Business Internet Service Terms
Introduction
1.1. The Business Internet Service Terms are one of our Plan and Product Terms and apply when you sign up for or use Business Internet Service. In buying these services, you understand and agree to these terms. They also apply to any use of the Business Internet Service products and services by your staff or anyone else you have authorised. If anyone in your business will be using these products and services, please ensure they have also read and understood these terms. Our Business General Terms also apply to these products and services.
1.2. In the event of inconsistency, these Business Internet Service Terms take precedence, followed by the Business General Terms.
Service overview2. Description
2.1. Business Internet Service is a high-speed internet access service enabling access from your internal IP networks to national and international services. Business Internet Service meets the needs of business customers with high internet traffic requirements, keeping Spark business customers internet traffic prioritised and separate from that of consumer customers.
2.2. Critical Data (including that of a customer’s employees, contractors, contracted customers and others using the Business Internet Service (together, the Users)) is carried from the customer site by Spark’s approved access provider, traverses Spark’s highly resilient multiservice core network, to the internet via Spark’s International Global Gateway. Circuits from Southern Cross and Asian cable systems provide high capacity and low latency connections to Australian, American, Asian and European networks.
2.3. Standard support hours for Business Internet Service are 7am-7pm Monday-Friday. For an additional charge, support hours can be upgraded to:
- 7am-7pm Monday-Sunday; or
- 24/7.
2.4. Wireless Backup is an optional addition available for Business Internet Service where copper or fibre is the primary access. The feasibility of Wireless Backup is dependent on required speed, wireless coverage and your chosen CPE.
The following criteria apply to your use of Wireless Backup:
- Customer is to provide compatible tele-permitted 4G/5G CPE.
- Spark will provide a Mobile Wireless Backup Sim Card to the Customer to self-install into the CPE.
- Traffic over Wireless Backup is reasonable efforts basis, and your primary access speed does not apply.
- Where DDoS or Secure Managed Firewall Service is purchased from Spark in conjunction with a Business Internet Service, the DDoS or Firewall functionality will not be available over Wireless Backup.
Wireless Backup is provided using the Spark Mobile Network. As there may be conditions that affect the coverage and service performance of the Spark Mobile Network at a specific site or location within a site, Spark may offer additional chargeable equipment to improve the service performance to an acceptable level. Any additional charges will be discussed with you and will be at your discretion to approve or decline. Where you do not accept these additional costs, the Wireless Backup service for the relevant site will be withdrawn.
Wireless Backup is provided on the basis of reasonable usage, with particular regard to the volume of traffic carried. In the event of the volume of traffic being presented for carriage materially exceeds Spark’s estimated Customer use of this service (as referenced against Spark customer profiles), then following consultation with you, Spark may ask you to moderate your usage or, where feasible, provide you an alternate solution for the site. Such a solution may result in additional charges. You may elect to take up the alternate proposed solution or to curb your usage, failing which Spark reserves the right to remove the relevant Wireless Backup service.
Any wireless connection to the Spark Mobile Network is governed by Spark’s Mobile Network Terms and Conditions. See Business Mobile Postpaid Agreement
3. Service levels
3.1. Service levels apply based on which support hours option you have chosen.
3.2. Service Hours are the hours in which our Service Targets (monitoring, reception, response, restore) apply.
Agreed Service Hours *Access Types 7am to 7pm for 5 days 7am to 7pm for 7 days 24x7 Description 7am-7pm, Monday to Friday (excl. Public Holidays) 7am-7pm, Monday to Sunday (excl. Public Holidays) 24 hours, 7 days per week (including public holidays) Service Restoration Metro* Business or Premium Business Fibre Best Efforts 12 hours 8 hours Small Business Fibre 24 hours xDSL Best Effort Service Restoration Rural* Business or Premium Business Fibre Best Efforts 12 8 Small Business Fibre 24 hours xDSL Best Effort Charges per Site for Service Hours Uplift Default service (no charge) $35 $60
*Excludes site access-related issues which are: Metro < 6 hours; Rural < 8 hours.
1 Metro means within 30 kilometres of the centre of Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Tauranga, New Plymouth, Napier, Palmerston North, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin.
2 Rural means all other New Zealand locations.
3 Access types:
i) Premium Business Fibre - Spark Network Fibre, DFAS
ii) Business Fibre - Bitstream 3, Bitstream 3a, Bitstream 3b
iii) Small Business Fibre - Bitstream 2 and Bitstream 2a
iv) xDSL - ADSL, VDSL, SHDSL
4. Moves, Adds and Changes
4.1. Changes to your service may be agreed by the Move, Add and Change process or by written contract variation agreed between the parties. Subject to any other variation process that the parties have agreed in writing, you may request changes to the Services as set out below.
