By signing a term based contract, a customer contractually commits their Short Haul Data Services (SHDS) for a specific period, in return for which they enjoy discounts on circuit rental and other benefits, dependent on contract type.
The included contract options are available for LES/CES and EES/FEES/GEESGEESand SHDS services.
Individual Term Contracts (Itc)
These are term based contracts for single SHDS circuits, offering a discount on the prevailing circuit rental for a specific circuit. Terms of 3 and 5 years are available and the rates are as follows:
Individidual Term Contract (ITC) (GEES 2500/GEES 10000)
15%
15%
Individual Term Contract (ITC) (SHDS 10, 100, 1000)
15%
20%
Individual Term Contract (ITC) (SHDS FT5)
N/A
N/A
Contract Extension
At any point during the term but prior to expiry, customers can choose to make the ITC total contract term longer. They can extend the contract for any period, provided the result is an outstanding term of a minimum of three years and a contract end date beyond the original expiry date. The discount rate (for either 3 or 5 years) to be applied forward from the date of extension is based on the total contract term from original start date to new end date, rounded down.
Completion of Contract Term
At the end of the contract term, unless the customer has chosen to either extend or has signed a new contract, circuit charges will revert to standard prices.
Early Termination of Itc
If a customer terminates the contract before its expiry date, they must pay
(1) Any applicable outstanding connection Charges; and
(2) Where Service is terminated within the first twelve months of the initial Minimum Period, an amount equal to the Charges due to the end of the first twelve months of the Minimum Period and
(3) Termination Charges equal to twenty percent of the total outstanding rental / maintenance Charges payable for the remainder of the Minimum Period or Renewal Period.
In addition, excess construction charges are binding once accepted by the customer. In the event of cancellation before delivery of service, the customer will be billed for work completed or committed to by BT. These charges are in addition to any other published cancellation charges. Excess construction charges can be shared between multiple customers who request provision of service concurrently with individual contracts and request that these charges are shared. In this case, if cancellation by one customer occurs prior to service then the full charges will be payable by the remaining customer. No reimbursement of excess charges will be made to customers on the basis of subsequent orders at the same or nearby locations.
Shifts, Conversions & Regrading
These are allowed at the applicable prices during the contract period. Where appropriate, discounts will be recalculated based on the upgrade.
Migration Paths and Movement Between Contract Types
Certain movements between ITCs and other term based contracts are allowed without incurring early termination or default charges, provided the criteria below are met:
-If there is not a suitable term contract in place to receive the circuits, a new one must be set up.
-The latest end date must always be adopted and terms cannot be shortened. The new contract(s) must have a term equal to or greater than the outstanding term of the old one(s).
-The new contract must have a term of at least three years.
-Discount rates are always recalculated based on the new contract structure.
-Circuits on ITCs cannot be moved into Pools.
-Upgrade from lower speed services to higher speeds is permitted, provided:
-The circuits are eligible for the upgrade
-Before migration, outstanding connection charges for the `old' service must be paid in full
-Appropriate connection and/or upgrade charges for the new service will apply
-The circuits being upgraded must be co-routed
-The customer must upgrade to at least the same level of aggregated bandwidth.
Migration From Itc to Other BT Services
Migation from these term based contracts to other BT Services is permitted without incurring early termination charges or defaults, provided the following criteria are met:
-Total charges for the new contract must exceed the Early Termination Charge for the existing contract
-Outstanding connection charges for the SHDS service covered by the contract being ceased are paid in full
-On migration, all appropriate charges (including Set Up charges) for the new service must be paid
-Term of the new contract is equal to or greater than the outstanding term of the old contract
-Route of circuit(s) being replaced can be covered in total by the new network/service
-Re-use of Private Circuit Plant must be possible if the new service is SMDS, FeatureNet or FrameStream
-One term contract takes over cleanly from the other, without a break. However, customers must accept that there may be a short break in service between cessation of the service and the start-up of the new service.