Fibreline Terms & Conditions
Terms Of Service
Section One: Terms and Conditions
1. General
This Annex does not apply to any other type of broadband connectivity service that we sell.
1.2. All definitions used in the Main Body Terms apply to this Annex.
1.3. Any reference to a “clause” is to a clause of the Main Body Terms. Any reference to a “paragraph” is to a paragraph of this Annex.
1.4. Other definitions that appear only in this Annex have the meanings set out below:
“Activation Date” has the meaning given to it in paragraph 2.15;
“Install Date” means the earlier of the date on which the Cable Installation or the Equipment Installation occurs;
“Additional Construction Work” has the meaning given to it in paragraph 2.10;
“Delivery Partner” means an organisation such as Openreach or Virgin Media Business who we need to work with to physically install the internet connection
“Cable Installation” has the meaning given to it in paragraph 2.5(a);
“Equipment Installation” has the meaning given to it in paragraph 2.5(b);
“Excess Construction Charge” has the meaning given to it in paragraph 2.10;
“Installation Charge” has the meaning given to it in paragraph 3.1.1;
“Installation Specification” has the meaning given to it in paragraph 2.2;
“Method of Work” has the meaning given to it in paragraph 2.13;
“Network Termination Equipment” or “NTE” means the equipment installed in your premises by our Delivery Partner to provide the required connectivity;
“Site” means the premises at which your Fibreline Service will be installed and used;
“Site Survey” has the meaning given to it in paragraph 2.2:
1.5. Details of the features and functionality of the different Fibreline Services listed in paragraph 1.1 are as described on our Website, or in promotional material that we may produce from time to time.
1.6. We may from time to time amend the Standard Terms, Charges or Services in accordance with clause 14. Whenever we make such changes, we will update the Website to reflect this.
1.7. Our Fibreline Service uses a fibre optic cable to provide the connection from the telephone exchange to your premises to deliver fast and reliable internet connectivity.
2. Order process
2.2. To order a Fibreline Service, you will need to contact our sales team by calling our advertised sales number or requesting a call back via the Website. Our sales team will discuss the Service with you in more detail and take information from you to determine whether you are able to receive the Fibreline Service. Based on the information you give us, we will let you know whether you can receive the Service, as well as the data transfer speeds you can expect (this document being an “Installation Specification”). If you wish to proceed with the order, you must complete and send to us the relevant order form within 14 days of us sending to you the Installation Specification. We may also ask you to send us a signed copy of this Annex within the same time period. On receipt of your order form, we will review your order and pass to our Delivery Partner information about the
intended Site so that our Delivery Partner can determine whether or not a survey of the location (“Site Survey”) is required.
2.3. Where our Delivery Partner confirms that a Site Survey is required, the order process will be handled in accordance with paragraphs 2.9 to 2.12 inclusive, before installation proceeds in accordance with paragraphs 2.13 and 2.22 inclusive.
2.4. Where our Delivery Partner confirms that a Site Survey is not required, we will issue you with an invoice for the Installation Charge and an Order Confirmation. Your order will then proceed in accordance with paragraphs 2.13 and 2.22 inclusive. You must pay the Installation Charge within 30 days. If you do not do this, or if you notify us that you do not wish to proceed, your order will be
cancelled and you will still be liable for the Installation Charge (as more fully described in paragraph 4.2).
Engineer appointments and missed appointment charges
2.5. It will be necessary for an engineer from our Delivery Partner to visit your Site at least twice to carry out the following activities:
a) To install the fibre optic cable (“Cable Installation”); and
b) To install the termination equipment (“Equipment Installation”).
2.6. Depending on the exact location of your Site and the proposed configuration of the Service, other engineer visits may be necessary for a Site Survey and Additional Construction Work to be completed.
