The purpose of this page is to assist you in identifying issues regarding the Responsible Use of our automated voice message delivery system for groups ("TEC Announce"). TEC of Jackson, Inc. (TEC) is a "common carrier" and is a passive conduit for the calls that you will be sending. As set forth in our Terms of Service, it is your sole responsibility to ensure that your usage of our service complies with all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.
View the TEC Announce Terms of Service
A good starting point for your consideration is the following rule of thumb: you should only use this type of service to send messages to recipients who have requested that you send them automated messages. Stated a different way, the people you are contacting should be expecting the messages you send and should want to receive them.
There are a number of laws and regulations which you need to consider before using TEC Announce. Violation of any of those laws and regulations can subject you to significant financial penalties. For example, the Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA") allows call recipients to sue for up to $500 for each unauthorized message received and for the Federal Communications Commission to impose monetary penalties as high as $16,000 per violation.
You should only use TEC Announce to send messages to call group members who have requested that you send them automated voice messages. As set forth in our Terms and Conditions, TEC Announce is not to be used to send unsolicited messages.
The nature of your message and the type of telephone number that you are sending it to (land-line vs mobile) can dramatically affect your ability to use our service, the manner in which you can use it, and the nature of the documentation you must have evidencing the proper advance authorization from your group members to receive automated voice messages. For example, the TCPA and corresponding rules prohibit prerecorded voice messages and autodialed calls to cell phones and other mobile services. Prerecorded voice messages and autodialed calls (including prerecorded or artificial voice messages) to cell phones and other mobile services such as paging systems are prohibited, subject to only two exceptions: 1) calls made for emergency purposes, and 2) calls made with the prior express consent of the called party. This broad prohibition covers prerecorded voice and autodialed political calls, including those sent by nonprofit/political organizations. Customers contending that they have the prior express consent to send prerecorded voice or autodialed calls to cell phones or other mobile service numbers should know that they have the burden of proof to show that they properly obtained such consent.