End User License Agreement
Congratulations on choosing Mytelnet (“the App”)! We can’t wait to connect and collaborate with you and show you what our sophisticated and intuitive platform can do. The following principles are important for you to read as they determine your relationship with us for any length of time you use our App or have our App installed on your mobile phone.
- Mytelnet brings your business communication to one device. Be it voice, video or message, connect with your team and customers 24/7, wherever you are.
- Mytelnet operates as a separate dialing or messaging application (or softphone) which allows our licensed users to make or receive audio or video calls and messages (“communicate”) on their mobile phones by only using a data connection. To use the App, you need to be registered on our communications platform.
Connecting you over a mobile network?
- Downloading and installing this App does not change your existing contract obligation to your mobile network operator. Please check with your own mobile service provider.
What about making or receiving emergency calls?
- Your safety is of the utmost importance for us, but because we are not managing the network, we will not be able to guarantee access to the network of our third-party service providers. We will, however, place all emergency calls across our network, provided that your device is able to access our communications platform or environment. You should also contact emergency services by other means to ensure that you can be assisted in an emergency if needed.
What about making or receiving international calls?
- Mytelnet can be used from anywhere in the world as long as you have a data connection or internet access. All you have to keep in mind is that if you are abroad, or are roaming, additional roaming data charges may be applicable as determined by the agreement or plan you have with your mobile network provider for your data.
If you have any questions, concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Care team at customer.care@mytelnet.co.za or visit our website at www.mytelnet.co.za.
Terms & Conditions
MASTER SERVICE AGREEMENT OF MYTELNET (Pty) Ltd
- INTERPRETATION
- ”Mytelnet” means Mytelnet (Pty) Ltd, a company incorporated in the Republic of South Africa, with company registration number 2010/018949/07
- ”Equipment” is any Equipment or software supplied by or on behalf of Mytelnet to the Customer or placed at the Customer’s premises for the purpose of providing the Services as described in this Master Service Agreement and / or Service Order/(s).
- “Customer” means the Company, Close Corporation, Firm, Partnership or Persons contracting to receive the Services from Mytelnet as set out in the Service Order/(s) also referred to as “you” or “your”.
- “Commencement Date” means the date the first Service Order/(s) is signed, this date is deemed to be the Commencement Date of this Agreement.
- “Master Service Agreement”, “Agreement” means this Agreement, Terms & Conditions, Acceptable Use Policy (“AUP”), EULA or Annexures duly entered into between the Customer and Mytelnet which establishes the Terms and Conditions under which Mytelnet will provide Services to the Customer in the form of individual Service Order/(s).
- “Premises” means the installation address as defined in the Service Order/(s).
- “Network Operator” refers to Mytelnet, Neotel, Telkom, MTN, Cell C and/or all other data and voice carriers that Mytelnet interconnects with.
- “Services” collectively means the Services provided to the Customer by Mytelnet, which include Mytelnet Connectivity, Mytelnet Hosting Solutions, Mytelnet Specialised Services and Mytelnet Voice and ancillary Services related thereto and agreed upon by the Customer on the signed Service Order/(s).
- “Service Order” is a written request by the Customer on a Mytelnet Service Order for Mytelnet to provide Services to the Customer at designate premises and/or “Data Order” shall have a corresponding meaning containing the Customer’s personal information which the Customer expressly consents to being processed, stored and shared (if necessary) to provide the Services in terms of this Agreement and in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, Act 4 of 2013) (herein referred to as “Consent” for purposes of the POPIA).
- “Recurring Monthly Charges” is your monthly recurring rental charges for Equipment and Service(s), plus VAT as per the Service Order/(s).
- ”Prepaid Call Usage” refers to the airtime, purchased in advance.
- “Technical Site Visit” refers to the full site inspection completed at your Premises, by a Mytelnet engineer prior to installation.
- “Full Contract Price” means all outstanding amounts of whatsoever nature including Recurring Monthly Charges for the remainder of the contract as the case may be, of this Agreement.
- “The Regulator” refers to ICASA, The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa or the Information Regulator, whichever is clear from the context.
- APPOINTMENT AND TERM
- With effect from the Commencement Date, the Customer appoints Mytelnet to provide the Services and shall continue so long as there is at least one Service Order in place or signed.
- The initial Term of any associated Service Order is set out in the Service Order/(s) and commences on the date of signature or activation of Services whichever is earlier (the Activation Date). Any subsequent Variation Orders will interrupt the Initial Term upon signature thereof and the initial Term will start afresh unless otherwise agreed between the parties. Mytelnet reserves the right to change the pricing of the Services at any time upon 30 days’ notice on its website.
- The Customer acknowledges that the Master Service Agreement and Service Order/(s) agreed in writing between the parties constitutes an irrevocable offer by the Customer, which may be accepted or refused by Mytelnet in its sole discretion.
