The Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") requires that we provide you with the following information regarding Altice's mass market retail broadband Internet access services, including information regarding network management practices that Altice employs, the performance characteristics of our services, and the commercial terms of our service offerings.
The information provided below is intended for current and prospective subscribers to our services as well as providers of "edge" products (i.e., providers of applications, devices, services, and content accessed over or connected to Altice's broadband Internet access service). Altice may enter into arrangements to provide Internet service to third party establishments (such as coffee shops, bookstores, hotels, libraries, etc.) who then may offer such service to their customers, guests, or others. Nothing herein is intended to address the network management practices, performance characteristics, or commercial terms that may be adopted by such third party premises operators in connection with their provision of Internet service to others.
The information provided below may be revised from time to time as Altice deems appropriate and should be read in conjunction with Altice's Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP"), Agreement for Optimum Online, Agreement for Optimum Online for Business, Optimum WiFi Terms of Use for Subscribers and Optimum WiFi Terms of Use for Non-Subscribers.
Network Management
Altice's Network and the Management of Our Network
Altice manages its network in an attempt to ensure that all of its Subscribers have a high quality online experience. Altice's online network is a bidirectional, shared network, the proper management of which is essential to promote the use and enjoyment of the Internet by all of our Subscribers. The potential for congestion which could adversely affect our network exists when users place an unusually heavy demand on the available network bandwidth. To this end, we employ a variety of reasonable and appropriate practices to protect Subscribers from activities that can unreasonably burden our network or cause service degradation, including network congestion and security attacks. These techniques include, but are not limited to (i) utilizing industry-standard subscriber traffic management technology to temporarily manage upstream and downstream traffic during times of peak congestion; (ii) implementing filtering and spam detection techniques to manage reliable email sources and mitigate spam; (iii) allocating a fixed maximum amount of bandwidth for the peer-to-peer upload of Subscriber files, especially during peak periods; and (iv) allocating a fixed maximum amount of bandwidth to the Subscribers in each service tier who consume disproportionate amounts of bandwidth for limited time periods. Altice also employs certain automated processes to more evenly distribute the available bandwidth to users. Most Subscribers do not notice any change in their Internet experience as a result of these techniques and practices. Altice reserves the right to modify these network management practices in its discretion and in accordance with law.
Usage Limits
In addition to managing network usage to ensure that the activity of a small number of Subscribers does not degrade, inhibit, or interfere with the use of the network by others and for the other reasons described above, Altice maintains an excessive use policy to address data consumption by Subscribers that is wholly uncharacteristic of a typical user of the Service as determined by the company in its sole discretion. Common activities include numerous or continuous bulk transfers of files and other high capacity traffic using file transfer protocol ("FTP"), peer-to-peer applications, and newsgroups which result in excessive data consumption. More information regarding Altice's excessive use policy can be found in Altice's Acceptable Use Policy.
Application Specific Behavior
Except in the circumstances described in the network management techniques above, Altice does not block or degrade its Subscribers' ability to access lawful content or services or otherwise engage in any nonapplication-agnostic techniques, even with respect to non-Subscribers. Altice reserves the right to employ network management practices to prevent certain harmful or illegal activity such as the distribution of viruses or other malicious code or the transfer of child pornography or other unlawful content.
Device Attachment
Information concerning the devices approved for use on the network, and the tiers of our service that they are appropriate for is available by clicking here. In order for a cable modem device to be approved for use on the network, it must pass CableLabs certification, UL certification, FCC certification, and Altice device testing covering things like DOCSIS performance, versions, and integration with Altice's network and systems. Get more information on these standards and the device approval process.
Managing Traffic on Altice's WiFi Network
Altice's Optimum WiFi service enables Subscribers to access our Optimum Online Internet access service using WiFi-equipped wireless devices. Altice manages its WiFi network to minimize congestion on that network using certain of the same techniques described above.
Network and End-User Security
Altice reserves the right to protect the integrity of its network and resources by any lawful means it deems appropriate. Altice takes steps to protect the security of its network and its Subscribers which include e-mail virus scanning, denying e-mail from certain domains, denying access to malicious domains, spam detection techniques, and putting limits on e-mail based on the relevant service. In order to further protect our Subscribers, Altice blocks a limited number of ports and protocols that are commonly used to send spam, launch malicious attacks, or steal a user's information. In addition, in order to protect against Denial of Service (DoS) or other malicious attacks, Altice enforces limits on the number of transactions per second that Subscribers can send or receive with respect to login, SMTP, DNS, DHCP and other transactions that could impact the security or performance of Altice's network. Altice also makes available certain security tools for use by our Subscribers. Additional information about these tools is available at https://optimum.net/FAQ/#/answers/a_id/3720.
