NHC Billing Frequently Asked Questions

Your NHC bill may differ from your quote because invoices can include prorated and advance billing, taxes, fees, surcharges, and one-time or service-related charges. Quotes are estimates, while actual billing reflects services delivered and charges defined in your Service Addendum and NHC’s Terms of Service.

Prorated charges cover service from the activation date through the end of that billing month.

Internet services are billed two months in advance.

Taxes are collected on behalf of local, state, and federal entities.

Customers can sign up for autopay through our portal, https://map.nhcgrp.com. To sign up through the portal: select billing → payment options, then select automatic recurring payments.

NHC reserves the right to assess a percentage-based late fee, up to the maximum allowed by law for any payment not received by the due date of the invoice thirty (30) days. Payment must be received by the due date.

Payments made by credit card (AMEX, Visa, or MasterCard) are subject to a processing fee where permitted by law. No fee applies to ACH or e-check payments.

These are pass-through charges for site work that is typically required to bring access services to the customer location. All costs will be disclosed in advance and must be approved by the customer before the order can proceed. The specific terms and charges will be outlined in a Service Addendum for the customer to review and sign.

Dispatch or installation fees may apply when technicians are required to install NHC services. The specific charges for your order will always be detailed in the Service Addendum. Depending on the service and contract term, installation may be fully waived, billed as a flat fee, discounted, or charged at standard hourly rates.

Premise visit fees may apply if extra on-site work is found during installation, through a site survey, or requested by the customer. All required work and estimated costs will be reviewed with the customer for approval prior to starting. Standard rates include a dispatch fee and hourly technician rate, and any applicable material charges.

Fees and surcharges are charges required or allowed by government agencies to support specific programs, such as the Universal Service Fund, 911 services, or relay services. Other fees help cover NHC’s costs for network maintenance, repairs, and long-distance access.

This fee helps NHC recover increased network access costs driven by federal rule changes. It is not a tax and is not required by any government agency. The fee is calculated as a percentage of monthly recurring charges.

The Maintenance and Repair Program covers the cost of repair dispatches, regardless of whether the trouble is determined to be network-based, Customer Premise Equipment, or inside wiring (including the jack). This monthly surcharge eliminates the need for one-time charges associated with dispatch and repair visits.

Regulatory agencies allow NHC’s underlying carriers to charge wholesale value-added resellers for access to their provisioning and maintenance systems. The OSS (Operating System Support) Charge reflects the portion of that monthly cost allocated to NHC for each billing account. NHC applies an OSS Cost Recovery Charge per billing account. This fee is not government-mandated. It is determined solely by NHC.

Non-Recurring Charges can be applied to customer account for a variety of events. Some examples are: new installation, moves, adds, changes, disconnect, expedite, cancel and suspension activity. The charges are detailed in NHC’s Terms of Service.

Per NHC’s Terms of Service, upon service termination the customer is responsible for returning all carrier-provided or NHC-provided equipment within 60 days. If any equipment is not returned, or is returned damaged or unusable, NHC may charge the customer the full replacement cost.

Per NHC’s Terms of Service, customers who are out of term must provide 60 days’ notice to disconnect service. When a disconnect request is submitted, NHC will apply the required 60-day notice period to the account, either as a final charge or by continuing to bill the service until the notice period ends. Additional charges may apply for any unreturned equipment.

The term of any Service Addendum begins on the “Service Start Date.” This is the date NHC tests and activates the service and notifies the customer that it is ready for use. Billing also begins on the Service Start Date, regardless of when the customer starts using the service.

NHC may assess a restocking fee for equipment that is sent out but returned if the order is cancelled or a device(s) are not needed. Costs are calculated per device and will vary dependent on the device itself.

If a customer chooses to cancel a service that is still under a contractual term agreement, the customer is responsible for an early termination fee (ETF). This charge is calculated by multiplying the monthly recurring charges (and any applicable minimum monthly usage) by the number of months remaining in the contract term.

NHC’s electronic E-Bill supports the cost of generating and maintaining a feature-rich online billing system, including invoice email delivery, reporting tools, and bill-query features.

This federally permitted charge helps cover the cost of delivering a telephone line to the customer’s location, including outside wiring and network infrastructure. This is not a tax.

Federal USF provides funding for low-income services, schools, libraries, and high-cost rural service. All telecommunications companies are required to pay a specific percentage of Interstate and International usage into the USF and are permitted to recoup this cost from customers. This is set quarterly by the Federal government.

This surcharge supports the nationwide system that allows customers to keep their phone numbers when switching service providers. NHC applies an LNP fee per line or circuit each month.

When NHC serves as the customer’s long-distance provider, a monthly PICC fee per eligible voice line is applied to support long-distance routing capabilities.