- If the Customer continues to use the Services after the expiration of the Initial Term or relocate to new premises or fail to deliver a written notice of termination to Mytelnet no less than 1 and no more than 2 months before expiry of the initial Term, the applicable Service Order will automatically renew for an additional term of the same length as the previous term, alternatively a further period of 24 months. Mytelnet shall be entitled in its sole discretion to suspend, cancel, vary, or terminate the Services or any part thereof.
- If the Agreement is not terminated at the end of the Initial Term by either Party in accordance with the provisions of clause 2.4 and where the Customer has not agreed (tacitly or expressly) to a renewal of the Agreement for a further fixed term, the Agreement will continue on a month-to-month basis and will be terminable by either the Customer or Mytelnet on three calendar month's written notice to the other.
- EQUIPMENT
- Mytelnet will provide Equipment as set out in the Service Order/(s) for the provisioning of the Services. All risk in and to the Equipment shall pass to the Customer upon delivery. Any Equipment found to be faulty or defective as a result of design, material or workmanship shall be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. For the duration of this Agreement the Customer undertakes not to modify or permit the modification of the equipment to use the Equipment only for Mytelnet Services and not to allow third party use thereof. The Equipment provided to the Customer including the software incorporated in the Equipment and all rights in and to the Equipment will not become the property of the Customer and will be returned to Mytelnet on termination of this Agreement unless it is purchased by the Customer by way of written purchase and sale agreement. Damage to or the loss of the Equipment resulting from the Customer’s (or any third party’s) negligence, theft or wilful act, will be the Customers responsibility and it should insure against such eventualities if it deems it necessary.
- Where applicable, the Customer shall ensure that space, other facilities and electricity supply is made available to connect the Equipment required to facilitate the Services as stipulated in a Service Order. Failure to do so may affect the provisioning of the relevant Services.
- MYTELNET SERVICES
- The Customer shall allow Mytelnet access to the Premises in order to install, maintain, monitor, inspect, replace, or remove the Services. Failure to allow or arrange access to/with Mytelnet or their duly authorised agent or subcontractor on more than 2 occasions will be regarded as a material breach of the Agreement and the Customer may be held liable for the immediate payment of the full contract price as a pre-estimate of damages.
- Mytelnet, subject to availability (such as Fibre or Line-of-Sight in instances of certain products), will install the Services and Equipment as per the Service Order/(s). The Equipment may be connected to your existing network infrastructure. Mytelnet shall not be obliged to fix or troubleshoot any pre-existing issues that it may find as part of the pre-installation Technical Site Visit.
- Where the Customer experiences a fault with the Services, the Customer will be required to contact our Technical Support Desk to report the fault. Maintenance will be carried out as per the applicable Service Order/(s) or billed to the Customer in Mytelnet’s reasonable discretion.
- The Customer shall have no claim of whatsoever nature and howsoever arising against Mytelnet, its service providers or partners, including no right to cancel the Master Service Agreement and Service Order/(s) or to withhold payment of any monies due in terms hereof, should the network temporarily or otherwise fail, malfunction, provide no or poor coverage or should any of the Services or facilities provided by Mytelnet be temporarily unavailable.
- Mytelnet is exempt from all liability for any loss or damage (whether direct or consequential) and/or for any costs, claims or demands of any nature to the Customer and/or third party arising from suspension, due to repairs and/or improvement work on the technical infrastructure by means of which the Services are provided. Mytelnet shall endeavour to give the Customer prior notice of such maintenance work. Upon signature hereof, you indemnify and hold Mytelnet harmless from all and any loss, injury, damage, fines, penalties and claims whatsoever and however rising from, or connected with the Services or the Equipment whether or not such claims are caused by any act or omission of Mytelnet or anyone else.
- The Customer agrees that if for any reason any of the Agreements between the Network Operators and Mytelnet are terminated so as to have the effect of Mytelnet not being entitled to render the Services, all of the rights and obligations of Mytelnet in terms of the Master Service Agreement, Service Order/(s), its service providers, or partners may be assigned to any third party service provider, at Mytelnet’s sole discretion, without prejudice to the Customer’s rights.
- The Customer undertakes to use the Services / Equipment in accordance with the Mytelnet Policies (i.e. AUP) (as published from time to time at www.mytelnet.co.za) for the purpose that the Services / Equipment are provided. In this regard LTE, Fibre and Wireless broadband is provided as a best effort service and may be subject to network contention ratios.
- Mytelnet will commence invoicing any Service/Installation charges and/or wasted costs immediately in terms of any signed proposal should the Customer delay installation, fail to sign the applicable Service Order or submit documents timeously. Invoicing will be regarded as notice in terms of this clause and the Customer shall within 7 (seven) days of activation of the Services advise Mytelnet whether the Service is operating in accordance with the terms of the Service Order, failing which it shall be deemed that the Service is operating as required and that the Customer has accepted same.
- Mytelnet has the right to remove any content hosted by Mytelnet (if applicable) which Mytelnet, in its sole and absolute discretion considers illegal or for which Mytelnet has received an official take-down notice.
