Administrative Procedure:
Global SPIN Changes
Further Detail:
Service Providers submit an FCC Form 498 to USAC to obtain a Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN). On the FCC Form 498, the service provider indicates the type of entity and provides certain information including the 499 Filer ID, if applicable, Federal Employer Identification Number, Contact Information and Remittance Information for each support mechanism, certification letter, and certification.
Each Funding Request Number (FRN) on Block 5 of the FCC Form 471 specifies the Service Provider Name and SPIN that will be providing the services.
USAC approves SPIN changes that are requested by a service provider for all Funding Request Numbers (FRNs) that are affected by either merger or acquisition.
Rules that this furthers:
1. 47 C.F.R. § 54.503(c) requires applicants to seek competitive bids by posting an FCC Form 470 to the USAC website for a minimum of 28 days to initiate the competitive bidding process.
2. 47 C.F.R. § 54.511(a) requires applicants to “carefully consider all bids submitted and must select the most cost-effective service offering. In determining which service offering is the most cost-effective, entities may consider relevant factors other than pre-discount prices submitted by providers but price should be the primary factor considered.”
3. 47 C.F.R. § 54.504(a) requires applicants to submit an FCC Form 471 to USAC after signing a contract for eligible services.
4. Commission rules allows applicants to request SPIN changes after USAC has issued a Funding Commitment Decision Letter when “an applicant certifies that (1) the SPIN change is allowed under its state and local procurement rules and under the terms of the contract between the applicant and its original service provider, and (2) the applicant has notified its original service provider of its intent to change service providers.” See Copan Order, 15 FCC Rcd 5498, 5501, FCC 00-100, ¶ 6. In the Sixth Report and Order, the Commission clarified this rule and explained that once a contract is signed for goods and services, an applicant may not change the service provider unless: “(1) there is a legitimate reason to change providers (e.g., breach of contract or the service provider is unable to perform) and (2) the newly selected service provider received the next highest point value in the original bid evaluation, assuming there was more than one bidder.” Sixth Report & Order, 25 FCC Rcd at 18802-03, at ¶91.
5. 47 C.F.R § 54.701(a) requires USAC to “administer[ ] the universal service support mechanisms in an efficient, effective, and competitively neutral manner.”
6. 47 C.F.R. § 54.702(g) requires USAC to take “administrative action intended to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.”
How this furthers program integrity:
Ensures that disbursements are made to the service provider that provided the goods and services and submitted the invoice to USAC. Also ensures the integrity of the competitive bidding process by allowing applicants to change service providers only under limited circumstances.