The Federal Communications Commission has made it official-schools and libraries can use the Billed Entity Reimbursement (BEAR) form to process their payments for all of the second funding year.
The Schools and Libraries Division is recommending that applicants that choose to file BEAR forms do so on quarterly basis and that they get their forms in by Oct. 29, 1999, Jan. 31, 2000, April 28, 2000, and Nov. 20, 2000. (Since not all applicants have received their funding commitments for the second funding year, meeting that first recommended date may be difficult.)
In any case, the SLD said, Nov. 20, 2000 will be the deadline for submission of all BEAR forms and all service provider invoices covering the second funding year.
The SLD has also specified that Dec. 15 will be the final deadline for submission of BEAR forms and service provider invoices covering the first funding year.
In all cases, the SLD has said that in the case of telecommunications services and Internet access, service providers can determine whether applicants will file a BEAR form or be invoiced. In the case of internal connections, the SLD said, the applicant may decide which payment method it prefers.