- Mytelnet has the right to suspend or terminate the service of any Customer that does not comply with the terms and conditions, acceptable or fair use policies, or any other contractual obligations.
- Where Mytelnet Services replace a similar existing Customer service, the Customer agrees to and takes responsibility to facilitate all things (including settling their existing Service Provider) to port their existing service numbers to Mytelnet within 90 (ninety) days from date of signature of the applicable Service Order/(s). Failure to port service numbers to Mytelnet or causing a premature port-out request to be submitted by another service provider, is deemed a material Customer breach of this Agreement.
- INVOICING AND PAYMENT
- Mytelnet reserves the right to (1) carry out a credit check against the Customer (which processing the customer hereby expressly Consents to in terms of the POPI Act) to ascertain its creditworthiness and (2) subsequent to carrying out of such credit check, request from the Customer a cash deposit, suretyship, 3 months bank statements, proof of address and any other required documentation in its sole discretion.
- The Customer shall pay Mytelnet:
- On demand or within (seven) 7 days from date of signature hereof or after the Technical Site Visit (if applicable), a first payment of an amount equal to the Recurring Monthly Charges plus any Non-Recurring charges detailed in the Service Order/(s). Thereafter monthly amounts as invoiced to the Customer which will include the Recurring Monthly Charges plus any other charges for Services requested by the Customer. payment for the first month to be pro-rated for the period from the Activation Date to the end of the billing cycle.
- Invoices are payable within (seven) 7 days of the date of the invoice.
- A recurring monthly administration charge of R150 per transaction will be charged in respect of payment arrangements other than by Debit Order.
- All Debit Order payments are collected by presenting an authorised Debit Order mandate to your bank once payment is due. Mytelnet is not responsible for any charges or expenses (e.g., for overdrawn accounts) resulting from the collection of payments.
- Should the Debit Order be returned as unpaid, Mytelnet shall without notice to the Customer, re-run the Debit Order at any time within the month in which the Debit Order was returned. An administration fee of R150 will be charged to you per unpaid transaction. Mytelnet is entitled to charge your bank account at or after termination of Services for any outstanding fees including any applicable termination fees. Questions regarding charges to an account should be directed to the Mytelnet Billing Department, billing@mytelnet.co.za. All charges are considered valid unless disputed in writing within thirty (30) days of the billing date. Adjustments will not be made for charges that are more than 30 days old.
- The Customer agrees that payment shall only have been made to Mytelnet when the monies remitted by the Customer have been received into Mytelnet’s bank account.
- Any credits allowed by Mytelnet in terms of promotions, calculation and/or billing errors will be applied against the ensuing call charges or usage. Any such balance of credits due to the Customer, will be carried forward once to the next billing period.
- The charges payable by the Customer to Mytelnet for the provision or facilitation of the Services shall be stipulated in the notice, directive, promotion, or applicable tariff plan issued or derived by Mytelnet from time to time and the contents of such notice, directive, promotion, or tariff plan including the charges and provisions stipulated therein shall be deemed to be incorporated in the Agreement as if specifically set out therein.
- The Customer agrees that interest shall be payable on any monies due to Mytelnet at the maximum legal interest rate prescribed in terms of the National Credit Act from the date they fall due. Interest shall be compounded monthly in arrears.
- The Customer agrees that Mytelnet shall be entitled, from time to time, to increase or vary the charges payable (i.e. as dictated by The Regulator or by extreme currency fluctuations) by the Customer to Mytelnet for the Services. Mytelnet shall endeavour to give the Customer prior notice of any such increases or variation on the Mytelnet website. If a variation is substantially to your detriment, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you of the change.
- Mytelnet’s monthly statement of charges shall be prima facie proof of the amounts owed by the Customer to Mytelnet in terms hereof and of the other facts stated herein and should the Customer dispute the number, duration or amount charged in respect of any Services rendered by Mytelnet, then the Customer shall bear the onus of proving that Mytelnet’s statement is incorrect in such respect within thirty (30) days from the due date of such statement or invoice. The Customer renounces all legal exceptions available to it in law including error in calculation, no cause of action and division of accounts and the Customer consents to judgment in the amount as reflected in this monthly statement after the aforesaid 30-days.
- Mytelnet shall have the right, without prejudice to any other right, to suspend the provision of the Services where any payment to Mytelnet is overdue, having provided the Customer with seventy two (72) hours’ notice of its intention to suspend the Services.
- Should Mytelnet exercise its right to suspend the provision of the Services due to late or non-payment of any monies due in terms hereof by the Customer, then the Customer shall pay an administration charge of at least R150, as may be levied by Mytelnet from time to time for each such non-payment, suspension, or any other breach of this Master Service Agreement which amount shall be liable upon demand and recoverable by Mytelnet. In such an instance where Services have been suspended, Mytelnet will be entitled to allocate any subsequent payments by the Customer, first towards interest, then administration charges and thereafter towards the payments of any arrear products- or service charges in the sole discretion of Mytelnet.
