August 2000 Announcements

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

The Schools and Libraries Client Service Bureau will be closed on Monday, September 4, 2000 in observance of Labor Day. The Client Service Bureau will resume normal operations on Tuesday, September 5, 2000 at 8:00 a.m. EDT.

SLD is launching a new manual for service providers: "The SLD Guide to Service Provider Participation in the E-Rate." The first two chapters of this manual are now available.

This Guide, with detailed information for service providers on how to participate in the E-rate program, is being released in sections.

Now available: Chapter 8, "Invoicing USAC and Reimbursement," and Chapter 9, "Service Provider Role in BEAR Process."

Questions about the manual, or other topics of interest to service providers, can be addressed to serviceprovider@universalservice.org

As noted with the introduction of the revised Form 486, See SLD Releases Revised FCC Form 486 and New FCC Form 500, invoice payments for Funding Year 3 will be based consistently on the type of invoice form selected for the first invoice. So, if FCC Form 472, Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) form, is submitted for the first payment, the BEAR form must be used for the entire funding year. Conversely, if FCC Form 474, Service Provider Invoice Form (SPIF), is submitted for the first payment because discounts have been provided by the Service Provider, the SPIF form must be used for the entire funding year.

Therefore, Applicants and Service Providers should work together, before the first invoice is submitted, to determine which type of form shall be used. Invoice forms received that are not the same type of invoice form as the first invoice submitted for Funding Year 3 will be rejected.

Invoicing for Funding Year 1 and 2 is unchanged.