2.7. In each case that an engineer appointment is required, we will try to accommodate your timing requirements for the appointment, but it is ultimately dependent on our Delivery Partner’s engineer availability and we can give you no guarantee or assurance that the appointment will occur on your chosen date or time. You must provide us with details of two authorised persons (each a “Site
Contact”) who can grant the our Delivery Partner’s engineer access to the line installation point of the Site during the appointment. At least one of the Site Contacts must be present during the appointment, and they must act in accordance with the engineer’s reasonable instructions.
2.8. Where we inform you in advance that an engineer appointment will require Site access, if neither of the Site Contacts are present to give our Delivery Partner’s engineer that access, and you have not cancelled the appointment by email at least 48 hours in advance, we will charge you a missed appointment charge of £90.00 plus VAT (or another figure that we notify you of in advance).
Site Surveys and Additional Construction Work
2.9. We will let you know by email if our Delivery Partner determines that a Site Survey is required and an appointment will be arranged in accordance with this Annex. Occasionally, more than one Site Survey may be required.
2.10. Once the Site Survey has been carried out, our Delivery Partner will notify us of any additional work that they must complete as part of installing the Fibreline Service at the Site (“Additional Construction Work”), and of the charge (if any) that is payable in relation to the Additional Construction Work (“Excess Construction Charge”). We will then pass these details on to you and
the order will proceed in either of the following two ways:
2.10.1. If the Site Survey reveals that Excess Construction Charges are payable, we will issue you with an invoice for the Excess Construction Charge and Installation Charge. You must pay the Excess Construction Charge and Installation Charge within 30 days of us giving you details of them. If you do not do this, or if you notify us that you do not accept the Excess Construction Charge, your order will be cancelled. The charge for the first Site Survey will be included in the Excess Construction Charge. If our Delivery Partner determines that subsequent Site Surveys are required, or if an engineer is required to make additional visits to the Site for another reason (other than those reasons set out in paragraph 2.5 or to carry out Additional Construction Work or installation work in accordance with paragraph 2.12), each such visit will be charged at £240 plus VAT (“Additional Site Visit”). Where you agree to our Delivery Partner carrying out more than one Site Survey prior to us issuing you with an Order Confirmation, a separate Contract will be formed for each additional Site Survey and you will be liable to pay us the charges associated with those additional Site Surveys even if you cancel your order (as more fully described in paragraph 4.2). We will also pass through to you any additional instructions or requests that our Delivery Partner might reasonably make where they identify that asbestos or another hazard is present at the Site.
2.10.2. If the Site Survey reveals no Excess Construction Charge is payable, we will issue you with an invoice for the Installation Charge and an Order Confirmation. Your order will then proceed in accordance with paragraphs 2.13 and 2.22 inclusive. You must pay the Installation Charge within 30 days. If you do not do this, or if you notify us that you do not wish to proceed, your order will be cancelled and you will still be liable for the Installation Charge (as more fully described in paragraph 4.2). There is no charge for the first Site Survey. If our Delivery Partner determines that subsequent Site Surveys are required, or if an engineer is required to make additional visits to the Site for another reason (other than those reasons set out in paragraph 2.5 or to carry out Additional Construction Work or installation work in
accordance with paragraph 2.12), each such visit will be charged at £240 plus VAT (“Additional Site Visit”). Where you agree to our Delivery Partner carrying out more than one Site Survey prior to us issuing you with an Order Confirmation, a separate Contract will be formed for each additional Site Survey and you will be liable to pay us the charges associated with those
additional Site Surveys even if you cancel your order (as more fully described in paragraph 4.2). We will also pass through to you any additional instructions or requests that our Delivery Partner might reasonably make where they identify that asbestos or another hazard is present at the Site.
2.11. Where Excess Construction Charges are payable, the Additional Construction Work can only be carried out once you have paid the Excess Construction Charge. Once you have paid the Excess Construction Charge in accordance with the relevant invoice, the appointment for the Additional Construction Work can be booked. We will try to accommodate your timing requirements for the Additional Construction Work to be carried out, but it is ultimately dependent on our Delivery Partner’s engineer availability and we can give you no guarantee or assurance as to your chosen date or time.