- Value Added Tax at the applicable rate on all vatable charges and services. All charges, unless otherwise stated, exclude value added tax and the computerised accounts of Mytelnet or any certificate signed by any credit manager of Mytelnet (whose appointment need not be proved) shall be prima facie proof of all payments made by the Customer, the validity of all charges and fees payable by the Customer and of the amounts due by the Customer to Mytelnet pursuant to this Agreement or any applicable Service Order.
- Unused services capacity. Any airtime or data bundles purchased and not used by the end of the next calendar month shall expire and be forfeited unless the customer opts-in to have the airtime or data rolled-over to the following calendar month. [If any unused data has been rolled over, Mytelnet shall in the first instance apply data usage against the rolled over data until that data is fully depleted, and thereafter against the newly allocated data. Save for the above rolled over data, all other airtime and data usage will first be utilised against newly purchased data and then older airtime and data].
- LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
- The Customer hereby indemnifies Mytelnet and holds Mytelnet harmless against any claim by any third party arising directly or indirectly out of the Customer’s access to or use of the Services or information obtained through the use of it, including without limitation of any claim due to the use of the Services for unlawful purposes.
- The Customer undertakes to pay Mytelnet for the replacement or repair of damage to the Equipment or facilities caused by negligence, theft, or wilful act of the Customer or third party; improper use of Services; or any use of Equipment or Services.
- The Mytelnet Equipment installed at the Customer’s Premises remains the property of Mytelnet unless the Customer has purchased and paid for the Equipment in full.
- The Customer consents to Mytelnet uplifting the equipment upon cancellation of this agreement and waives all legal rights pertaining thereto.
- WARRANTIES
- Save as expressly set out in this Master Service Agreement, Mytelnet does not make any representations nor give any warranties or guarantees of any nature whatsoever in respect of Mytelnet’s Equipment or Services and all warranties which are implied or residual at common law are hereby expressly excluded save for any guarantees and warranties given by the original equipment manufacturer;
- Without limitation to the generality of Clause 7.1, Mytelnet does not warrant or guarantee that the information transmitted by or available to the Customer by way of the Services or Equipment;
- will be preserved or sustained in their entirety;
- will be suitable for any purposes;
- will be free of inaccuracies, defects, bugs or viruses of any kind; and
- will not contravene the laws of a particular country.
- Mytelnet assumes no liability, responsibility, or obligations in regard to any of the exclusions set forth in this Clause 7.1 and 7.2 above.
- BREACH
- If the Customer:
- fails to pay the Activation Fee, Recurring Monthly Charges and or any other charges in terms of this Master Service Agreement and Service Order/(s) subscribed for on the due date;
- breaches any provision of the Master Service Agreement and/or Service Order/(s), all of which are deemed to be material, and fails to remedy the breach within seven (7) days after the dispatch of a registered, hand delivered, e-mailed or faxed letter by Mytelnet calling on the Customer to remedy the breach;
- makes any misrepresentation during the course of this Agreement or in entering into this Agreement;
- abandons the Equipment or attempts to do anything which might prejudice Mytelnet’s rights in terms of this Agreement;
- commits an act of insolvency in terms of the Insolvency Act No 1936;
- is a Company or Close Corporation and is deregistered or liquidated or in the case of a company placed under judicial management or business rescue, whether provisionally or finally;
- is a natural person and he or any one of his partners is provisionally or finally sequestrated, or he or any one of his partners becomes subject to an administration order;
- ceases its business activities for longer than a period of sixty (60) consecutive days, unless forced to do so by force majeure; OR
- gives Mytelnet notice of the termination of its suretyship, for any surety in favour of Mytelnet, for the payment of the subscription in terms hereof; or
- fails to port their existing service numbers to Mytelnet where Mytelnet Service Order/(s) replace a similar existing Customer service; or
- breaches this Agreement by withdrawing from it before Activation or before the end of the Initial Term (save as provided for in clause 2.4); then
- Mytelnet shall without prejudice to any other right available in law be entitled to enforce, cancel the Agreement and/or suspend its provision to the Customer of the Services in whole or in part and/or disconnect the Customer from the network and repossess the Mytelnet Equipment and at its election claim immediate payment of the full contract price as pre-estimate of damages, which amount shall become due and payable forthwith; alternatively, any damages incurred as a result of the breach. Irrespective of Mytelnet’s election, Mytelnet shall upon breach be entitled to terminate this Master Service Agreement and/or any Service Order/(s) and shall be entitled to recover all legal expenses, including legal expenses (on an attorney-and-own client scale) incurred and arising directly or indirectly out of the Master Service Agreement and/or all or any Service Order/(s).
