22 23 www.htcinc.net | Winter 2018 Winter 2018 | www.htcinc.net Proudly serving Horry & Georgetown counties for over a decade (843) 235-8082 waccamawcooling.com #1 FOR INDOOR COMFORT NEW YEAR – NEW WEBSITE The new htcinc.net is designed to make it easier to find what you want: • Streamlined design • Simplified navigation • Optimized mobile experience • Enhanced features • Improved user experience Our goal is to not only provide superior content on all products and services, but also exceptional customer service to our members and community. We encourage you to visit and explore the site at the new www.htcinc.net, and we look forward to staying connected. How HTC protects your personal information You may have heard of Customer Proprietary Network Information — it usually comes up in conversations about telemarketers. As a valued HTC customer, it’s important to us that you understand your rights as a user of our telecommunication services. What exactly is CPNI? Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) is confidential information about a customer’s usage habits that is obtained by a telecommunications carrier. For HTC customers, as with customers of all other providers, that information is obtained through your subscription to telecom services. In other words, CPNI is individually identifiable information that is created via your relationship with HTC. What information does this include? CPNI includes the type(s) of service(s) you have, technical arrangements, the amount of telecommunications services you use and related billing information regarding your services. Some examples of this include: • The numbers you call and from which you receive calls • Where, when, how frequently and to whom you make calls • The types of service offerings to which you subscribe • The extent to which the service(s) is/are used • Information contained on your bills • Data usage • The amounts billed by a long-distance carrier • Carrier information such as your Preferred Interexchange Carrier (PIC) How do I know that my personal information is protected? The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Telecommunications Act of 1996 generally prohibit the use or sharing of confidential information without customer permission. This includes using CPNI for the purpose of marketing additional HTC services to you — that requires a customer’s permission. In the case of customers who switch to other service providers, the original service provider is not allowed to use the information to try to win the customer back. Because of the FCC rules, when you call, HTC is prohibited from releasing your information to you until you provide a password. Or, if you come into a retail store in person, you’d have to have valid identification in order to access all of your customer information. This simple step helps protect you and your private information. In sum, the law does the following: • Limits the information that HTC may provide to third-party marketing firms without first securing affirmative consent from you • Defines when and how customer service representatives may share call details • Creates new notification and reporting obligations for all carriers (including identity-verification procedures) • Requires that the verification process must match what is shown in HTC records What does this mean for me? It’s important for you to be aware that it is your right to have this personal information treated confidentially. HTC has an obligation under federal law to treat all information that relates to your CPNI — including your calling and billing information — in a confidential manner. Perhaps more importantly, we here at HTC truly value you as a customer and fellow community member, and protecting your sensitive information is a top priority. HTC will not share your CPNI data with any other company or entity without your explicit approval, except when HTC is required or authorized by law to do so. As always, HTC is happy to help you through any questions regarding your CPNI. To learn more, call HTC at 843-369-8969.