Performance Characteristics
Service Description
Optimum Online offers residential and commercial customers their choice of a variety of broadband Internet access service tiers, each of which offers varying speeds and features that may affect the suitability of such service for real-time applications. The features, pricing and other commercial terms of our service offerings are modified from time to time and not all packages are available in all areas. Each package is priced to reflect the particular speed and features of that package. Full descriptions of currently available packaging and pricing can be found at https://www.optimum.net/pricing-packages and https://www.optimum.net/pricing-packages-business.
The FCC requires that we disclose information regarding the expected and actual speed and latency of our Internet access service offerings. Optimum provisions its customers' modems and engineers its network to maximize our customers' ability to receive the maximum speed levels for each tier of service. However, Optimum does not guarantee that a customer will achieve those speeds at all times. Like all other ISPs, Optimum advertises its speeds as "up to" a specific level based on the tier of service to which a customer subscribes. The "actual" speed a subscriber experiences may vary based on a number of factors and conditions, many of which are beyond the control of an ISP such as Optimum. These conditions include:
- The performance of a customer's computer, including its age, memory, processing capability, its operating system, the number of applications running simultaneously, and the presence of any adware or viruses has an effect on your computer's ability to communicate with the Internet. Often, increasing the amount of RAM in your computer can have a positive effect on how quickly your computer can communicate with the Internet. You should make sure you are running the most up-to-date operating system your computer can handle (with all available patches installed) to maximize your connection speeds. In addition, Optimum Online offers an Internet security suite at no additional charge to help protect your computer from viruses and adware.
- Type of connection between a customer's computer and modem. If there is a router between your modem and your computer, the connection speed you experience can often depend on the model and configuration of the router in addition to the quality of the Ethernet cable and duplex settings of the Ethernet ports on the respective equipment. Certain routers are able to pass data to your computer more quickly than others. For example, wireless routers using the 802.11b protocol are limited to 11 Mbps and, depending on your signal strength, may give you significantly slower connection speeds. Wireless connections also may be subject to greater fluctuations, interference and congestion.
- The distance packets travel (round trip time of packets) between a customer's computer and its final destination on the Internet, including the number and quality of the networks of various operators in the transmission path. The Internet is a "network of networks." A customer's connection may traverse the networks of multiple providers before reaching its destination, and the limitations of those networks will most likely affect the overall speed of that Internet connection.
- Congestion or high usage levels at the website or destination. If a large number of visitors are accessing a site or particular destination at the same time, your connection will be affected if the site or destination does not have sufficient capacity to serve all of the visitors efficiently.
- Gating of speeds or access by the website or destination. In order to control traffic or performance, many websites limit the speeds at which a visitor can download from their site. Those limitations will carry through to a customer's connection.
- The suitability of the cable modem for the level of service. Some older modems may not be capable of handling higher speeds, based on your level of service. If you believe you may have the incorrect modem for your level of service, please contact Customer Service for a replacement.
The table below shows advertised maximum downstream and upstream speeds as compared to the median actual downstream and upstream sustained speeds for the Optimum 60 and Optimum 100 levels of Service during the peak period of 7pm-11pm Monday through Friday, based on September 2017 data collected from the SamKnows FCC Measuring Broadband America panel and contained in the FCC's Eighth Measuring Broadband America report released December 2018 (the "Eighth MBA Report").
|
Advertised Maximum Speed |
Median Actual Speed (as % of Advertised Maximum) |
|
| Optimum 60 |
|
|
| Downstream: |
60 Mbps |
113.2% |
| Upstream: |
25 Mbps |
104.7% |
| Optimum 100 |
|
|
| Downstream: |
101 Mbps |
111.6% |
| Upstream: | 35 Mbps | 100.7% |
The Eighth MBA Report and a description of the study methodology are located at: https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/reports/measuring-broadband-america/measuring-fixed-broadband-eighth-report.
