Privacy Notice

NTCA – THE RURAL BROADBAND ASSOCIATION

Privacy Notice

Last updated: July 16, 2025

This Privacy Notice (the “Privacy Notice”) describes the privacy and data protection practices of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (“NTCA,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). This Privacy Notice is intended to provide details regarding the information we collect and/or process through our websites located at https://www.ntca.org/, https://www.cyber-share.org/, and https://www.frs.org/ or any successor websites (the “Sites”), our mobile application (“App”)1, and all other applications, products, services, features, tools, application programming interfaces and software that we own or control and which post or link to this Policy Notice (collectively, the “Services”), or through other communication methods such as email or phone. This Privacy Notice is governed by our Terms of Use. Defined terms used herein and not otherwise defined have the meanings set forth in the Terms of Use.

PLEASE READ THIS PRIVACY NOTICE CAREFULLY TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE HANDLE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THIS PRIVACY NOTICE, PLEASE DO NOT ACCESS THE SITES OR OTHERWISE USE OUR SERVICES.

By accessing or using the Sites, App or other Services, you agree to this Privacy Notice. This Privacy Notice may change from time to time (see Changes to Our Privacy Notice below). Your continued use of the Sites or the Services after we make changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so please check the Privacy Notice periodically for updates.

  1. Information We Collect

The amount and type of information we collect about you will depend upon the Services you use and the information you choose to provide. Please note that we need certain types of information so that you can access our Services or so we can provide the Services you request. If you do not provide us with the required information or ask us to delete it, you may no longer be able to access or use our Services. For purposes of this Privacy Notice, personal information means information relating directly or indirectly to an identifiable individual, except as may be set forth in applicable law.

Below we explain how we collect personal information about you.

Information You Provide to Us

It’s probably no surprise that we collect information that you provide to us. For example, we collect information from you through:

This information may include:

All personal information that you provide to us must be true, complete, and accurate, and you must notify us of any changes to such personal information. You may not provide us information that is obscene, defamatory, infringing, malicious, or that violates any law. If you provide personal information of a third party, you are responsible for providing any notices and obtaining any consents necessary for us to collect and use such personal information as described in this Privacy Notice.

Information We Collect Through Our Services

We also receive information from you that you input and include when you use the Services. This information may include data, comments, questions, messages and other content or information that you generate, transmit, or otherwise make available on the Services, as well as associated metadata.

Information We Collect Automatically

When you use the Services, we collect and analyze some information via a variety of technologies that automatically collect information about the Services. This information includes, but is not limited to:

Functionality

Information We Collect from Other Sources

We may receive personal information about you from third-party sources such as your employer, social media and other cloud-based platforms, publicly available sources, event and other organization partners, data providers, or third-party staffing or personnel providers. This Privacy Notice does not address, and we are not responsible for, the privacy, information, or other practices of any third parties, including any third party operating any website or service to which the Sites link. The inclusion of a link on the Sites does not imply endorsement of the linked site or service by us or by our affiliates.

Recruiting and Candidate Information

If you choose to volunteer or apply to work with or for us through our Sites or by otherwise contacting us regarding opportunities to become a volunteer, employee, agent, or contractor for us, we may collect the following:

You are responsible for the accuracy of the personal information you provide or make available to us. Some information is provided directly to us for internal use, while other information may be shared directly with a service provider who handles specific aspects of our operations. Some information is mandatory to provide because it enables us to perform mandatory employee-hiring processes, like issuing your paycheck or verifying your eligibility for employment. All personal information you provide, particularly in connection with our recruiting activities, must be truthful, accurate and not misleading in any way.

  1. How We Use Your Personal Information

We, or our service providers working on our behalf, may use your personal information for various purposes depending on the types of information we have collected from you in order to:

  1. Aggregate/Deidentified Data

We may aggregate and/or deidentify any information collected through the Services so that the information can no longer be linked to you or your device. We may use the aggregated and/or deidentified information for any purpose, including without limitation for research purposes and to promote the Services, and may also share such data with any third parties, including advertisers, promotional partners, and sponsors.

  1. How We Share and Disclose Your Personal Information

We may share your personal information in the following ways:

  1. Retention of Your Personal Information

We may retain your personal information both during and after the time you use our Services, but we keep your personal information for no longer than needed pursuant to a legitimate business purpose. For example, we may retain contact information after you register for an event to maintain our internal financial or transactional records, to communicate with you about our relationship, or to deliver marketing communications to you in accordance with applicable law.

The length of time for which we retain information depends on the purposes for which we collected and used it, requirements of applicable laws, the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of the information, the resolution of any pending or threatened disputes, and enforcement of our agreements.

When we no longer require the personal information, we will either delete or deidentify it, or if this is not possible, securely store it in accordance with this Privacy Notice and cease use of the personal information until deletion is possible. If we deidentify your personal information (so that it can no longer be associated with you and thus is no longer considered personal information under relevant laws), we may retain this information for longer periods.

  1. How We Protect Your Personal Information

We use physical, administrative, and technical security measures to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your information. The safety and security of your information also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password for access to certain parts of our Services, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. Do not share your password with anyone.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we use measures to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to our Services.

