Lifeline Link-Up
Do you need local phone service and can’t afford it? You are eligible for the Lifeline and Link-Up programs if you participate in any of the following programs: Medicaid, food stamps, supplemental security income (SSI), temporary assistance for needy families (TANF), federal public housing assistance (FPHA), low income home energy assistance program (LIHEAP). For more information ask for Trudy Parrish or Deborah Johns at Pineland Telephone. We would love to help you get local telephone service and keep you connected with friends and family.

Statement of Non-Discrimination
Pineland Telephone Cooperative, Inc. is the recipient of Federal financial assistance from the Rural Utilities Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and is subject to the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the U. S. Department of Agriculture which provide that no person in the United States on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, or handicap shall be excluded from participation in, admission or access to, denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any of this
organization’s programs or activities.

The person responsible for coordinating this organization’s nondiscrimination compliance efforts is Richard P. Price. General Manager. Any individual, or specific class of individuals, who feels that this organization has subjected them to discrimination may obtain further information about the statues and regulations listed above from and/or file a written complaint with this organization; or the Secretary, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250; or the Administrator, Rural Utilities Service, Washington, D.C. 20250. Complaints must be filed within 180 days after the alleged discrimination. Confidentiality will be maintained to the extent possible.

As a community based telecom provider with deep ties to our area, Pineland Telephone Coop Inc wants all of our customers to know what it means to port your telephone number, and to give you an idea of some of the differences in the service between traditional wireline phones and what you can expect from a wireless carrier.

• If you decide to port your wireline (traditional) phone number to a wireless carrier, you will be disconnecting your wireline phone and terminating your traditional local phone service.
• You will no longer enjoy unlimited local calling; you should be aware of how many minutes are included in your wireless plan, and keep in mind that all calls – both those you make and those you receive – will count against your total minutes; you will be responsible to pay for any overages.
• You will have to arrange with your wireless provider for a directory listing and directory assistance services.
• You will no longer have access to all the other telecom services, or such services as alarm monitoring and video pay-per-view, connected or confirmed through your wireline phone.
• You will no longer be able to access the Internet using a local, unlimited dial-up connection; i.e., you will have to depend on your wireless phone for Internet service; in certain instances, you may be able to connect your wireless phone to your PC to access the Internet, but you are likely to need additional hardware and/or software to enable your wireless phone to communicate with your PC; in any case, you need to keep in mind that your time spent on the Internet will count against the minutes in your wireless plan.
• You will be unable to reach someone at home who does not have their cell phone turned on or with them.
• In an emergency, E-911 service can trace your exact location with the traditional home phone, but may not be able to pinpoint your location when calling with a cell phone.
• You must keep your phone charged at all times in order to use it. If the power goes out and your phone is not charged, or the battery wears down, you will have to wait for power to be restored before you can charge your phone.
• Should you decide to re-connect your wireline phone service in the future, you will be responsible for applicable set-up fees and charges to connect your home phone. You will be assigned a new telephone number.
• In general, a phone number can only be assigned to a single wireless phone. With a traditional wireline phone, you can have many phones (or extensions) in your house that hook up to the same number. Typically, wireless phones can’t share numbers.
• If your home is in an area that does not enjoy clear wireless reception, your calls might be patchy, unclear, or have a tendency to drop. Be aware of your surroundings and the type of reception that your wireless phone gets at home, as this is the type of service quality you’ll have for all your calls.
• Being a customer of Pineland Telephone Coop Inc entitles you to receive capital credit allocations. If you decide to port your wireline phone number to a wireless carrier, you will no longer be a customer of ours and will not earn capital credit.

Do-Not-Call Registry
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have established a national Do-Not-Call Registry. The registry applies to all telemarketers (with the exception of certain non-profit and political organizations) and covers both interstate and intrastate telemarketing calls. Commercial telemarketers are not allowed to call you if your number is listed on the registry. You can register your phone number for free, and it will remain on the national Do-Not-Call Registry for five years. You may re-enter your number onto the list when the five years have passed, and you may remove your name from the list at any time. The Do-Not-Call Registry will not prevent all unwanted calls.
It does not cover the following:

· calls from organizations with which you have established a business relationship;
· calls for which you have given prior written consent;
· calls which are not commercial or do not include unsolicited advertisements;
· calls by or on behalf of tax-exempt non-profit organizations.

Consumers may register their residential telephone number, including wireless numbers, on the national Do-Not-Call Registry at no cost by telephone or on the Internet. To register by telephone, consumers may call 1-888-382-1222. For TTY call 1-866-290-4236. You must call from the phone number you wish to register. You may also register by Internet at www.donotcall.gov. Inclusion of your telephone number on the national Do-Not-Call Registry will be effective three months following your registration.

Watch out for Pedestals
If you are planning on prescribed burning on your land, make sure that a pedestal is NOT in the burn area. Fire damage to a pedestal could result in problems with your Pineland Telephone services and costly damages to our outside facility. Please watch out for pedestals when you are burning.

Call Before You Dig - It’s the Law!
Pineland Telephone urges you to give us a call and allow us to locate cable before you start digging. If possible, let us know 72 hours ahead of time. You can call the “Call Before You Dig” telephone number 1-800-282-7411 or call Pineland directly at 912-685-2121 or 1-800-247-1266.

Need Internet Assistance?
Don’t forget, the internet tech support number is your local prefix and 8600. For example, if you live in Metter, 685-8600; Adrian, 668-8600, ... . If you live in the areas outside Pineland’s service area, call the following. Tattnall: 684-8600, Swainsboro: 763-8600.