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Terms and Conditions

Updated December 20, 2017

NOTE: USE OF ANY INTERNET-BASED RELAY SERVICES OFFERED BY HAMILTON CONSTITUTES:
(a) ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, INCLUDING THE COMPANY’S PRIVACY POLICY; AND (b) A REPRESENTATION THAT YOU NEED THE SERVICE IN ORDER TO COMMUNICATE IN A MANNER THAT IS FUNCTIONALLY EQUIVALENT TO CONVENTIONAL VOICE TELEPHONE SERVICE EXPERIENCED BY INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT HEARING DISABILITIES.

911 CALLS — To view the terms about Internet-Based Relay and CapTel® 911 calls, see Section 4, Emergency Calls.

1. Definitions

“Hamilton” means Hamilton Relay, Inc. or any related company or affiliate, and their respective employees, subcontractors and suppliers. “Service” or “Services” means any Internet-based relay service Hamilton may offer, including without limitation IP-based Hamilton CapTel phones, web and mobile Services (Hamilton CapTel for PC/Mac and Hamilton CapTel for smartphones and tablets), and Hamilton CapTel for Business, Interconnected by Tenacity™. “TRS” means telecommunications relay service. “You,” “your,” “User” or “Users” refers to individuals using any of the above Services. “911 calls” or “911 dialing” means emergency calls to local or national emergency call centers, either directly or through a relay service provider, and includes Hamilton’s transmission of available phone number and location address information to those entities. “FCC” means Federal Communications Commission.

2. Description of Services

The Service is offered in connection with a federally funded program for people with hearing loss. The Service allows the User to place or receive telephone calls using a captioned telephone service, by use of the Internet, to/from a standard phone user or other eligible device user. The Service makes use of speech-to-text recognition and a Communications Assistant to provide the User with captions of the other party’s speech, while allowing the User to hear the other party to the extent of the User’s own hearing ability, and to speak the User’s portion of the call directly to the other party.

3. Technical Recommendations for Web and Mobile Services

Technical recommendations for using web and mobile Services are detailed at the following websites:

Disclaimer: Generally, Hamilton CapTel will work on devices running the latest publicly available operating system. There may be older versions that are no longer supported and, in some instances, current versions that are not yet supported. Please contact Hamilton CapTel Customer Care if you have any questions about the compatibility of your current version with Hamilton CapTel.

Hamilton CapTel is not currently compatible with the latest iOS version 11. A new version of the Hamilton CapTel Application will be releasing soon that will support this version of iOS.

The Hamilton CapTel App is compatible with Android operating systems 2.2–7.1. A new version of the Hamilton CapTel Application will be releasing soon that will support newer versions of the Android operating system.

If you use a different browser or operating system than those set forth in this section or require other technical support, Hamilton provides limited support for Hamilton CapTel at 877-455-4227. Hamilton is under no obligation to provide technical support for the use of the Services outside of the recommended minimum technical specifications described in this section, or except as required by law.

Hamilton’s mobile applications may be updated periodically through the application store from which You obtained the mobile application. Hamilton’s mobile applications may also communicate with Hamilton’s servers to check for available updates periodically. By using the Service, You agree not to interfere with the ability of any Hamilton application to automatically request and receive updates from Hamilton’s servers.

4. Emergency Calls

Limitations of Emergency Calling Using the Services – Generally

IF THE PHONE, COMPUTER OR MODEM USED TO ACCESS THE INTERNET DOES NOT HAVE A BACKUP POWER SOURCE, THE SERVICE WILL NOT WORK DURING A COMMERCIAL POWER OUTAGE. HAMILTON RELAY RECOMMENDS THAT YOU MAINTAIN A LANDLINE FOR EMERGENCY CALLS. HAMILTON RELAY CANNOT ASSURE THE FOLLOWING WHEN MAKING A 911 CALL USING WEB AND MOBILE SERVICES: (1) A CONNECTION WILL BE ESTABLISHED; (2) THAT YOUR CORRECT ADDRESS WILL BE ELECTRONICALLY AVAILABLE TO THE EMERGENCY SERVICE PROVIDER; OR (3) THAT CAPTIONING SERVICES WILL NOT SLOW THE RESPONSE TIME OR THE RELAY OF EMERGENCY INFORMATION.

Emergency calling through the Service is available only for calls placed from a location within the United States or one of its territories or possessions. For additional information regarding 911 dialing using the Services, visit the 911 section at http://www.hamiltoncaptel.com/911.

