Once I am awarded funding from the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) for an AT&T SPIN, what should I expect?

Upon receipt of the Funding Commitment Decision Letter from the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) Schools and Libraries Division (SLD), AT&T will send a welcome package and instructions for each AT&T SPIN you identified on your Form 471 application(s) for each Funding Request.

What are the E-Rate disbursement methods?

E-Rate disbursements methods are Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) - Form 472 or Service Provider Invoice (SPI) - Form 474.  Details on the BEAR and SPI process are available at http://www.universalservice.org/sl/applicants/step11/.

Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) Form 472

The Form 472 is used by the Billed Entity (customer) to request reimbursement for support on eligible services that have already been provided, and paid in full to the service provider, such as AT&T.  The USAC SLD recommends filing BEAR Form 472’s online. AT&T participates in the USAC SLD’s on-line BEAR process for the FCC Form 472.

The eligibility or ineligibility of products or services for E-Rate funding is solely determined by the USAC/SLD and/or the FCC. AT&T makes no representations or warranties regarding such eligibility.

AT&T reminds our customers who are purchasing from State Contracts or other Master Buying Agreements negotiated by a third party to review and understand the terms and conditions required under that contract, including any administrative fees the contract may impose, which may be considered ineligible by USAC.

AT&T reminds our customers to deduct all ineligible charges from their BEAR Form 472 submissions.

For more information on how to complete a paper BEAR Form 472 or filing an online BEAR please visit: http://www.universalservice.org/sl/applicants/step07/form-472-filing.aspx

Information on where to send a paper BEAR Form 472 will be included in the welcome package sent to you from AT&T. 

Note: California customers only: If you wish to benefit from the California Teleconnect Fund you may not utilize the BEAR Form 472 method for receiving E-Rate funds. If you elect to utilize the BEAR method you will forfeit all California Teleconnect Funds for that fiscal year

SPI (Service Provider Invoice) Form 474 method

Caution: This is a Service Provider Form. This form is not for use by the Applicant.

The Service Provider Invoice (SPI) Form 474 is submitted by the service provider to request reimbursement for discounts already provided to Billed Entities on customer bills.  Information on where to send account information will be included in the welcome package sent to you from AT&T.  In general, AT&T will provide discounts throughout the funding year after the following has occurred:

• The FRN has been funded per the Funding Commitment Decision Letter
• AT&T has received the Form 486 Notification Letter processed by the USAC SLD
• The customer has provided the Account information per funded FRN in accordance with their Form 471 application, and certified to the information.

Discounts due for eligible services provided within the relevant funding year will be provided retroactively to the Services Start Date once all of the above has occurred.

ARF (AT&T Applicant Reimbursement Form) what is it?

ARF stands for AT&T Reimbursement Form which is utilized for the Service Provider Invoice (SPI) discount method for the following SPINs:

• 143001192 (AT&T Corp.)
• 143005617 (AT&T Alascom)
• 143000067 (Teleport Communications Group, Inc.)
• 143001113 (AT&T Corp ACC Long Distance Corp)

If applicable, instructions, a PIN and the link to the ARF web site will be included in the welcome package sent to you from AT&T.