- If the Customer:
- DOMICILIUM AND NOTICES
- The Customer and Mytelnet hereby choose domicilium citandi et executandi for all purposes of and in connection with the Master Service Agreement and Service Order/(s) at the physical address, e-mail and fax as set forth on the face hereof or in the Service Order/(s). Mytelnet shall be entitled to give any notice in terms of the Master Service Agreement and/or Service Order/(s) by e-mail and or fax.
- GENERAL
- The Customer cannot transfer this Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire Agreement between the Customer and Mytelnet with respect to your use of the Services. In the event of conflict between the terms and conditions of any other policies terms and condition between Mytelnet and the Customer, the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall take precedence.
- Mytelnet is entitled to cede its rights and/or to delegate its obligations arising from the Master Service Agreement and/or assign this Agreement, wholly or partly, to any third party. The Customer shall not be entitled to cede or delegate its rights and obligations arising out of this contract, unless accepted in writing by the credit control manager or a director of Mytelnet.
- The Customer warrants the accuracy of all information furnished by or on behalf of the Customer in terms of or pursuant to the Master Service Agreement and Service Order/(s). The Customer shall forthwith notify Mytelnet in writing of any changes from time to time in the information set out in the schedule of the face hereof and on the signed Service Order/(s) and keep all personal information in Mytelnet’s possession up to date.
- No provision herein shall be construed against or interpreted to the disadvantage of a party by reason of such party having or being deemed to have structured, drafted or introduced such provision.
- In this Master Service Agreement the singular shall include the plural.
- This Master Service Agreement in conjunction with the signed Service Order/(s) constitutes the sole record of the Agreement between the parties in regard to the subject matter thereof. Neither party shall be bound by any representation, express or implied term, promise or the like not recorded herein and in the Service Order/(s) or reduced to writing and signed by the parties or their representatives. No addition or variation of this Master Service Agreement and the signed Service Order/(s) shall be of any force or effect unless in writing and signed by or on behalf of the parties. No indulgence that Mytelnet may grant to the Customer shall constitute a waiver of any of Mytelnet’s rights.
- The parties’ consent to the jurisdiction of the Magistrate’s Court, in respect of any action or legal proceedings in connection with this Master Service Agreement, notwithstanding the fact that the amount involved in such action or proceeding may be beyond the jurisdiction of a Magistrate’s Court. Mytelnet however reserves the right to institute action or proceedings in the High Court.
- Should any provision of this Master Service Agreement and the signed Service Order/(s) be rendered unlawful, then that unlawful provision only shall be invalid, without effecting or invalidating any of the remaining provisions of the Master Service Agreement and the signed Service Order/(s), which shall continue to be of full force and effect.
- The Customer undertakes to finance the purchase of the equipment within three (3) working days of acceptance of this agreement, failing which the Customer instructs and appoints Mytelnet (who accepts this appointment) to finance the purchase, complete any forms, and supply or disclose the details of this transaction to any registered financial institution at its sole and absolute discretion and the Customer hereby expressly Consent to processing and/or further processing of its personal information in terms of the POPIA.
- FORCE MAJEURE
- If Mytelnet is prevented from or restricted directly or indirectly from carrying out all or any of its obligations under this Master Service Agreement and/or the signed Service Order/(s) due to any reason or cause beyond the control of Mytelnet or by reason of force majeure, Mytelnet shall be relieved of its obligations in terms of the Master Service Agreement and Service Order/(s) during such period.
- MISCELLANEOUS
- The Customer cannot transfer this Agreement. This Agreement, the Acceptable Use Policy, and Mytelnet’s other Agreements and policies posted on the Mytelnet website, constitute the entire agreement between the Customer and Mytelnet with respect to the Customer’s use of the Service. Mytelnet may revise, amend, or modify the Agreements at any time and in any manner. Notice of any revision, amendment, or modification will be posted on the Mytelnet website. If a variation is substantially to your detriment, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you of the change. The provisions of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 2002 are specifically excluded and shall not apply to any ad hoc amendments or alterations to these Standard Terms and Conditions.
Acceptable Use Policy (“AUP”)
General Notice
Thank you for reading the Mytelnet Acceptable Use Policy (“AUP”). By using or accessing this website, or by using our products, services, computers, interactive information, communications and server management services or contracting with us to obtain a service, you agree, without limitation or qualification, to be bound by this AUP and the terms and conditions it contains, as well as any other additional terms, conditions, rules or policies which are applicable to you in connection with our services as read with the product specific terms and conditions applicable to the relevant product or service (collectively, “the / this Agreement”)
The purpose of this AUP and Agreement is to comply with the relevant laws of the Republic of South Africa; to specify to customers and users of our services which activity and online behaviour is considered an unacceptable use of these services; to protect the integrity of our network and to specify the consequences that may flow from undertaking any prohibited activities.
This Agreement applies to all accounts, sub-accounts, and alternative account names associated with your principal account. The Account Holder is responsible for the use of each account, whether used under any name or by any person, and for ensuring full compliance with this Agreement by all users of that account.
This document contains a number of legal obligations which you are presumed to be familiar with. As such, we encourage you to read this document thoroughly and direct any queries to our customer services/legal department at +27-(0)87-088-0890.
