exclusive remedy available to Customer for Stephouse Networks’ failure to achieve such Service Level Commitment. This SLA does not represent a warranty or guarantee by Stephouse Networks that services will be uninterrupted or fit for any particular purpose or intended use of any kind, and Stephouse Networks shall not be liable for any damages of any nature or amount as a result of any failure to achieve any Service Level Commitment, other than the permitted Service Credits authorized and described hereunder.
Early Termination
In the event Stephouse Networks fails to achieve any Service Level Commitment for (2) two consecutive months or (3) three months within any 12 calendar month period, the contract may be terminated with 30 days notice in writing with no further penalty to the Customer. Any amounts due minus service credits at the time of cancellation will be payable to Stephouse Networks. For early terminated services not qualifying for the above exception, all amounts remaining on the contract will be due at the time of termination.
Exclusions
This Service Level Agreement applies to Service and related equipment only. Stephouse Networks will not be responsible for, and Service Credits will not be issued in connection with, any failure by Stephouse Networks to meet a Service Level Commitment by reason of any of the following:
a. Any Customer act or omission, including without limitation any negligence, willful misconduct or misuse of any service or equipment, which impairs Stephouse Networks’ ability to provide service.
b. Scheduled maintenance on the Stephouse Networks network.
c. Failure on the part of Customer to timely report the incident and open a trouble ticket in accordance with this SLA. Stephouse Networks may modify the Service Level Commitments and your remedy for the failure by Stephouse Networks to meet any Service Level Commitment at any time. Such modifications shall be deemed effective immediately upon either posting of the modified SLA on the Stephouse Networks web site, currently located at http://www.stephouse.net/policies, or notifying you. If you have any questions, please contact your Account Representative.