2.12. Once the Additional Construction Work has been carried out, our Delivery Partner will notify us and we will notify you. In the unlikely event that further Additional Construction Work is needed, you will be notified of the situation and the further work will be scheduled by our Delivery Partner. However, if further work is necessary, the Excess Construction Charge will not change from that
for which you are originally invoiced.
Installation of the Fibreline Service
2.13. We will contact you to arrange a suitable date and time for an engineer from our Delivery Partner to visit your premises to carry out the Cable Installation and then the Equipment Installation. On request, we can provide you with detailed information about the work which our Delivery Partner typically carries out during the installation of a Fibreline Service. If you require specific details of the work that will be carried out at your Site (“Method of Work”), we can arrange for our Delivery Partner to provide this, but there is a charge associated with doing so which we will pass on to you. We will confirm whether you are happy to pay these charges before asking our Delivery Partner to provide the Method of Work.
2.14. Once the installation work has been carried out, our Delivery Partner will notify us of the outcome and whether further work is necessary. We will pass this information on to you and arrange for any further work that is necessary to be carried out in accordance with paragraphs 2.13 and 2.14.
2.15. Where our Delivery Partner informs us that the Fibreline Service installation work has been successfully completed, the new line will enter a period of testing which typically takes around 10 – 15 Working Days. When this testing has been completed, we will notify you and provide you with a handover document outlining the technical details of the line and the date on which it is expected to be activated so that the line is made available for use by you (“Activation Date”). We will let you know by email once the line has been activated and it has been assigned to your Gradwell account. We will then, in accordance with clause 13.1, issue you with the invoices relating to your first period of use of the Service. If you are a new customer, this period will be the first month in which you use the Service starting on the Activation Date. If you are an existing customer, your first invoice will cover the period from the Activation Date until the next monthly anniversary on which you became a Gradwell customer and invoices will be issued on a monthly basis after that.
3. Fibreline Service charges
3.1.1. A one-time charge associated with installing your Fibreline Service (“Installation Charge”);
3.1.2. An Excess Construction Charge where the Site Survey identifies that Additional Construction Work is required; and
3.1.3. A recurring monthly charge.
3.2. The Installation Charge and the recurring monthly charge will be set out on the Order Confirmation. The Excess Construction Charge will be provided to you separately in accordance with paragraph 2.10.
4. Minimum Contract Period for Fibreline Service and Cancellations
4.2. The table below outlines the different points at which you may cancel your order prior to the Activation Date and the consequences associated with such cancellations. In all cases, you remain liable for any Additional Site Visits. Any cancellation request must be made by email to the email address administration@gradwell.com and will only deemed effective once receipt of the
cancellation request has been expressly acknowledged by Gradwell.
| Cancellation circumstances | Consequences of Cancellation |
|---|---|
| A. As set out in paragraph 2.4, you confirm that you wish to cancel the order. |
We will charge you: – the Installation Charge as shown on the Order Confirmation; and – the cancellation charge if we incur it from our wholesale supplier (currently £1,950 for 100Mb bearer services, up to £3,995 for 1Gb bearer services) |
|
B. As set out in paragraph 2.10.1, you confirm you do not accept the Excess Construction Charge, or if you fail to pay it within 30 days. |
There is no cancellation charge for the main Fibreline installation providing only one Site Survey was carried out. Each additional Site Survey constitutes an Additional Site Visit and is charged at £240 plus VAT. |
|
C. As set out in paragraph 2.10.2, if after the Site Survey reveals that no Excess Construction Charge is payable, you confirm you do not wish to proceed, or if you fail to pay the Installation Charge within 30 days. |
We will charge you: – the Installation Charge as shown on the Order Confirmation; and – the cancellation charge if we incur it from our wholesale supplier (currently £1,950 for 100Mb bearer services, up to £3,995 for 1Gb bearer services) |
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D. You cancel your order after we send you the Order Confirmation, but before the Activation Date occurs. |
We will charge you: – For any Additional Construction Work carried out before your order is validly cancelled in accordance with this annex. Where you cancel your order after you have paid the Excess Construction Charge but before all of the Additional Construction Work has been carried out, we will pass through to you any refund we receive from our wholesale supplier in respect of that work not completed. Any refund owing will only be paid once we have received it from our wholesale supplier; and – the cancellation charge if we incur it from our wholesale supplier (currently £1,950 for 100Mb bearer services, up to £3,995 for 1Gb bearer services); and – the Installation Charge as shown on the Order Confirmation. |
4.3. In accordance with clause 15.6, if you cancel your Fibreline Service on or after the Activation Date but before the Minimum Contract Period has expire, you will be required to pay an Early Termination Charge.
