_________________________________________________________________ ALAWON Volume 7, Number 133 ISSN 1069-7799 October 22, 1998 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (106 lines) FINAL E-RATE FORMS APPROVED AND POSTED ON SLC WEB SITE _________________________________________________________________ Note: The following is a October 20 newsflash from the Schools and Libraries Corporation. For more information, go to http://www.slcfund.org or call the SLC Client Service Bureau toll-free at 1-888-203-8100. FINAL E-RATE FORMS APPROVED AND POSTED ON SLC WEB SITE The Schools and Libraries Corporation is pleased to announce that the new forms that E-rate applicants and their service providers will need to implement Universal Service discounts upon the receipt of funding commitments have now been approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The final forms and relevant instructions are now available for downloading and printing from the SLC Web Site (see details below) and may also be requested from the SLC client service help line, 888-203-8100. The final forms are: *FCC Form 486, Receipt of Service Confirmation Form: After applicants are notified of their funding commitments, they will use this form to let SLC know that the services for which they have been approved for discounts have actually begun to flow and that technology plans have been approved as required. Applicants will receive a copy of Form 486 with their funding commitment letter. The blank form is posted in PDF format at in the Reference Area under Form 486 Guidance. *FCC Form 472, Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) Form: Applicants will use this form to report to the SLC the amount of requested reimbursement from their service providers for approved discounts on services for which they have already paid. Applicants will receive a copy of the BEAR Form with their funding commitment letter. The blank form is posted in PDF format at in the Reference Area under Reimbursement and Invoicing. *FCC Form 473, Service Provider Annual Certification (SPAC) Form: Service providers complete and file this form one time per program year to certify that the invoices they submit for discounts benefiting their E-rate-approved customers will comply with all FCC program rules. Service providers are encouraged to complete and submit their Annual Certification as soon as possible. The blank form is posted in PDF format at in the Service Provider Area. *FCC Form 473, Service Provider Invoice Form (SPIF): Service providers will use this form to invoice the SLC for reimbursement of discounts they have implemented in their E-rate-approved customers' bills. Service providers will use this form to invoice the SLC on the same regular billing cycle (monthly, quarterly, one-time, etc.) that they use to invoice their customers for the non-discounted portion of the cost of services. Blank invoice forms will be sent to service providers with their notifications that SLC has accepted the Form 486 from their customers. The SPIF is also now posted in PDF format at in the Service Provider Area. Service providers should note that they will also have the option of invoicing the SLC electronically; see the Service Provider Area for registration details. Please note that these forms (with the exception of the Service Provider Annual Certification) CANNOT be filled out and sent in by applicants and service providers until SLC has made funding commitments for the 1998 program year. NO FUNDING COMMITMENTS HAVE YET BEEN MADE. Applicants and service providers are invited to preview these forms in preparation for funding commitments, but are reminded that only the Service Provider Annual Certification can be completed and filed before SLC makes any funding commitments. Please watch the SLC Web Site for information, coming soon, about the date when funding commitment letters will begin to be mailed. _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc @ala.org. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/ subscribe.html or send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/ washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V) Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor Contributors: Carol C. Henderson All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. _________________________________________________________________