January 2003 Announcements

Please click on the topic below to view the most recent announcements:

Following is a list of the documents or pages that have changed on this web site since the last posting on updates:

A new column has been added to the BEAR/SPIN Search that features a list of all the funding years for which a service provider has a Service Provider Annual Certification (SPAC) Form 473 on file with the SLD. For more information on the consequences of a SPAC not being on file, please refer to SPACs Required for BEARs and SPIs (1/29/03).

A caption has been added to right-hand column of the FRN Extension Table. This caption notifies users that the date provided as the last date to postmark an invoice may not be correct if the date of the Form 486 Notification Letter is after the last allowable date for delivery and installation of non-recurring services featured in the previous column.

The Reference Area document "Processing of Service Requests (The "30% Rule')" has been renamed Processing of Funding Requests Containing Ineligible Products and Services (The "30% Rule"). The document has also been edited for clarity.

The Form 471 Online Navigation Guide has been updated and restored to the Reference Area.

If you are still filing your Form 471, and are filing electronically, you must have a Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN) for each Funding Request in order to progress through Block 5 of the electronic form. Filers who do not have a SPIN will receive an electronic message as they attempt to complete the form directing them to call the Client Service Bureau (CSB) for assistance.

Please note that SPIN assistance is available for those online filers who have completed the competitive bidding process, but whose service providers' SPIN assignment has not yet been completed. (Manual filers are able to provide either the service provider name or the SPIN in order to meeting Minimum Processing Standards.) Call the CSB toll-free at 1-888-203-8100, and representatives will provide you this assistance. Remember that the CSB hours of service are 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST.

The Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Schools & Libraries (USAC) is pleased to announce that Cynthia Schultz has joined USAC as Director of Service Provider Support for SLD.

Previously, Ms. Schultz was a Senior Manager with WorldCom, Inc., where she was responsible for managing nationwide advocacy before state regulatory commissions.  Prior to joining the business side of WorldCom, Ms. Schultz served as Associate Counsel for MCI Telecommunications.  In that capacity, she managed and handled domestic and international disputes, arbitrations, and litigation on all aspects of telecommunications services.

Before joining MCI, Ms. Schultz was a Trial Attorney with the Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, of the United States Department of Justice.  She also served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Gregory Carman of the United States Court of International Trade.

Ms. Schultz succeeds Ellen Wolfhagen, who resigned from the SLD in November 2002 to accept a position as Manager of the State of Washington K-20 Network.

Ms. Schultz received her J.D. from the American University, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the American University Journal of International Law & Policy.  She received her B.A. from the George Washington University. 

Invoices received by the SLD after February 28, 2003 will not be paid unless the Schools & Libraries (USAC) has a Service Provider Annual Certification Form 473 (SPAC) on file for the funding year associated with the invoice.  Invoices include both the Service Provider Invoice Form 474 (SPI) and the Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement Form 472 (BEAR).  While BEARs may have been processed without regard to the presence of a SPAC from the service provider, that practice will be discontinued.

All service providers are required to submit the SPAC each funding year.  Each service provider lists one or more Service Provider Identification Numbers (SPINs) on the SPAC and confirms that invoice forms submitted will be in compliance with the FCC's rules governing the schools and libraries universal service support mechanism.

Applicants who plan to file BEARs for Funding Year 2003 may want to check with the service providers they have cited or plan to cite on their Forms 471 to ensure that those service providers have filed or will file a SPAC with USAC for Funding Year 2003.

To determine if a service provider has filed a SPAC for a particular funding year, go to the BEAR/SPIN Search located in the Reference Area of this web site.  You can search for the appropriate entry using the service provider name or the SPIN.  The far right-hand column in the search results will list the funding years for which the SLD has a SPAC on file for a given SPIN.  Applicants should review this information before filing a BEAR to verify that their service provider has filed a SPAC for the appropriate SPIN and funding year.  If a SPAC has not been filed, applicants should remind their service providers to file their SPAC(s) with the SLD to prevent delays in reimbursements.

In order to assist applicants as we near the end of the Form 471 application filing window, the Client Service Bureau (CSB) will be open on Saturday, February 1 and Sunday, February 2 from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST. You can reach the CSB by calling 1-888-203-8100.

If the deadline for delivery and/or installation of your non-recurring services was September 30, 2002 (regardless of Funding Year), the deadline for postmark or receipt of invoices for those services is generally January 28, 2003. Applicants filing Form 472 (BEAR Form) must allow sufficient time for their service providers to complete and return the Block 4 certification before submitting the form. Please see the Invoice Deadline Reminder (1/3/03)for more information.

Some applicants have not yet received a decision on their Funding Year 2002 funding requests for products or services. These applicants may be uncertain how to file their Funding Year 2003 requests - whether to assume that their Funding Year 2002 requests will be approved or will be denied.

For applicants in this situation, the SLD will allow multiple applications to be filed that cover both scenarios. One or more Funding Year 2003 Forms 471 may be filed that would represent an appropriate technology implementation if the Funding Year 2002 request(s) is approved, and one or more additional Forms 471 may be filed that would represent an appropriate technology implementation if the Funding Year 2002 request(s) is denied.

If applicants choose to do this, they must be sure to describe their approach in the Item 21 Attachment for each funding request. For example, an Item 21 Attachment could include the statement, "This funding request is filed assuming that a similar funding request for Funding Year 2002, FRN#12345, is approved" (or "is not approved").

SLD program rules require that the applicant have the resources available - professional development, software, funds for the non-discount portion, and so forth - for effective use of all funding requests. Applicants should provide the identification described above in order for the SLD to review their funding requests in light of this requirement.