Limitations of Emergency Calling for Web and Mobile Services

Web and mobile Services handle 911 calling differently than traditional telephone services. Using traditional telephone services is the fastest way to call 911, as your telephone, TTY or CapTel phone provide a direct link to your emergency service provider. In contrast, web and mobile Services do not provide a direct link to the emergency service provider; therefore it is important that you provide your location information to the 911 center at the beginning of the call in order to transmit your physical location to an emergency center.

WEB AND MOBILE CAPTEL EMERGENCY CALLS ARE NOT THE SAME AS TRADITIONAL TELEPHONE OR TTY EMERGENCY CALLS. IN AN EMERGENCY, HAMILTON RECOMMENDS THAT YOU USE A TELEPHONE, TTY OR CAPTEL PHONE IF POSSIBLE TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY CALL IN ORDER TO CONNECT YOU DIRECTLY WITH EMERGENCY OFFICIALS. WHEN MAKING A WEB OR MOBILE CAPTEL EMERGENCY CALL, HAMILTON MAY NOT AUTOMATICALLY BE ABLE TO OBTAIN YOUR LOCATION INFORMATION OR ROUTE YOUR CALL TO APPROPRIATE EMERGENCY PERSONNEL.

Hamilton is required to transmit 911 emergency calls for web and mobile Services in accordance with federal law and policies. As part of this requirement, and in order to transmit important information to emergency service providers, your name, number, and location may be requested at the beginning of an emergency call. Hamilton is not able to identify the location of Users calling from web or mobile devices. If registered location information is from another location than where the User is currently located and the User does not provide his or her current location, the call may not be routed to an appropriate Emergency Service Provider or Public Service Answering Point.

All information obtained as a result of the above-described process is limited to that needed to facilitate 911 services and is made available only to emergency call handlers and emergency response or law enforcement personnel. All information is used for the sole purpose of ascertaining your location in an emergency situation or for other emergency or law enforcement purposes.

Limitations of Emergency Calling for IP-based Hamilton CapTel Phones

If you choose to use your IP-based Hamilton CapTel phone to place a 911 call, you may not receive captions if either your Internet is not properly connected or you have not elected to turn captions on. When you dial 911 using an IP-based Hamilton CapTel phone, you will be connected directly to an appropriate Public Service Answering Point (PSAP); however, the captions on the call will be connected to the Hamilton CapTel Call Center through the Internet connection. If at any time during such a 911 call you elect to turn captions off, you will not receive captions until you turn the captions feature back on.

Limitations of Emergency Calling for IP-based Business Phone Systems using Captioning Services

The Hamilton CapTel for Business, Interconnected by Tenacity solution is currently available on Cisco® business phone systems. If your business utilizes a Cisco business phone system, and you choose to use your Cisco phone to place a 911 call, you will only receive captions if you are logged in and have elected to turn captions on. When you dial 911 using your Cisco phone, you may be connected directly to an appropriate Public Service Answering Point (PSAP), as configured on the Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) by your Telecom Administrator. However, the captions on the call will be connected to the Hamilton CapTel Call Center, as long as you are logged in and have elected to turn captions on. If at any time during a 911 CapTel phone call you elect to turn captions off, you will not receive captions until you turn the captions feature back on.

Disclaimer of 911 Liability

As a provider of relay services and as a provider of emergency communications for purposes of the Federal NET 911 Act, Hamilton asserts immunity and other protection from liability under both state and federal law in connection with its provision of 911 dialing service as part of any Internet-based Service. In addition, Hamilton disclaims all responsibility for the conduct of local emergency response centers and the national emergency calling center. Hamilton does not have any control over any local emergency response center or the national emergency calling center. Therefore, Hamilton is not responsible for whether those centers answer calls made using Hamilton’s 911 dialing service, how they answer such calls, or how they handle them. Hamilton relies on third parties to assist in routing 911 dialing calls to local emergency response centers and/or, to the extent permissible under federal law, to a national emergency calling center. Hamilton cannot ensure that your local emergency service provider is capable of handling 911 calls from Internet-based relay service users. Accordingly, Hamilton is neither liable nor responsible if the data used by a third party to route such calls is incorrect or produces an erroneous result. Neither Hamilton nor its officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents or subcontractors may be held liable for any claim, damage, loss, fine, penalty, cost, and/or expense (including, without limitation, any and all attorneys’ fees) by, or on behalf of, any Hamilton customer or any third party or user of Hamilton’s Service, relating to or arising out of Hamilton’s Service, including, without limitation, 911 dialing, or any device used in connection with Hamilton’s Service.

