I think the $5 is more of a push to get people to go on auto billing. I've been paying the $5 charge per month since signing up in 2004, but that's only because I don't trust anyone to have control over what they can take out of my account. I pay all of my bills manually. With that said, Hughesnet is, and has been, the only one to ever charge me for a paper bill. Although the other companies I deal with try to get me to go on auto billing, all of them offer paper free billing with the option to still pay my bill manually, which I take advantage of. Hughesnet could do the same. This is why I feel that the $5 is not really to cover the paper bill, but just to try to get people to go on auto billing.
With that said, regarding their auto billing, the amount is going to be the same every month (barring promotions and such), and is also due on the same day every month. If people want a record of their bill they can print one. But again, being that it's billed on the same day every month, and it's generally going to be the same amount every time, it shouldn't be a surprise.