Optimum Online customers can check the speed of their current Internet connection for our existing service tiers using the Optimum Online Speed Test on Optimum.net (login required), which tests the speeds that they are receiving on Optimum's network. That site also provides tips to aid in optimizing your Internet service. These tests are dependent on a variety of factors, including the customer's home network configuration, modem, and computers, and the time of day, and therefore do not reflect the performance of the Optimum network only.
There are other speed tests that measure Internet performance. Please note, however, that all speed tests have biases and flaws. Each of these tests measures limited aspects of an ISP's speed and therefore must be seen as a guide rather than definitive measurements of performance. To obtain appropriate results, we recommend that you connect to a speed test server located in your geographic area. One such free speed test site is Speedtest.net, which will automatically connect you to the closest speedtest.net servers located within the Optimum Online network. Because the speedtest.net server is located within the Optimum Online network, the speeds it reports are expected to be more accurate than other online speed tests.
Latency is another measurement of Internet performance that refers to the time it takes for a packet of data to travel from one designated point to another on a network. Since many communication protocols depend upon an acknowledgement that packets were received successfully, or otherwise involve transmission of data packets back and forth along a path in the network, latency is often measured by round-trip time. Some applications are particularly sensitive to latency, such as some high-definition multiplayer online games. As latency varies based on any number of factors, most importantly the distance between a customer's computer and the ultimate Internet destination (as well as the number, variety, and quality of networks your packets cross), it is not possible to provide customers with a single figure that will define latency as part of a user experience.
The table below shows median latency during the peak period of 7pm to 11pm Monday through Friday for the Optimum 60 and Optimum 100 levels of Service as of September 2017, based on SamKnows FCC panel data for the Eighth MBA Report:
| Optimum 60 |
15.33 milliseconds |
|
| Optimum 100 |
15.48 milliseconds |
|
Optimum Online customers can check the latency of their current Internet connection for our existing service tiers using the Optimum Online Speed Test on Optimum.net (login required), which tests the latency that they are receiving on Optimum's network. That site also provides tips to aid in optimizing your Internet service. These tests are dependent on a variety of factors, including the customer's home network configuration, modem, and computers, and the time of day, and therefore do not reflect the performance of the Optimum network only.
Our other levels of service were not included in the Eighth MBA Report. Internal testing and monitoring of subscriber usage indicates that our non-reported service levels have materially the same characteristics as those service levels included in the Eighth MBA Report when the recommended customer premises equipment is used.
Impact of non-Broadband Internet Access Services
The FCC distinguishes between our mass market retail broadband Internet access services and "non-broadband Internet access services" that share capacity with our broadband Internet access services over our last-mile facilities. Examples of services that share capacity with our broadband Internet access services (but which may also have separate additional bandwidth available to them) include our facilities-based Optimum Voice services, Internet Protocol video offerings and the Optimum App. The use of these services, which are not subject to the same rules as our broadband Internet access services, may during times of unusually heavy aggregate usage temporarily affect the last mile capacity and/or slow the performance of your Optimum Online services.
Optimum WiFi
Altice uses its best efforts to provide useful and reliable Optimum WiFi service over public, unlicensed radio-frequency spectrum. As such, Optimum WiFi is subject to external interferences, environmental influences, and other factors and variables beyond Altice's reasonable control. Performance and availability thus may vary, as further described in our Optimum WiFi Terms of Use for Subscribers and Optimum WiFi Terms of Use for Non-Subscribers.
Commercial Terms
Pricing
Optimum Online offers multiple tiers of broadband Internet access service each at a flat monthly rate, without long-term contracts or early termination fees. The current pricing and other terms and conditions of these tiers can be found by calling 1-866-218-3259. An Internet security suite is offered at no additional charge. In addition, all Optimum Online subscribers receive access to Optimum WiFi at no additional charge.
Privacy Notice
Altice values our Subscribers' privacy and will collect, use and otherwise handle your information in accordance with Altice's Customer Privacy Notice.
Redress Options
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your Optimum Online service, you may contact customer service in a variety of ways. Click here for more information. If you are an edge device provider and have questions or issues, you can find additional information http://www.cv.net/peering/as6128/.
The FCC has established procedures for addressing informal and formal complaints regarding broadband service. For information, please refer to the FCC's website at http://www.fcc.gov/guides/getting-broadband.
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Effective October 7, 2019