Once applicants who have used this approach receive notification of the decision on their Funding Year 2002 requests, they should contact the SLD Client Service Bureau to determine the procedure for notifying the SLD that they wish to cancel one or more of their Funding Year 2003 requests.

The Schools and Libraries Client Service Bureau will be closed on Monday, January 20, 2003 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The Client Service Bureau will resume normal operations on Tuesday, January 21, 2003 at 8:00 a.m. EST.

The SLD recently has seen marketing claims that include "Internal Connections" as part of eligible Priority 1 services.  Some of these claims appear to distort and misrepresent SLD program rules about on-premise Priority 1 equipment.

The SLD has also received a growing number of inquiries regarding whether specific configurations that include substantial equipment at the applicant site would meet the program requirements for eligible Priority 1 services.

In addition, the SLD has received evidence that service providers may be attempting to achieve literal compliance with program rules through subcontractor or partnership arrangements that violate the intent of those rules.

Components installed at the applicant site can be considered eligible Priority 1 services only under very limited circumstances.  The many conditions and restrictions that govern this limited option are detailed in the document On-premise Priority 1 Equipment posted in the Reference Area of this web site.

The original FCC decision that established the requirements for on-premise Priority 1 equipment (FCC 99-216, released August 11, 1999) involved routers that were installed at applicant sites.  The demarcation between the local area network and wide area network was determined to be at the local network side of the router under the narrow conditions that existed in that specific case.  The SLD will carefully scrutinize funding requests that attempt to expand the terms of this decision to include much larger technology infrastructure at the applicant location.  The SLD will approve only funding requests that meet SLD program rules and FCC policies.

NOTE: All parts of the on-premise Priority 1 service must be provided by the same service provider.  A service provider may subcontract with other parties in order to achieve a technology installation.  However, it cannot reassign a contract to a third party-the legal obligations of the applicant related to the service must be legal obligations to the single service provider.  All bills of the applicant related to the service must be bills from the single service provider.

Funding requests that add extra components in order to achieve literal compliance with the conditions for on-premise Priority 1 equipment violate the important requirement that the most cost-effective service must be selected.  The SLD will not approve such requests.

The Schools and Libraries Support Mechanism funds a portion, but only a portion, of the technology needs of schools and libraries.  Applicants and service providers should not design and request funding for arrangements that go beyond the scope of the program intended by Congress and the FCC.

If the last date your non-recurring services could be delivered and/or installed was September 30, 2002, the deadline for postmark or receipt of invoices for those services is generally January 28, 2003. This applies to non-recurring services for Funding Request Numbers (FRNs) for ALL funding years with a September 30, 2002 delivery deadline and for which a Form 486 has been certified.

The one exception to that deadline is if the Form 486 Notification Letter was dated after September 30, 2002. In that case, the invoice deadline is the date 120 days after the date of the Form 486 Notification Letter.

If your non-recurring services were or will be delivered after the Contract Expiration Date reported on your Form 471, you must file a Form 500 to modify that Contract Expiration Date. The SLD cannot pay invoices for products and services delivered after the Contract Expiration Date on file with the SLD.

If you have not yet filed a Form 486 for your non-recurring services, please do so as soon as possible. If the Actual Service Start Date you will report on the Form 486 is after the Contract Expiration Date reported on your Form 471, you must file a Form 500 to extend that date BEFORE the SLD will be able to process your Form 486. The SLD cannot pay invoices on FRNs for which a Form 486 is not on file with the SLD. Remember that you are not required to complete a certification for Form 486 Block 4 Item 11 for FRNs from funding years prior to Funding Year 2001.

To determine the service delivery and invoicing deadlines for an FRN, please refer to the FRN Extension Table posted in the Apply Online & View Forms area of this web site.

To determine whether the SLD has a Form 486 on file for an FRN, please refer to the Funding Request Data Retrieval Tool posted in the Data Requests area of this web site. (NOTE: If there is a date entered in the "Service_Start_Date_486" field for an FRN, the SLD has a Form 486 on file for that FRN.)

Form 486, Form 486 Instructions, Form 500 and Form 500 Instructions are all available in the SL Forms section of this web site. You can also complete Form 486 online from the Apply Online & View Forms area of this web site.

Following is a list of the documents or pages that have changed on this web site during the past week:

A new document, Form 471 Interview Filing Guide has been added to the Reference Area. This document provides useful information for those interested in using the Form 471 Interview interface to file a Form 471 (see related posting below).

Two new items - Funding Request Number (FRN) and Form 471 Application Number - were added to the list of items required in order to process a request for a Corrective SPIN Change or an Operational SPIN Change.

The Form 471 Interview interface can now be used to file the Form 471 online. This interface was developed as an alternate way to file the Form 471 online for applicants with relatively simple applications. This interface guides applicants through the process of filling out the Form 471 using a series of questions. The system will only ask questions that are necessary to complete the form based on the application type and other information provided by the applicant.

The Form 471 Interview is designed for individual schools, school districts with fewer than 25 schools, individual libraries, and library systems with fewer than 25 outlets/branches. Please read the Form 471 Interview Filing Guide posted in the Reference Area of this web site for important information on using the interface. Applicants using this interface will still have to submit their Item 21 Attachment(s) separately by e-mail, fax or regular mail. However, applicants with a User ID and a PIN can certify their form(s) online at the end of the interview process.

For more information, please refer to the Form 471 Interview Filing Guide and the Form 471 Instructions. The Form 471 Interview format is available from the Apply Online/View Forms area of this web site.

Please remember that the deadline for submitting your Form 471 for Funding Year 2003 is February 6, 2003 at 11:59 PM EST, although we encourage you to submit your form as early as possible.