4.2. You may request a Move, Add and Change to your service by phone or email. If we accept your request, we will provide confirmation by email with details of any applicable costs. If you do not wish to proceed you must advise us within 24 hours of the confirmation being sent. Where other information comes to hand; for example, after a site visit we may revise any pricing provided with the confirmation. Any revised pricing will only apply if you have confirmed your acceptance of it.
5. Charges
5.1. The charges you’ll need to pay for Business Internet Service are dependent on the Bandwidth and Access you’ve chosen, and these are detailed in your agreement with us. In addition to the monthly charge for the service, one-off charges apply for installation on a per site basis.
5.2. Move, Add and Change fees apply, as detailed in the table below:
Definitions
- Simple Move, Add and Change (MAC)
A simple move, add or change is one that does not require a site visit, nor any change to the customer’s contract or billing arrangements and is technically straightforward. The determination of what constitutes a simple MAC will be made by Spark.
- Standard Move, Add and Change
Standard MACs are changes to any service parameters that are carried out remotely by Spark without requiring attendance at a Customer’s site.
- Complex Move, Add and Change
Spark and the Customer will treat complex MACs as a project for which a timetable and charges will be agreed.
- Service Hours
All MACs will be carried out at Spark ’s discretion during Business Hours. There is an additional charge for implementing MACs at a specific time requested by the Customer.
Other information
7. Minimum contract period
7.1. The service can be taken on 24 or 36 month contract.
8. Early Termination Fee (ETF)
8.1. The early termination fee will be calculated based on the remaining months left on the contract.
9. Notice period
9.1. You’ll need to give us 30 days’ notice to end your Business Internet Service.
10. End User Terms
10.1. You agree at the time you sign our Spark agreement that you will be bound by your local access provider or Local Fibre Company’s (LFC’s) End User Terms. Your local fibre company's end user terms relate to the provision, installation and use of that part of the local access provider or LFC’s network which is located on your premises. Further information relating to LFCs can be found at Crown Infrastructures Partners’ website.
10.2. Your LFC may require you to sign a copy of the End User Terms when its technicians visit your premises for installation.
Go to Crown Infrastructure Partners website
Your LFC’s End User Terms can be found on the LFC websites.
Go to Chorus website
Go to Enable website
Go to Tuatahi First Fibre website
Go to Northpower website
10.3. If you do not own your premises (or are not the owner, unless you are a joint owner) you must ensure that the owner(s) consent(s) to your local access provider or LFC installing, locating, accessing, operating and owning your local access provider or LFC’s network on your premises. You will be responsible to us for any loss we suffer if you do not do this. You agree that if asked you will provide us with written evidence of that consent
10.4. If you decide to cancel your Business Internet Service order after you have confirmed your acceptance and have been given an installation date, we may charge you a cancellation fee. We may also require you to reimburse us for any additional costs charged to Spark by your local access provider or LFC as a result of direct interactions between you and your local access provider or LFC (for example if you request the LFC technician to carry out additional chargeable work over and above that required for a standard installation). All such costs will be set out on your Spark invoice.
11. Your Responsibilities
11.1. Comply with the requirements laid out in the Business General Terms. View Business General Terms
11.2. When reporting a fault, provide as much information as possible to enable efficient restoration of the fault, which shall include, at a minimum; Customer's company name, name of person reporting fault, circuit number, time, nature, duration, frequency of occurrence, and the affected networks.
11.3. Provide, configure and manage sufficiently dimensioned equipment and software at the Customer’s site to Interface at the Customer’s side of the service delivery point (SDP), as defined below.
12. Connection Service and User Obligations
12.1. Spark is not responsible for:
a. The content of the data and information sent and received by the Customer and its Users (and the editing and control of that data and information); or
b. The purposes for which the Customer and the Users use Business Internet Service. Neither these terms nor the supply of Business Internet Services to the Customer create any obligations on Spark that are enforceable by any Users
13. Service Boundaries
13.1. Spark (and other members of the Spark Group) have arrangements with local access providers and other carriers (“Interconnecting Carriers”) that interconnect with Internet Service’s International Gateways and National Gateways. The Interconnecting Carriers facilitate delivery of traffic between:
a. The Internet Gateways; and
b. Other points connected to the Internet.
13.2. Spark will endeavour to maintain those arrangements and facilitate that traffic. However, because of the nature of the Internet, Spark cannot accept any responsibility or liability whatever (including arising out of negligence) for any traffic beyond the National and International Gateways.
13.3. Business Internet Service does not include support for the following items:
- The transport of traffic on the Customer’s side of the service delivery point (SDP).
- Traffic other than that supported by TCP/IP over ethernet protocols.
14. Disputes
14.1. Information about our disputes policy is available.
14.2. If your issue relates to our landline, mobile or broadband services, Spark is a member of the Telecommunication Dispute Resolution (TDR) Scheme.