Mytelnet respects the rights of our customers and users of our services to freedom of speech and expression; access to information; privacy; human dignity; religion, belief and opinion in accordance with our national constitution. We undertake not to interfere with any of those rights unless required to do so by law; unless those rights are exercised for unlawful purposes; or unless the exercise of those rights threatens to cause harm to another person or affect the integrity of our network.
In circumstances of the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (“the CPA”) being applicable to this Agreement, the provisions of the CPA shall prevail in the event of a conflict between any provision of this Agreement and the provisions of the CPA
ISPA membership and Code of Conduct
Mytelnet confirms that in compliance with section 72 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, Mytelnet is a member of the Internet Service Providers' Association (“ISPA”) and has adopted and implemented the association's official Code of Conduct, which can be viewed at https://www.ispa.org.za/code.
Acceptable Use
Mytelnet's services may only be used for lawful purposes and activities. You are expected to use the Internet and other networks and services with respect, courtesy, and responsibility, giving due regard to the rights of other Internet users. We expect you to have a basic knowledge of how the Internet functions, the types of uses which are generally acceptable, and the types of uses which are to be avoided. Common sense is the best guide as to what is considered acceptable use.
Unlawful Use
We prohibit any use of our network including the transmission, storage and distribution of any material or content using our network that violates any law or regulation in South Africa. This includes:
- Any violation of local and international laws prohibiting child pornography; obscenity; discrimination (including racial, gender or religious slurs) and hate speech; or speech designed to incite violence or hatred, or threats to cause bodily harm.
- Any activity designed to defame, abuse, stalk, harass or physically threaten any individual in the Republic or beyond its borders or intentionally inflicting emotional distress; including any attempt to link to, post, transmit or otherwise distribute any inappropriate, violent, private information about a person without their consent or defamatory material.
- Any violation of Intellectual Property laws including materials protected by local and international copyright, trademarks, and trade secrets. Moreover, Mytelnet cannot be held liable if you make any unlawful use of any multimedia content accessible through the search facility provided by Mytelnet's network, or otherwise available through access to our network, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes.
- Any violation of the individual's right to privacy, including any effort to collect personal data of third parties without their consent.
- Any fraudulent activity whatsoever, including dubious financial practices, such as pyramid schemes; the impersonation of another subscriber without their consent; or any attempt to enter into a transaction with Mytelnet on behalf of another subscriber without their consent.
- Any violation of the exchange control laws of the Republic.
- Any activity that results in the sale, transmission or distribution of pirated or illegal software. The use of shared or dedicated hosting services for hosting torrent boxes and/or running proxies is strictly prohibited. Servers continuously running a risk of supporting these types of services will be disabled and cancelled from our network. Examples of unacceptable content or links: “Pirated software”, “Hackers programs or archives”, “Warez Sites”, “Irc Bots”, “Illegal Mp3’s” etc.
- Failing to respond to a request by a recipient of unsolicited mail to be removed from any mailing or direct marketing list and continuing to send unsolicited mail following such a request for removal.
Where any user resides outside of the Republic, permanently or temporarily, such user will be subject to the laws of the country in which s/he is currently resident, and which apply. On presentation of a legal order to do so, or under obligation through an order for mutual foreign legal assistance, Mytelnet will assist foreign law enforcement agencies (LEA) in the investigation and prosecution of a crime committed using Mytelnet's resources, including the provisioning and processing of all personal identifiable data. Any unacceptable use of the services constitutes a material breach of this Agreement and Mytelnet fully and strictly reserves its rights in this regard.
Prohibited Activities
The following sections outline activities that are considered an unacceptable use of Mytelnet's services/network and also detail the guidelines for acceptable use of certain facilities/services, as the case may be.
Threats to Network Security
Any activity which threatens the functioning, security and/or integrity of Mytelnet's network is unacceptable. This includes:
- Any efforts to attempt to gain unlawful and unauthorised access to the network or circumvent any of the security measures established by Mytelnet for this goal;
- Any effort to use Mytelnet's equipment to circumvent the user authentication or security of any host, network or account ("cracking" or "hacking");
- Forging of any TCP-IP packet header (spoofing) or any part of the header information in an email or a newsgroup posting;
- Any effort to breach or attempt to breach the security of another user or attempt to gain access to any other person's computer, software, or data without the knowledge and consent of such person;
- Any activity which threatens to disrupt the service offered by Mytelnet through "denial of service attacks"; flooding of a network, or overloading a service or any unauthorised probes ("scanning" or "nuking") of others' networks;
- Any activity which in any way threatens the security of the network by knowingly posting, transmitting, linking to or otherwise distributing any information or software which contains a virus; Trojan horse; worm, lock, mail bomb, cancelbot or other harmful, destructive or disruptive component.
- Any unauthorised monitoring of data or traffic on the network without Mytelnet's explicit, written consent.