  1. Rights and Choices

Right to Know What Personal Information is Being Collected (Right to Access): You have the right to request the following information:

  1. Categories of personal information collected about you.

    1. Categories of sources from which the personal information is collected.

    2. The business or commercial purpose for collecting, selling, or sharing your personal information.

    3. Categories of third parties to whom we disclose your personal information.

    4. The specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.

Right to Delete Personal Information: You have the right to request that we delete any personal information about you that we have collected from you.

Right to Correct Inaccurate Personal Information: You have the right to request that we correct your inaccurate personal information if we maintain inaccurate personal information about you.

Right to Know What Personal Information is Sold or Shared and to Whom: You have the right, if we sell or share your information, to request that we disclose to you the following:

  1. The categories of personal information that we collected from you.

  2. The categories of personal information that we sold or shared about you and the categories of personal information for each category of third parties to whom the personal information was sold or shared.

  3. The categories of personal information that we disclosed about you for a business purpose and the categories of persons to whom it was disclosed for a business purpose.

Right to Opt Out of Sale or Sharing of Personal Information: You have the right to direct us, if we sell or share your personal information to third parties not to sell or share your personal information. To exercise your opt-out right, please contact us at membership@ntca.org.

Right to Limit Use and Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information: You have the right to direct us to limit the use of your sensitive personal information to the use which is necessary to perform the Services.

Right of No Retaliation Following Opt Out or Exercise of Other Rights: We may not discriminate against you if you exercise any of your rights as described above.

Right to Data Portability: You have the right to obtain your personal information in a portable and, to the extent technically feasible, readily usable format that allows you to transmit the data to another entity without hindrance.

  1. Requests

If you wish to exercise any of the rights described above, please submit a request. In your request, please specify which right you are seeking to exercise and the scope of the request. We may require specific information from you to help us verify your identity and process your request. If we are unable to verify your identity, we may deny your request. You can designate an authorized agent to submit requests on your behalf. However, we will require written proof of the agent’s permission to do so and verify your identity directly. Requests should be directed to membership@ntca.org.

When you submit a request, do not send us, directly or indirectly, any sensitive or special categories of personal information (e.g., social security numbers or other national or state identifiers, health information, biometric data or genetic characteristics, and so on).

We will evaluate and respond to your request to the extent required by law (or in our discretion if not required by law) in the time required by law and as permitted by our contracts, confidentiality obligations, and applicable laws and regulations. We may not be able to provide all of the information requested or fulfill your request due to certain exceptions enumerated under applicable law. In such a case, we will inform you of the reasons we cannot fulfill all or part of your request. If the request submission methods above do not enable you to submit your request, please contact us as set forth below and specify which right you wish to exercise.

  1. OPT-OUT Preference Signal

If your browser supports an opt-out preference signal, you may be able to opt out of the sharing or sale of your personal information by some websites by properly configuring the opt-out preference signal. If you subsequently delete cookies, change your browser settings, or use a different browser, you will need to turn the opt-out signal on again. Our Services may not recognize or react in response to such signals. In the event our Services become subject to legal requirements to recognize opt-out signals, we will assess and provide an appropriate response to such signals.

  1. Children’s Privacy

The Services are not intended for children under 13 years of age, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at membership@ntca.org.

Residents of certain states under 18 years of age may have additional rights regarding the collection and sale of their personal information. If you are a resident of such a state under the age of 18, we will not share or sell your personal information without your consent.

  1. Third-Party Sites and Applications

Our Services may provide links to or make available integrations with third-party websites or applications (“Third-Party Sites”). Such Third-Party Sites are outside our control and not covered by this Privacy Notice. We are not liable for any information, content, products, services, software, or other materials available on or through Third-Party Sites. The use of a Third-Party Site or any information or other content found on Third-Party Sites is subject to and governed by the terms and conditions of such Third-Party Sites. We encourage you to review the privacy notices posted on such Third-Party Sites.

  1. Business Transfers 

As we continue to develop our business, we may buy, merge, or partner with other entities. In such transactions user information may be among the transferred assets. If a portion or all of our assets are sold or transferred to a third party, user information (including information processed in accordance with this Privacy Notice) may be one of the transferred business assets. If such transfer is subject to additional mandatory restrictions under applicable laws, we will comply with such restrictions. Any third party to which we transfer or sell our assets will have the right to continue to use your information in the manner set out in this Privacy Notice.

  1. Additional Terms for Insurance and Benefits Services

In the event you use our insurance and benefits services accessed at https://www.ntca.org/insurance-and-benefits, this Privacy Notice applies to such services and is supplemented by our Benefits Privacy Notice Supplement.

  1. Changes to Our Privacy Notice

We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Notice at any time to reflect changes in the law, our data collection and use practices, our Services, advances in technology, and for other purposes. We will make the revised Privacy Notice accessible through the Services and encourage you to review the Privacy Notice periodically. Any changes will be effective immediately upon the posting of the revised Privacy Notice. The “last updated” date included at the top of this Privacy Notice will indicate when it was last updated. If we make a material change to the Privacy Notice, you will be provided with appropriate notice by email or in accordance with other legal requirements. Your continued use of the Services following the notice of such changes indicates that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the latest version of the new Privacy Notice. This policy is not intended to, nor does it, create any contractual or legal right in or on behalf of any party, including you.

