Billing Information

The ARC is authorized by the Federal Communications Commission and is designed to offset revenue losses experienced by the Company resulting from recent FCC actions. The ARC is subject to change annually and we will notify you in advance of any future changes to the ARC.

Cable and Telephone operators, such as Nex-Tech, are often required to pay a fee to the municipalities that they serve, for the rental of their rights-of-way. Federal law permits this “franchise fee” to be passed through to subscribers. In most cases, this fee appears on your monthly Nex-Tech billing statement as a separate line item. This fee is generally a % of certain revenues derived from our cable or telephone operations where applicable.

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) assesses an annual fee to telecommunications service providers, such as Nex-Tech, to recover the costs that it incurs in carrying out enforcement, policy and rule-making, as determined annually by Congress. These fees are permitted to be passed through to subscribers. This fee will generally appear on your monthly Nex-Tech billing statement as “Federal Regulatory Fee.”

Similar to the Universal Service Charge for local service, except this fee is applied as a percentage of your local access fee, and interstate and international long distance toll charges.

This is a charge applied as a percentage of your local access fee, and intrastate long distance toll charges mandated by the Kansas Corporation Commission to ensure all customers in rural high-cost areas of the state have access to affordable service. This charge supports the Kansas Universal Service Fund (KUSF), which supports the Lifeline program, Kansas Relay Services, Telecommunications Access Program as well as network enhancements and upgrades in rural areas.

Charges for individual toll (long-distance) calls made through the long-distance company customers have chosen as their primary carrier. There may be other itemized charges for directory assistance, collect calls, 900 calls, etc. Below is a description of the various abbreviations you may see on your bill.

These are excise and franchise taxes for telecommunications services assessed by the federal government, state of Kansas, and local cities and counties. Taxes will vary depending on your location.

This is a basic monthly service rate for dial tone, allowing you to make and receive local (non-toll) calls. Failure to pay local service rate and applicable taxes and fees will result in disconnection and loss of service.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires that service providers ensure that customers are able to retain their existing numbers when they switch from one service provider to another. Established by the FCC, this is a fixed, monthly charge that allows local companies to recover some of their costs to provide number “portability” to customers.

A flat monthly charge, established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), assessed directly to customers to help local telephone companies recover some of their costs in constructing and maintaining the local network.

A state/local government charge to fund emergency 911 services, such as fire and rescue.

This is a charge applied to monthly service and calling features mandated by the Kansas Corporation Commission to ensure all customers in rural high-cost areas of the state have access to affordable service. This charge supports the Kansas Universal Service Fund (KUSF), which supports the Lifeline program, Kansas Relay Services, Telecommunications Access Program as well as network enhancements and upgrades in rural areas.

The federal government established national programs to support universal telephone service. This fund assists with the costs of providing “affordable” services to low-income individuals and to residents in rural, high-cost areas. In addition, Congress has expanded the program to help schools, libraries and rural health care providers obtain advanced services, such as Internet access. All providers of telecommunications services contribute to the support of these programs. The amount on your bill depends on the services you order and the number of telephone lines you have. Generally, the surcharge is applied per line. This rate may be adjusted quarterly.