4.4. For the avoidance of doubt, the Early Termination Charge will comprise:
a) Any unpaid element of the Installation Charge; and
b) The monthly Charges associated with the remaining element of the Minimum Contract Period.
5. Termination equipment
5.2. The NTE will remain our property at all times and you must use it in conditions generally acknowledged to be suitable for electronic equipment and treat it with reasonable care.
5.3. You must return the NTE to us at the end of your Contract for Fibreline Services. We will contact you to arrange for our nominated courier to collect the NTE from your Site. If you lose or otherwise fail to return NTE in accordance with this Annex, we will charge you £350.00 for each affected NTE (or another figure that we notify you of in advance of you submitting your order). We will also charge you £350.00 if, on inspection of the returned NTE, we determine (acting reasonably) that you have not used it in suitable conditions or treated it with reasonable care.
6. Migrations
7. Data transfer speeds
7.2. The data transfer speed will be shown on your handover document that is sent to you on the Activation Date. If required, you can request a quotation to increase the data transfer speed available up to the maximum speed of the bearer of the circuit. An upgrade of data transfer speed will not result in a new Minimum Contract Period commencing.
7.3. All requests to increase data transfer speeds will be subject to available network capacity, and the ability to upgrade your data transfer speed is not guaranteed. We will endeavour to notify of upgrade capability within five Working Days of your request.
7.4. Only one change to data transfer speed can be made within a calendar month.
8. Monthly download allowances
9. IP addresses
9.2. Your chosen IP addresses may be reassigned to another customer if your Fibreline Service is suspended or terminated for any reason under the Standard Terms.
9.3. You can request more static IP addresses from us, the price of which will be set out on the written quote we give you on request and will be confirmed on the Order Confirmation. Whenever additional IP addresses are requested, we may ask you to explain the reasons behind your request and provide us with a completed form which we will send to you. We reserve the right to refuse (at
our sole discretion) any request for additional IP addresses.
10. Moving premises
Section Two: Pricing
11. Pricing
11.1. Details of all prices set out on our Website, the Control Panel or on any Quotation are exclusive of VAT.
11.2. The prices for our Goods and Services will be those which:
a) are set out on the Website at the date on which the Contract is formed; or
b) where we send a Quotation to you, as set out on the relevant Quotation,
which, in either case, will be confirmed on the Order Confirmation in accordance with the Main Body Terms.
11.3. Other charges may apply in relation to your Fibreline circuit as detailed in this Annex.
Core services
11.4. The prices we charge for our Fibreline Services depend on the package and the Minimum Contract Period you choose. Details of the core prices we charge will be specified in accordance with paragraph 11.2 above.
11.5. Any other charges which apply to your Fibreline Service will be provided to you in accordance with this Annex.
Section Three: Service Level Agreement
12. Definitions
12.1. In this section three, the following terms shall have the meanings set out below. All other definitions have the meanings given to them in the Agreement.
