BEAR Form Approved for Use through June 30, 2000
Message Posted September 28, 1999
The following newsflash has been issued by the SLD. This as well as all
other updates for Year 2 and major changes for Year 3 will be presented at
the fall E-rate workshops around the state beginning this Friday, Oct. 1.
To register for a workshops and view locations and times, visit:
http://www.l2l.org/99workshops/.
Schools and Libraries Division, USAC
E-rate Newsflash
September 28, 1999
BEAR Form Approved for Use through June 30, 2000
While it was hoped that the Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR)
Form (Form 472) would be fully replaced in Year 2 of the E-rate by
discounted bills from service providers, the FCC and the Schools and
Libraries Division (SLD) recognize that the BEAR Form will be a necessity
for many applicants to receive their discounts. The arrival of Funding
Commitment Decisions Letters well past the start of Funding Year 2, combined
with the inability of the billing systems of some service providers to
discount bills make this conclusion necessary. The FCC has approved the use
of the BEAR Form through the entire second program year, through June 30,
2000.
While service providers may use the BEAR Form, service providers are
encouraged to provide discounted bills, if possible and many service
providers will discount bills as soon as the Form 486 is filed. It is
important that you, as an applicant, contact your service provider(s) and
ask if their intention is to issue you discounted bills, or if you will be
required to pay the bill in full and submit a BEAR Form to the SLD in order
to receive your discount. BEAR Forms, of course, will be necessary for
those applicants that have received a Funding Commitment Decisions Letter
(FCDL) from the SLD that includes discounts on services for which they have
paid in full.
Under the BEAR process, the approved E-rate applicant pays in full for
eligible services (both the discounted portion and the amount that the
billed entity is responsible for paying - the undiscounted portion) and then
submits the BEAR Form to SLD. The BEAR Form requires authorization from the
service provider in Block 4. SLD will inform the service provider of the
amount that the service provider must reimburse to the applicant. The
reimbursement is paid by USAC to the service provider and by the service
provider to the applicant.
The Year 2 BEAR process will use the same Form - FCC Form 472 - with the
following guidelines:
· For telecommunications services and Internet access, the BEAR process is
available at the option of the service provider. SOME service providers may
choose to issue discounted bills to their customers rather than expecting
payment in full and providing reimbursement using the BEAR process for
service through the end of the second program year. Applicants should
consult with their service providers to find out how to proceed - whether to
file a BEAR Form - to obtain discounts for services delivered from July 1,
1999, through June 30, 2000.
· For internal connections, the BEAR process is available at the option of
the applicant. Some applicants may choose to pay in full for services for
which they have been approved for discounts and then use the BEAR process to
seek reimbursement, but most internal connections providers who have been in
contact with the SLD have told us that they will issue discounted bills.
OTHER PY 2 BEAR GUIDELINES TO KNOW
The SLD suggest that applicants file 4 quarterly BEAR Forms in Program Year
2. Suggested filing dates for these BEAR Forms are October 29, 1999,
January 31, 2000; April 28, 2000; and November 20, 2000. NOVEMBER 20, 2000
IS THE LAST DATE THAT THE SLD WILL ACCEPT A SERVICE PROVIDER INVOICE FORM,
AND IS ALSO THE LAST POSSIBLE DATE TO FILE A BEAR FORM FOR YEAR 2.
Many applicants have already received FCDLs, and have filed the Form 486,
checking "No" in Column I, indicating that they did not intend to file a
BEAR Form. If you are one of those applicants and the news that the BEAR
Form has been extended for all of Program Year 2 changes your intent, the
SLD offers the following:
You may submit a BEAR without filing a new Form 486. Your BEAR Form will be
processed, and the SLD will apply internal procedures to help verify that
the service provider has not been providing discounted service and has not
already submitted an invoice for payment for the affected Funding Request
Numbers (FRN).
Or,
You may take the additional step of filing a new Form 486 to express your
intention to file a BEAR Form.
Applicants and Service Providers: Please remember that the SLD will not
process BEAR Forms submitted without the authorization of the service
provider in Block 4.
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