Policy and Service statements

Below are statements on KC Computer Services's Operational policies and Service provisions.

The nature of the Internet is such that it is impossible for any ISP to always be aware when certain parts of the Internet will not be available. This can sometimes lead to problems with users of an ISP in that they have an expectation that the greater Internet should always be available to them since they have paid some subscription or purchased a service. Most ISPs only have limited control over a segment of the Internet, usually the part where the routers and other equipment belong to them and they pay for the data links. All good ISPs will make every effort to keep their Internet segment alive and connected, they will also ensure there is sufficient resources, be they the number of dial in phone lines, their availability, the various host systems needed to provide basic services and connectivity, the special equipment such as routers and terminal server and the staff to keep everything working and maintained.

Anyway, the official statement is below, I am aware that this could probably be picked apart by someone more experienced with legal matters however the intention is to be fair and make every effort to keep KCCS services alive and available. Our record over the last seven years is, we believe, testimony to our success in providing a reliable and efficient service.

KCCS Service Provision Statement

KCCS, as an Internet Service Provider and Internet Connectivity Provider, will undertake to maintain the highest possible standard of continued Internet connectivity and reliability of service for its customers. This assurance covers all of the segment of the New Zealand Internet that KCCS controls via its various data circuits and equipment. Where services from another company or individual are part of this segment KCCS will undertake to assist and co-operate with them to identify and correct problems as quickly as possible.

In support of this policy KCCS has implemented a regime of regular equipment maintenance on all of its key hardware. For critical hardware items, i.e. main routers and system components such as disk drives, KCCS maintains its own stock of replacements, in some cases these are in 'hot standby' mode so that equipment failures will have minimum impact on continued service levels.
Furthermore an extensive backup power supply system has been installed so that essential hardware is not interrupted if the mains power fails. This enables KCCS to continue almost fully operational even when there are extended power outages.

KCCS makes no promise, guarantees or implies any warranties concerning the :
availability of any part of the Internet at any time from any terminal or computer,
access to any particular site advertised as being connected to the Internet,
delivery of email or files sent to any site connected to the Internet,
receipt of email or files sent from any site connected to the Internet, and
the availability at any time of a dial up phone connection or ISDN dial up connection into the KCCS network.

KCCS Policy On Censorship

KCCS condemns the presence of illegal material on the Internet. Its policy on censorship is simple - it is not the author of the content on the Internet. It is only a provider of connectivity. Currently it is aware of no reliable way to monitor the near 2 Gigabytes of news (approx 500,000,000 words) per day.

Trying to restrict news by deleting selected newsgroups by name is counter productive in that it does not remove the content and it only serves to move it from the restricted groups into those with less obvious names. This would have the added effect of making such material more likely to be read unintentionally or fall into the hands of minors.

KCCS has been supporting current moves to address the problems that the public perceive with the Internet and its content reaching minors. KCCS has recently implemented measures for including content rating standards in its WWW documents in support of the Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS) and Recreation Software Advisory Council (RSACi). KCCS is now RSACi rated.

These ratings can be used by the newer Internet Web browser software, such as the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer which is PICS and RSACi rating enabled. This will allow KCCS customers using these products to regulate the content they access on the Web.