  1. Contact Information

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or our associated information practices.

You may contact us as follows:

NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association
4121 Wilson Boulevard
Suite 1000
Arlington, VA 22203

General Privacy Notice inquiries, email: membership@ntca.org

To unsubscribe from direct marketing, email: membership@ntca.org

Benefits Privacy Notice Supplement

Last updated: July 16, 2025

This Benefits Privacy Notice Supplement (“Benefits Supplement”) is provided as a supplement to the NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association Privacy Notice to provide additional information to NTCA member companies (“Members”) and employee participants (“Participants”) using our insurance and benefits services accessed at https://www.ntca.org/insurance-and-benefits (the “Benefits Program”).

NTCA offers Members a comprehensive benefits program with health, retirement, savings and other employee benefit plans. If you are a Participant in the Benefits Program, this Benefits Supplement provides additional information with respect to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in connection with the Benefits Program.

  1. Protected Health Information – see HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

Where we collect or use your personal information that is subject to the privacy rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA Privacy Rules”), the HIPAA Privacy Rules will control.  HIPAA applies to certain individually identifiable health information that is collected, created, or received by a HIPAA Covered Entity (as defined by the HIPAA Privacy Rules), such as the NTCA Group Health Program.  This information will be treated as protected health information (“PHI”) under the HIPAA Privacy Rules. The NTCA Benefits HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices will apply to this information and will supersede the Privacy Notice and this Benefits Supplement.

  1. Consent

When we rely on consent to collect, use and disclose your personal information (which may depend on the jurisdiction in which you are based), you can withdraw your consent to such collection, use and disclosure, subject to our legal, regulatory and contractual restrictions. However, if you refuse to provide certain information or withdraw your consent, this may limit our ability to provide you with the Benefits Program. The withdrawal of your consent does not affect the lawfulness of our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information based on that consent prior to its withdrawal.

In some situations, we may rely on the consent you provide directly to your employer.

Your Benefits Program account will be closed when you are no longer eligible for benefits. To request deletion of your personal information, you can contact us as set out below. If your request relates to healthcare or other services received from a third party outside NTCA, we will direct you to the appropriate third party who can assist you.

When you provide personal information on behalf of a third party, such as a spouse, dependent or beneficiary, you represent that you have obtained all requisite consents and authority for us to collect, use, disclose and otherwise process such personal information for the purposes communicated to you at the time of collection or as otherwise set out in this Benefits Supplement, and you agree to provide such third party with a copy of this Privacy Supplement.

  1. Information We Collect

Consistent with applicable law, we collect information about you through:

This information may include:

 

  1. How We Use Your Personal Information

As permitted by applicable law, we, or our service providers working on our behalf, may use your personal information for various purposes depending on the types of information we have collected from you in order to:

Note that, for PHI that is subject to HIPAA, the HIPAA Privacy Rules and our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices apply instead.

  1. How We Share and Disclose Your Personal Information

As permitted by law, we may share your personal information in the following ways:

Note that, for PHI that is subject to HIPAA, the HIPAA Privacy Rules and our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices apply instead.

  1. Deidentified Data

We may deidentify or aggregate your personal information such that it cannot reasonably be associated with you to protect your privacy and the security of your personal information and to conduct analytics and/or research in a privacy protective manner. We may share aggregated or deidentified information or insights with our partners and third-party service providers to assist in research, planning, risk management, workforce analytics, or product and service development. When we provide this information, we take appropriate measures to ensure that the data does not identify you and cannot be associated back to you. Deidentified information may also be shared with your employer at an aggregated level that does not identify you.

  1. Children’s Information

We will not knowingly collect, use or disclose your personal information if you are under the age of majority in your area (or such other age as specified by applicable law in the jurisdiction in which you are based) without the permission of your parent or guardian.

  1. Changes to the Benefits Supplement

We reserve the right to amend this Benefits Supplement at any time to reflect changes in the law, our data collection and use practices, our Services, advances in technology, and for other purposes. We will make the revised Benefits Supplement accessible through the Services and encourage you to review the Privacy Notice periodically. Any changes will be effective immediately upon the posting of the revised Benefits Supplement. The “last updated” date included at the top of this Benefits Supplement will indicate when it was last updated. If we make a material change to the Benefits Supplement, you will be provided with appropriate notice by email or in accordance with other legal requirements. Your continued use of the Services following the notice of such changes indicates that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the latest version of the new Benefits Supplement. This policy is not intended to, nor does it, create any contractual or legal right in or on behalf of any party, including you.

  1. Contact Information

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about this Benefits Supplement or our associated information practices.

You may contact us as follows:

NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association

4121 Wilson Boulevard
Suite 1000
Arlington, VA 22203

Email: membership@ntca.org

[1] The NTCA App is currently provided by a third-party service provider and users of the App may be subject to additional third-party terms.