- Any unsolicited mass mailing activity including direct marketing; spam and chain letters for commercial or other purposes, without the consent of the recipients of those mails.
- Any violation of system or network security in instances where a Business Customer (having more than 5 registered employees or contractors in one location) is using a home based (FTTH) uncapped, unlimited and unshaped solution instead of a dedicated business (FTTB) solution in the same area.
- Mytelnet reserves the right at all times to prohibit, suspend or terminate any service for prohibited activities or activities that damage its commercial reputation and goodwill.
Public Space and Third Party Content and sites
In reading this AUP, accessing or using our services or in signing a service contract with Mytelnet, you acknowledge that Mytelnet has no power to control the content of the information passed on over the Internet and its applications, including e-mail; chat rooms; news groups; or other similar fora, and that Mytelnet cannot be held responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any of the abovementioned content, in any way for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of, or in connection with your use of, or reliance on, any such content.
Our services also offer access to numerous third party webpages. You acknowledge that we exercise absolutely no control over such third party content, or sites and in such cases, our network is merely a conduit or means of access and transmission. This includes, but is not limited to, third party content contained on or accessible through the Mytelnet network websites and web pages or sites displayed as search results or contained within a directory of links on the Mytelnet network. It remains your responsibility to review and evaluate any such content, and that any and all risk associated with the use of, or reliance on, such content rests with you.
Access to public Internet spaces, such as bulletin boards, Usenet groups, chat rooms and moderated forums is entirely voluntary and at your own risk.
Mytelnet employees do not moderate any of these services, or your communications, transmissions or use of these services. We do not undertake any responsibility for any content contained therein, or for any breaches of your right to privacy that you may experience as a result of accessing such spaces.
Usenet Newsgroups
The customer is responsible for determining and familiarizing himself or herself with the written policies of any newsgroup before posting to it. The customer must comply with these guidelines at all times which can be obtained from other users of the newsgroup upon request, or from the group's administrators/moderators. The following are prohibited practices with regard to Usenet newsgroups and Mytelnet reserves the right to delete and/or cancel posts which violate the following conditions:
- Excessive cross-posting of the same article to multiple newsgroups.
- Posting of irrelevant or off-topic material to newsgroups (also known as USENET spam).
- Posting binaries to a non-binary newsgroup.
- Posting adverts, solicitations, or any other commercial messages unless the guidelines of the newsgroup in question explicitly permit them.
Unsolicited, Spam and Junk mail, Spam and unsolicited bulk mail
Unsolicited, Spam and Junk mail, Spam and unsolicited bulk mail are highly problematic practices. They affect the use and enjoyment of services by others and often compromise network security. Mytelnet will take swift and firm action against any user engaging in any of the following unacceptable practices:
- Sending unsolicited bulk mail for marketing including, without limitation, commercial advertising and informational announcements or any other purposes (political, religious or commercial) to people who have not consented to receiving such mail;
- Operating or maintaining mailing lists without the express permission of all recipients listed;
- Failing to promptly remove from lists invalid or undeliverable addresses or addresses of unwilling recipients or a recipient who has indicated s/he wishes to be removed from such list;
- Using Mytelnet's service to collect responses from unsolicited e-mails sent from accounts on other Internet hosts or e-mail services, that violate this AUP or the AUP of any other Internet service provider;
- Including Mytelnet's name in the header or by listing an IP address that belongs to Mytelnet in any unsolicited email whether sent through Mytelnet's network or not;
- Failure to secure a customer's mail server against public relay as a protection to themselves and the broader Internet community. Public relay occurs when a mail server is accessed by a third party from another domain and utilised to deliver mails, without the authority or consent of the owner of the mail-server. Mail servers that are unsecured against public relay often become abused by unscrupulous operators for spam delivery. Upon detection such delivery must be disallowed. Mytelnet reserves the right to examine users' mail servers to confirm that no mails are being sent from the mail server through public relay and the results of such checks can be made available to the user. Mytelnet also reserves the right to examine the mail servers of any users using Mytelnet's mail servers for "smarthosting" (when the user relays its mail via a Mytelnet mail server to a mail server of its own or vice-versa) or similar services at any time to ensure that the servers are properly secured against public relay. All relay checks will be done in strict accordance with Mytelnet's privacy policy.
Protection of Minors
Mytelnet prohibits customers from using Mytelnet's service to harm or attempt to harm a minor, including, but not limited to, by hosting, possessing, disseminating, distributing or transmitting material that is unlawful, obscene and includes child pornography.
Privacy and Confidentiality
Mytelnet respects the privacy and confidentiality of our customers and users of our service. Please review our privacy policy which details how we collect and use personal information gathered in the course of operating this service or using our website.
User Responsibilities
Customers are responsible for any misuse of Mytelnet's services that occurs through the customer's account. It is the customer's responsibility to ensure that unauthorised persons do not gain access to or misuse Mytelnet's service.