− “Connectivity” means that the Fibreline Service is capable of transmitting electronic signals in both directions and is otherwise functioning normally in accordance with the details set out on the Installation Specification and any other details that we subsequently provide to you in accordance with this Annex;
− “Excused Outage” means, in relation to the relevant connection, that it is subject to planned or emergency maintenance, or is affected by an event of force majeure (as defined in the Main Body Terms);
− “Fibre Break” means a situation where your Fibreline Service loses Connectivity as a result of a circuit break or another fault within the network of our Wholesale Supplier (determined at their sole discretion);
− “Incident” means a fault or other problem affecting the Fibreline Service (for reasons other than an Excused Outage) that falls within one of the categories set out in paragraph 15.1 and which has been reported to and has been acknowledged by us in accordance with this SLA;
− “Parked Time” has the meaning given to it in paragraph 18.1;
− “Resolution” or “Resolved” shall have the meaning given to it in paragraph 17.1 (and “Resolve” will be construed accordingly);
− “Support Team” means the support engineers employed or instructed by Gradwell to provide technical support in relation to the Fibreline Service;
− “Support Ticket” means the exchange of a support ticket via email between the Support Team and you, identifiable by a ticket reference number;
− “Wholesale Supplier” means the communications provider(s) from whom we purchase Fibreline connectivity circuits on a wholesale basis for resale.
13.1. In the event that it becomes necessary to perform maintenance on the Fibreline Service, we will use our reasonable endeavours to:
13.1.1. provide you with as much notice as possible of the maintenance to be performed (such notice to be communicated by means of the Gradwell status webpage at www.gradwellstatus.com which you can visit and subscribe to); and
13.1.2. conduct the maintenance in such a way as to minimise the adverse impact the maintenance might have on you.
14.1. The commitments we give in respect of the Resolution of Incidents are set out below.
14.2. For Incidents that have been properly brought to our attention in accordance with this SLA, we will use our reasonable endeavours to liaise with our Wholesale Supplier to provide you with technical support focused on remedying the problem within the timescales set out in paragraph 17.2.
14.3. This SLA applies only to Fibreline Service installations which are affected by an Incident after the Activation Date. For the avoidance of doubt, orders that have yet to be completed and are not operationally live are not covered by the commitments given in this SLA. Gradwell gives no service level commitment in respect of the provisioning process for installations of a Fibreline Service.
14.4. Gradwell expressly reserves the right to amend, modify or alter the thresholds, metrics, remedies, or any other term in this SLA, by providing you with 30 days’ prior written notice.
14.5. The service level commitments given in this SLA do not apply where the Incident is caused by the configuration of, or fault in, any customer equipment or hardware used in conjunction with the Fibreline Service (determined in our sole discretion, acting reasonably).
15. Incident Categorisation
| Incident Category | Description of circumstances |
|---|---|
| Priority 1 (a total outage of the Service) |
The Fibreline Service: Has a total loss of Connectivity (whether caused by a Fibre Break or otherwise); or Has a data transfer speed of less than 10% of the speed ordinarily available through your Service; or Is suffering from latency greater than 100m/s; or • Is suffering from packet loss greater than 5%. N.B. Circumstances must have existed for at least five minutes. |
| Priority 2 (severe intermittence of the Service) |
Fibreline Service is suffering from intermittent Connectivity which is having a high degree of service impact. Intermittence of Connectivity must be demonstrated repeatedly within an hour period. |
| Priority 3 (degradation of the Service) |
Fibreline Service is suffering from intermittent Connectivity which is having a low degree of service impact. Intermittence of Connectivity need not be demonstrated repeatedly within an hour period. |
| Priority 4 (Other problem or query relating to the Service) | Customer has another problem or technical query in relation to the Fibreline Service. |
16. Incident Reporting and Response
16.1.1. By emailing our advertised support email address (which can be done 24 hours a day, 7 days a week); or
16.1.2. by phoning us on our advertised support numbers during the hours of 08.00 to 18.00 on Working Days and 09.00 to 17.00 on weekends (excluding public holidays).
16.2. Priority 1 Incidents must always be reported to us by phone.
16.3. When you report an Incident, you must explain the circumstances of the suspected problem and give sufficiently detailed information so that we can investigate the problem.