5. Trademarks

The following product names and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nedelco, Inc., d/b/a Hamilton Telecommunications: HAMILTON®, HAMILTON.NET®, HAMILTON RELAY®, HAMILTON TELECOMMUNICATIONS® logo, HEROES WITH HEARING LOSS®, THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT®, GMAX®, SEE WHAT THEY SAY®, RELAY YOUR WAY® and HAMILTON WIRELESS™. All other company and product names and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners, including CapTel®, which is a registered trademark of Ultratec, Inc. Nothing contained in the site should be construed as granting by implication or otherwise a license or right to use any of the trademarks without the written permission of Hamilton or the owner thereof.

6. Availability

The Services are designed for use within the United States (including Alaska, Hawaii, and US Territories). The Services are intended to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, technical or other situations affecting the Services may arise, which could result in the Services being temporarily unavailable. Services may also not be available at times due to interruptions or technical problems with the User’s Internet Service Provider for other reasons outside the control of Hamilton. The User is responsible for paying any telephone, Internet, data or other rates or charges incurred while using Hamilton services, including international and long distance tolling rates. Certain restrictions may apply to international CapTel calling; contact Hamilton for details. Additionally, the Hamilton CapTel Call Me Number may not always be available in certain cities or regions. In such event, Hamilton will do its best to provide a geographically approximate number. The Call Me Number is currently not available in the following US Territories: American Samoa, Guam, United States Minor Outlying Islands, US Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands. The Call Me Number is available in Puerto Rico.

7. Confidentiality/Privacy

In compliance with federal law, all calls made using the Services are treated by Hamilton as confidential. Communication Assistants are required to abide by applicable TRS laws and regulations. When calling 911, your phone number and other information may be transmitted to local emergency service providers. Such information may also be provided to law enforcement and other public safety officials in order to assist them with respect to your call for emergency services. The full text of Hamilton’s privacy is available at the following link: View Privacy Policy.

8. Security

Hamilton has and will continue to implement security features and strict policy guidelines to safeguard the privacy of any User-identifiable information from any unauthorized access or improper use. However, Hamilton is not liable for any security breaches caused by the User’s or other third party’s violations of federal or state law. Moreover, Hamilton cannot guarantee the confidentiality of any communication or material transmitted either to or from Hamilton via its website or via email. Hamilton is thus not responsible for the security of such information. Hamilton is required by federal law to keep certain customer proprietary network information secure pursuant to 47 C.F.R. §§ 64.5100-64.5111.

9. Fraudulent Use; Recording Calls

Users will not use the Services for any unlawful, abusive, or fraudulent purposes. Subject to applicable federal rules, if Hamilton has reason to believe that a User is abusing a Service or using a Service fraudulently or unlawfully, Hamilton retains the right to immediately suspend, restrict, or cancel the Service without advance notice, including withdrawal of any rights of any User to the numbers assigned to such User. Users shall not record calls made using the Services, and to the extent User does make and retains recordings of calls made using the Services, User shall indemnify Hamilton as set forth in Section 11, below.

10. Complaint Procedures

Users may contact Hamilton’s Customer Care regarding any questions or complaints via a toll-free number (800-618-4781 V/TTY), via e-mail (info@hamiltonrelay.com), through writing (Hamilton Relay, P.O. Box 285, Aurora, NE 68818) or via the Internet. Should your concern go unresolved, you may file a complaint with the FCC’s Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau. Voice: 888-CALL-FCC, TTY: 888-TELL-FCC, http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html. To the extent that complaints are directed to the FCC rather than Hamilton, Hamilton is prepared to respond to those complaints as soon as they are brought to its attention.

11. Indemnification

Hamilton is not responsible for any claims against Hamilton that arise from the use of the Services. The User agrees to indemnify and hold Hamilton harmless from and against all costs and expenses related to any such claims, including attorneys’ fees. This provision of the Terms and Conditions shall be applicable during use of the Services and following such use.

12. Limitation of Liability

As an emergency communications service provider for purposes of the Federal NET 911 Act, Hamilton asserts immunity and other protection from liability under both state and federal law. Hamilton shall not be liable for any failure of performance due to causes beyond its control, including, but not limited to, the actions or omissions of Hamilton’s licensees, acts of God, fire, floods or other catastrophes, national emergencies, wars, terrorist acts, strikes or other labor difficulties or preemption of existing Services to comply with any law, order or regulation of any governing authority.