Mytelnet urges customers not to reply to unsolicited mail or "spam", not to click on any suggested links provided in the unsolicited mail. Doing so remains the sole responsibility of the customer and Mytelnet cannot be held liable for the Customer being placed on any bulk mailing list as a result.
Where the customer has authorised a minor to use any of the Mytelnet's services or access its websites, you accept that as the parent/legal guardian of that minor, you are fully responsible for: the online conduct of such minor; controlling the minor's access to and use of any services or websites; and the consequences of any misuse by the minor, including but not limited to transactions entered into by the minor using such access.
Mytelnet cannot be held liable for any business dealings you have with any third parties on the Internet, including any vendors, or advertisers found on, or through, the Mytelnet network. Further, Mytelnet assumes no responsibility whatsoever for any charges you or any user of your account incurs when making purchases or other transactions in this manner.
Further, the responsibility for ensuring compliance with all applicable customs and exchange control laws in connection with any such transactions shall be the customer's.
Notice and Take-down Procedures
Mytelnet confirms that it has a procedure in place for the notice and take-down of illegal material. In compliance with section 77 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (No. 25 of 2002) Mytelnet's designated agent for this process is the Internet Service Providers’ Association. ISPA can be reached at +27-11-318-1406 or takedown@ispa.org.za.
The notice and take-down procedure can be viewed at https://www.ispa.org.za/code.
Customers are also notified of the content and procedures of the ISPA Code of Conduct which may be used against any Internet service provider who fails to comply with the code of conduct. We urge you to familiarise yourselves with this code.
Complaints and procedures
It is the customer's responsibility to familiarise himself or herself with the procedure set out below and report any cases of violation of this AUP to Mytelnet's designated complaints handling agent and sent to complaints@mytelnet.co.za.
Please note that Mytelnet cannot handle complaints concerning networks or users that do not have service contracts with us or our affiliates or someone with whom we do not have any kind of agreement or is out of our control.
In order for Mytelnet to thoroughly investigate the complaint and take appropriate action, all complaints must be in writing, via fax or e-mail and contain as much information as possible, including, but not limited to:
- the origin of abuse or offence, including the website, full mail headers, relevant logfile extracts, etc;
- any contact details for the source of the complaint;
- a brief explanation why the incident is considered to be an offence or offensive.
Mytelnet discourages anonymous complaints being made via this service and urges complainants to supply their name and contact details to us. Such information will not be released, except where required by law enforcement. Anonymous complaints will however be acted upon as long as sufficient detail as outlined above, is supplied.
Action following breach of the AUP
Upon receipt of a complaint, or having become aware of an incident, Mytelnet may take any of the following steps:
- In the case of a network, inform the user's network administrator of the incident and request the network administrator or network owner to deal with and address the incident in terms of this AUP and the ISPA Code of Conduct;
- In severe cases suspend access of the user's entire network until abuse can be prevented by appropriate means and provided such abuse has been reported to abuse@mytelnet.co.za.
- In the case of individual users, warn the user; suspend the user's account and/or revoke or cancel the user's network access privileges completely;
- In all cases, charge the offending parties for administrative costs as well as for machine and human time lost due to the incident;
- Assist other networks or website administrators in investigating credible suspicions of any activity listed in this AUP;
- Institute civil or criminal proceedings;
- Share information concerning the incident with other Internet access providers, or publish the information, and/or make available the users' details to law enforcement agencies
Reservation and Non Waiver of Rights
Mytelnet reserves the right to amend or alter this policy at any time, and without notice to you.
Mytelnet reserves the right to act against any individuals, companies or organizations that violate any of the prohibited activities set out herein or engage in any illegal or unlawful activity while accessing or using our services, to the fullest extent of the law.
Mytelnet reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to act against other types of abuse not listed in this document and to investigate or prevent illegal activities being committed over our network.
Mytelnet reserves the right to monitor user and network traffic for site security purposes and prevent any unauthorised attempts to tamper with our site or cause damage to our property.
Mytelnet reserves the right to suspend, revoke or cancel Mytelnet's services to the customer/user if the safety and integrity of Mytelnet's resources are placed at risk in continuing to provide service to the subscriber/user.
Mytelnet reserves the right to remove any information or materials in whole or in part, that, in Mytelnet's sole discretion, is deemed to be offensive, indecent, or otherwise objectionable.
Mytelnet does not undertake to guarantee the security of any data passing through its networks. Although Mytelnet will provide a "best effort" service, including regular updates on computer viruses and other threats to security of data, it is the responsibility of the communicating parties to safeguard their data, and Mytelnet cannot be held liable for any loss or damage arising as result of the failure to do so.
Mytelnet will be the sole arbiters and have a sole and unfettered discretion in determining what constitutes a violation of this Policy.
Mytelnet does not waive its right to enforcement of this AUP at any time, or prejudice its rights to take subsequent action, should Mytelnet fail, neglect or elect not to enforce a breach of the AUP at any time.
Mytelnet Management