Understanding Customer Proprietary Network Information

Customer proprietary network information, or CPNI, is a critical aspect of telecommunications law. It refers to sensitive customer data collected by phone and internet service providers.

CPNI includes information such as phone numbers, call records, and internet usage patterns. This data is considered highly personal and protected under law.

To understand CPNI, it's essential to grasp the concept of "customer proprietary." This term signifies that the information belongs to the customer and is private.

Customer proprietary network information, or CPNI, is a broad term that encompasses a wide range of personal data collected by telecommunications companies.

CPNI includes information about your phone usage, such as the phone numbers you call, the time and length of calls, and the location of calls.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 granted the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authority to regulate how CPNI can be used.

CPNI also includes details about the services you subscribe to, such as directory assistance charges, usage data, and calling patterns.

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In the United States, CPNI is protected by federal law, and telecommunications companies must obtain your permission before using or disclosing your CPNI.

Here are some examples of what is included in CPNI:

Telecommunications companies must protect your CPNI with a password or PIN, which is required to access calling and billing data over the phone and on the internet.

Telecommunications carriers must offer a way to opt out of sharing CPNI, but the process may be hidden and not easy to do. Verizon Wireless allows customers to change their CPNI sharing in the online profile or over the phone, while T-Mobile requires customers to contact support.

Federal law gives customers the right to protect the confidentiality of their CPNI, and carriers have a duty to safeguard this information. Nextiva, for example, uses customer information to enhance its ability to offer products and services tailored to their specific telecommunications needs.

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Carriers may share CPNI with their affiliates, agents, partners, joint ventures, or other related entities for administrative and marketing purposes. However, customers have the right to disapprove or withdraw their carrier's use of their customer information for these purposes.

The FCC has mandated CPNI rules for all telecommunications companies, requiring carriers to implement procedures to verify the identity of callers who want to discuss private account information or to engage in online transactions that would allow access to their account information.

To comply with these rules, carriers may require customers to assign a CPNI password, which will be required for any future requests for CPNI-related information. OEC Fiber, for example, assigns a CPNI password to its telephone subscribers to safeguard their information.

In some cases, carriers may be allowed to use, disclose, or permit access to CPNI without customer approval. For example, carriers may use CPNI to provide services to customers, such as inside wiring installation, maintenance, and repair services, or to market services formerly known as adjunct-to-basic services.

Here are some examples of when carriers may use CPNI without customer approval:

Regardless of the carrier's policies, customers have the right to opt out of sharing their CPNI, and carriers must provide a way for customers to do so.

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CPNI laws were created before mobile phones and wireless internet access were widespread, leaving a gray area in their application. The rules are still being worked out, and it's not always clear when they apply or don't apply to cellphone use in the US.

Cellphone use is only protected as CPNI when it's being used as a telephone, and the company is acting as a telecommunications provider. This means your internet use, websites visited, search history, or apps used are not protected.

The location of a cellphone is sometimes protected by CPNI and sometimes not. The original rules only protected user location information when obtained by the phone network or during a call, but not by other means.

Carriers have promised to stop selling mobile location data, but the law is still unclear. The FCC classified location as always being protected CPNI in 2016, but Congress removed this protection in 2017.

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CPNI is private and protected information that can't be used for advertising or marketing directly.

You have the right to opt out of sharing CPNI with other telecommunications providers, but each carrier's process will be different.

Contacting a service representative is a good place to start when trying to opt out of CPNI sharing.

Verizon Wireless allows customers to change their CPNI sharing in the online profile or over the phone.

T-Mobile allows customers to change data sharing by contacting support.

To opt out of CPNI sharing with Nextiva, you can notify them in writing at the address below or call 1-800-285-7995.

You can also change your decision at any time and your decision will remain valid until you tell Nextiva otherwise.

Here are the steps to opt out of CPNI sharing with Nextiva:

Nextiva will not sell, trade, or share your service and usage records with anyone outside of Nextiva personnel or others authorized to represent them to offer products and services, except as required by law.

You may still receive marketing information from Nextiva even if you restrict their use of your customer information.

However, to prevent unauthorized disclosure of CPNI, Nextiva requires one of the following authorization requirements to be met:

Customer proprietary network information (CPNI) includes what services you use, as well as the amount and type of usage. This information is gathered by telecommunications services, such as local, long-distance, and wireless telephone companies.

CPNI includes optional services subscribed to, current charges, directory assistance charges, usage data, and calling patterns. Anything that appears on a phone bill is protected as CPNI.

Telecommunications companies must protect CPNI with a password, requiring a password or PIN to access calling and billing data over the phone and on the internet. A government-issued photo ID may be used in person.

The following types of information are included in CPNI:

Telecommunications companies can use CPNI to provide services to you, but they need your approval to market services to you that are outside of your current service categories. They can also use CPNI to protect their rights or property, or to protect users of their services and other carriers from fraudulent or abusive use.

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