16.4. Once you have notified us of an Incident in accordance with paragraph 16.1, we will:
16.4.1. Categorise the Incident according to paragraph 15.1 determined at our sole discretion (acting reasonably). The category we assign will be kept under review during the course of our investigations and we may amend the category where appropriate (acting reasonably);
16.4.2. Promptly send to you a Support Ticket featuring a unique ticket number (“Response”); and
16.4.3. Contact our Wholesale Supplier to commence an investigation.
16.5. When reporting the Incident, if you fail to provide information in sufficient detail, we will notify you if we cannot investigate the problem and the Incident will enter Parked Time until the information we request has been provided.
16.6. After the Response is issued, we will use our reasonable endeavours to work with our Wholesale Supplier to resolve the Incident as quickly as reasonably practicable.
17. Incident Resolution
17.1. An Incident comes to an end when we determine at our sole discretion (acting reasonably) that the problem comprising the Incident has been fixed or has otherwise been resolved (“Resolution” or “Resolved”).
17.2. We will use our reasonable endeavours to resolve Incidents in accordance with the target Resolution times set out below:
| Category of Incident | Incident Resolution target measured in hours starting from the Response, excluding all Parked Time |
|---|---|
| Priority 1 | 5 |
| Priority 2 | 12 |
| Priority 3 | 24 |
| Priority 4 | 48 |
17.3. We will use our reasonable endeavours to provide you with regular progress updates for the Incident while a Resolution is pending.
Fibre Breaks
17.4. Our Wholesale Supplier aims to resolve Fibre Breaks within five hours of the problem being reported. Where a Fibre Break is the cause of an Incident which you report to us in accordance with this SLA, we will use our reasonable endeavours to cooperate with our Wholesale Supplier so that they can adhere to the five-hour fix target. Where our Wholesale Supplier fails to meet the five-hour fix target, service credits will be available in accordance with paragraphs 19 and 19.5.
18. Parked Time
18.1.1. Time we spend waiting for you to respond to a request for information without which further action to Resolve the Incident cannot be taken (determined by us, acting reasonably);
18.1.2. Time we spend waiting for you to comply with our reasonable instructions (including, but not limited to, giving us or our Wholesale Supplier access to the relevant Site on reasonable request).
19. Service Credits
19.2. Subject always to paragraph 19.3 of this SLA, and discounting all Parked Time, if a Priority 1 Incident occurs and we do not provide a Resolution in accordance with paragraph 17.2, for each one hour period (or part thereof) by which we miss the target Resolution time, you will be entitled to a credit of fifteen per cent (15%) of the monthly recurring charge for the Fibreline Service for the
month in which the Incident occurs.
19.3. The cumulative value of service credits paid under this SLA for any given month will not exceed the monthly recurring charge for the relevant Fibreline Service.
19.4. For the avoidance of doubt, service credits are only payable in relation to Priority 1 Incidents. There are no service credits or any other remedy available for our failure to meet the Incident resolution targets set out under paragraph 17.2 of this SLA in respect of Incidents categorised as Priority 2, 3 or 4.
19.5. The service credits payable under this SLA are your sole and exclusive remedy for failures of Connectivity.
20. Applying for Service Credits
20.2. Any claim for service credits must be supported by evidence of relevant Support Tickets which fully substantiate the Incident and the period of non-Connectivity claimed.
20.3. Service credits will be paid one month in arrears in the form of a credit note which can only be used in respect of the future provision of the connection and they may not be converted or exchanged.
20.4. You have 30 days to query any service credits issued. If you do not raise a query concerning service credits during this time, you will be deemed to have accepted the service credits and to have waived any further right to query them in relation to the relevant Incident.
20.5. We may correct any inadvertent payment of service credits by deducting their application in a subsequent invoice.
Section Four: Customer’s Signature
Customer Signature
However, even if this Annex has not been signed below, provided the Contract for the relevant Service has been formed by the parties acting in accordance with clause 4.6 of the Main Body Terms, the terms of this Annex will be contractually binding from that relevant date.
Download the full Fibreline Services Annex PDF and sign your copy.
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