HAMILTON SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (SUCH AS LOST PROFITS OR LOST BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES), PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, OR ATTORNEY FEES RESULTING FROM USER’S USE OF THE SERVICES OR THE FAILURE OF OR INABILITY OF THE USER TO USE THE SERVICES.

The Services are not designed to be used while operating a vehicle or participating in any other activity that may require your attention, such as walking or biking. Hamilton strongly recommends that Users cease any such activity and move to a safe location before commencing use of the Services.

13. No Warranties

HAMILTON DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SERVICES WILL BE CORRECTED. THE SERVICES ARE MADE AVAILABLE ON AN “AS-IS” AND AS AVAILABLE BASIS. Hamilton makes no warranties regarding the Services and disclaims any implied warranty, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Hamilton does not authorize anyone to make a warranty on its behalf, and the User may not rely on any statement of warranty as a warranty to the User by Hamilton.

14. Registration/Certification Requirements

You must register with Hamilton prior to using the Services. Required registration information includes your full name, date of birth, last four digits of your social security number, address and telephone number.

In addition, unless otherwise noted, Federal law requires you to certify under penalty of perjury the following:

  1. You have a hearing loss that necessitates the use of captioned telephone service;
  2. You understand that captions on captioned telephone service is provided by a live captioning assistant who listens to the other party on the line and provides the text on the captioned phone;
  3. You understand that the cost of captioning each Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone call is funded through a federal program; and
  4. You will not permit, to the best of your ability, persons who have not registered to use Internet protocol captioned telephone service to make captioned telephone calls on your registered IP captioned telephone service or device.

You may be required to provide independent third party certification from a qualified hearing health professional in order to verify your eligibility to use the Service. Please contact Hamilton for further details.

You agree that all information contained in your registration and certification for the Services is true and correct. By submitting your registration and certification information, You consent to being contacted by Hamilton and/or its affiliates for any follow-up issues related to that information or to any other aspect of the Services, including but not limited to technical troubleshooting. You consent to Hamilton transmitting your registration information to the TRS User Registration Database if required by the FCC. Hamilton reserves the right to terminate your access to the Services at any time if it should determine that any such registration or certification information was or is untrue, incomplete or inaccurate.

15. Social Media

Hamilton’s Facebook®, Twitter®, LinkedIn®, YouTube® and Instagram® pages and websites are places for its customers and followers to stay up-to-date on the latest advances in technology, keep track of Hamilton appearances and events, and engage in conversations directly focused on its products and services. Hamilton is not responsible for the content of third party postings and reserves the right to remove posts that it deems inappropriate for any of its social media pages.

16. Notices

Notices from the User to Hamilton must be delivered by certified United States mail to:

Hamilton Relay, Inc.
1006 Twelfth Street
Aurora, NE 68818
Attn: President

Notices from Hamilton to the User may be made by posting a notice on Hamilton’s website, by postcard, letter, email or published advertisement, or by revisions to these Terms and Conditions.

17. Miscellaneous

  1. Severability — If any part of these Terms and Conditions are found invalid, the remainder shall remain valid and enforceable.
  2. Governing Law — These Terms and Conditions and provision of the Services shall be governed by laws of the State of Nebraska. The exclusive location for jurisdiction and venue of any litigation or other proceeding arising in connection with these Terms and Conditions or the Services shall be in federal or state court located in Lancaster County, Nebraska.
  3. Entire Agreement — These Terms and Conditions constitute the entire agreement between the User and Hamilton regarding the Services, and supersede all prior agreements, understandings, statements or proposals and representations, whether written or oral. These Terms and Conditions may only be amended as stated below. No written or oral statement, advertisements, or service description not expressly contained herein shall contradict, explain or supplement these Terms and Conditions.
  4. Changes to Terms and Conditions — These Terms and Conditions may be updated by Hamilton from time to time and without notice to comply with changes in practice and/or as required by law. You should review these Terms and Conditions periodically for any changes — a change in the Effective Date at the top of this web page will indicate that changes to the Terms and Conditions have been made. Your continued use of the Services following the posting of any changes to these Terms and Conditions means that you agree to be bound by the provisions of these Terms and Conditions as revised.
  5. No Third Party Rights — This agreement does not provide any third party with a remedy, claim or right of reimbursement.
  6. Assignment — Hamilton may assign all or part of its rights or duties in connection with the Services without any notification to Users. If Hamilton makes such an assignment, Hamilton shall have no further obligations to Users.