Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, “universal service” means basic telephone service that is available to all consumers. Universal service is voice grade access to the telecommunications network, including local usage, touch-tone calling, single-party service, access to emergency 911 service, access to operator service, and discounted services to qualifying low-income consumers. Basic local service: $21.50 – $26.20/mo. Fixed Federal, State and Local Prescribed Charges are as follows: Federal Subscriber Line Charge – Residential & Single-Line Business: $6.50/mo., Multi-Line Business: $9.20/mo. Federal Universal Service Charge (FUSC) – Single-Line Residential: $2.44/mo., Single-Line Business: $3.57/mo., Multi-Line Business: $4.59/mo. and ISDN: $8.84/mo. Other charges are as follows: Access Recovery Charge (Business only): $3.00/mo., Telecommunications Relay Service: $.03/mo., E911 Emergency Services: $1.50 – $2.00/mo.

Lifeline Telephone only subscriber: $5.25/mo. discount and Lifeline Telephone/Internet or Internet only subscriber: $9.25/mo. discount. Qualifying for Lifeline assistance is open to individuals whose income is 135% or less than the federal poverty guidelines or by participating in one or more of the following programs: Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA), Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit Program, and Tribal eligibility programs. Individuals who might be eligible can visit nccray.com to fill out an application form and provide eligibility documentation of one of the above programs or income level. One Lifeline discount per household is available. For more information you can visit: https://www.usac.org/lifeline/

When NCC installs fiber optics, we offer to install a battery backup unit at no extra fee for use during a power outage. A backup battery is required for your digital voice service and for corded land line phones to work during a power outage and to maintain the ability to connect to 911 emergency services. NCC provides (1) battery back up at no extra charge, which should provide up to 8 hours of emergency service. If more backup power is desired, additional backup batteries are available directly from NCC for purchase. Customers will be responsible for the costs of installing and replacing any additional batteries. Please visit: nccray.com/terms-conditions for more information.

The National Do-Not-Call Registry has been established to offer you a choice about receiving telemarketing calls at home. Registering will stop most telemarketing calls, but it will not stop calls from certain non-profit and political organizations, and calls from organizations with which you have established a business relationship. To register or remove a number from the Do-Not-Call Registry call 1.888.382.1222, for TTY call 1.866.290.4236 or register on the Internet at www.donotcall.gov. Additional information can be obtained at www.donotcall.gov. Businesses: Federal law requires any person making telephone solicitations to residential telephone subscribers to comply with the federal Do-Not-Call rules and regulations set forth in 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200 and 16 C.F.R. Part 310, including the requirements of the national Do-Not-Call (DNC) Registry.

NCC is the recipient of Federal financial assistance from the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.  To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html and at any USDA office or write to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form.  To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992 (English) or (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377-8642 (English Federal-relay) or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish Federal-relay).  Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

Federal law allows us to use information from your current records to market and advise you of new products and services that may satisfy your communications needs, unless you notify us otherwise. This information called “Customer Proprietary Network Information” or “CPNI” – relating to telecommunications services you receive from NCC. We DO NOT sell or in any way provide this information to any other company other than the 911 records we are required by law to provide if you are a telephone customer. ONLY NCC and the subsidiary companies of NCC can use this information. You have the right, and we have the duty, under federal law, to protect the confidentiality of this information. Therefore, regardless of whether you consent or not to allowing us to continue providing you with educational mailings, your account will be treated confidentially. NCC adheres to an authentication procedure before information is shared and/or changes are made to accounts. No action on your part is necessary. You can contact us at 1.800.245.5884 if you would no longer like to receive this information from us.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated that telephone providers such as NCC take additional steps against these illegal callers. If you have a landline from NCC you have a calling feature on your line at no additional charge. This calling feature does the following: 1) Automatically blocks any incoming call with a Risk Level of 4 or above; 2) Labels the call as “Potential Spam” for any incoming call with a Risk Level of 2 or 3, and 3) It will also show the originating phone number so you will be able to make the decision about answering or not. Please note: if you do not have a telephone with a Caller ID screen, you will not see this notification. You can opt out of this feature anytime by contacting our office. More information about the FCC’s push to combat Robocalls and Spoofing can be found here: https://www.fcc.gov/spoofed-robocalls.

The FCC requires that as a Video TV provider, NCC must notify customers annually of the following information: 1) NCC provides Video TV services to customers in the exchanges of Alamo, Ambrose, Bowbells, Columbus, Crosby, East Westby, Epping, Flaxton, Fortuna, Grenora, Lignite, Marmon, McGregor, Noonan, Powers Lake, Portal, Ray, Round Prairie, Tioga, Wildrose and Williston; 2) Video packages available include: Economy Package for $69.00/mo., Basic Package for $131.00/mo. and Expanded Basic for $156.00/mo.  NCC Video+ is a streaming platform, so content is available on most internet enabled devices. NCC does have a set top box option and will provide up to two set-top boxes with the package fee. Additional boxes are leased for $5.95/mo. Premium Packages are as follows: HBO – $17/mo., Cinemax – $13/mo., Starz/Encore – $11/mo. and Showtime – $10.99/mo.  NCC Video+ subscription includes 3 free streams and 50 hours of cloud storage. Each additional stream is $2.50/mo. and additional cloud storage can be purchased in 50 hr. increments for $2.50/mo. Current pricing can be found on the NCC website at www.nccray.com. Pricing does not include franchise, FCC fees & taxes; 3) Self installation is $25.00 and onsite installation is $50, plus the costs of any additional equipment and time spent installing this equipment; 4) Instructions on how to use our Video service is provided to customers by an NCC technician at the time of installation. Additional information about the equipment can be found online at www.nccray.com; 5) Channel line-ups are available on the NCC website at www.nccray.com; 6) Customers with billing questions or complaints in regards to billing, signal quality, equipment issues, etc. can contact NCC by calling 1.800.245.5884 or by emailing ncc@nccray.com; 7) Information on the set-top box and remote that NCC utilizes with the set top boxes can be found on our website at www.nccray.com. Additional remotes are available for purchase at NCC but may also be purchased at any local retail outlet that sells TV equipment; and 8) To protect our customers’ information, NCC adheres to an authentication procedure before information is shared and/or changes are made to accounts.

If you subscribe to NCC iVoice, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, we want to ensure that you have all the necessary information about this service and its limitations, compared to traditional Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS). VoIP is an internet-based service, which means that it relies on your internet connection to function. In contrast, POTS is a traditional analog telephone service delivered over legacy telephone networks. While VoIP services offer many advantages, such as cost savings, it could have certain limitations that we want to make you aware of. These limitations include: 1) Dependence on Internet connection: VoIP service is entirely dependent on your internet connection. If your internet connection is weak or unreliable, it can impact the quality of your call or even disconnect the call altogether; 2) Power outages: Unlike POTS service, VoIP service requires electricity to function. In the event of a power outage, you may not be able to make or receive calls using VoIP, unless you have backup power solutions in place; and 3) Emergency services: It is important to note that VoIP may not be as reliable as POTS service in emergency situations.  In the event of a power outage, you may not be able to make emergency calls, unless you have battery back-up. At NCC, we take these limitations seriously and have implemented measures to minimize their impact on our customers. We have built our network to be resilient, robust, and fault tolerant. Our network is continuously monitored and maintained to provide you with the best possible service.