New York State Service Provider Information

Introduction

Although it is the sole responsibility of the applicant to accurately calculate reimbursement claims for eligible services and to properly complete the Form 472 ("BEAR" form), the better Service Providers are working hard to provide as much assistance as possible.

At a minimum, the Form 472 requires that the associated Service Provider sign an acknowledgement (in Block 4) that appropriate discounts will be provided. The Service Provider's signature must be obtained by the applicant before the Form 472 can be filed. The Service Provider's signature need not be original but can be obtained, for example, by fax. Service Providers may also be able to help by providing historic copies of bills and by consulting on the identification of eligible services. The first point of contact with a Service Provider should be the applicant's account representative.

NYS Service Provider Block 4 Acknowledgement Procedures

Most Service Providers have established standard procedures, typically including a fax line, to process the Block 4 acknowledgement. Click below for a list of centralized Form 472 acknowledgement fax numbers for certain NYS Service Providers. This list will be updated as data become available. Service Provder corrections and contributions to this list should be sent to webmaster@e-ratecental.com

Form 472 acknowledgement fax numbers

NYS Service Provider SPINs

All references to Service Providers in E-rate forms require a Service Provider Identification Number ("SPIN"). SPINs are 9-digit numbers that appear to have been assigned consecutively and are subject to error in data entry. Erroneous SPINs can obviously create major problem in the processing of discounts and reimbursements. Applicants need to carefully check not only the SPINs used in their own applications but as provided by the SLD in FCD letters (see Review of FCD Letters).

The SLD has always been reluctant to give out SPINs to applicants, apparently believing that the applicants should be getting them from the Service Providers (perhaps to avoid confusion when a Service Provider has different SPINs for different divisions).

E-Rate Central recommends the following:

• To find a Service Provider's SPIN, call your Service Provider's sale representative or use the SPIN and Bear Contact Search function available in the Reference Area of the SLD's web site.
  
  Hint: The SLD's search mechanism is very sensitive to company name. If the full and formal name is not known, enter the start of the name followed by a "%" for a "wild card" search as described in the directions.

• If the search yields multiple contacts for a Service Provider, start by calling the person listed geographically closest to you. We have found that some listed contacts know little about the E-rate program (or that they're even supposed to be the contact). Keep calling until you find a knowledgeable person.