Please refer to the PROCESS MAPS for detailed instruction on how to process an Internet Claim.

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1 Extracts from DSA Decision Matrix Internet Claims Please refer to the PROCESS MAPS for detailed instruction on how to process an Internet Claim. For detailed information on the different types of Internet that may be claimed please refer to the INTERNET GUIDANCE SECTION within this Matrix. FAQs How do I calculate the amount to reimburse? The PROCESS MAP for Internet gives advice on how to calculate this. What detail needs to be on the receipt? This will be dependant on what type of internet the student is using but generally this should show a breakdown of costs (highlighting broadband/internet usage) and the name and address the service is being provided to. Is there ever a need to split the internet reimbursement? Yes, when multiple students live at the same address (shared accommodation) the cost should be divided between them. You may need to contact the student to determine this. We would not split the reimbursement when a student lives with their parents or family member. Sharing the internet costs should only be done where the student is residing with other students (i.e., halls or University accommodation). If the student has only submitted one bill we can pay the full years internet allowance based on that bill? Yes, for example if a bill shows 12 per month for broadband, you would multiply this by the amount of months remaining in the AY (from the agreement date) up to a maximum of 12 months = 144. If the total is over the agreed amount on the DSA2 letter, only pay the agreed amount and inform the student that internet has been paid for the full academic year. This would only apply to contracted internet. Where a student pays for actual usage (e.g., different bill amount each month) or pay as you go internet, you would need each bill for each month. Can we pay for internet connections, set up fees, modem costs, router costs, dongles? No, DSA can only be used to pay for internet usage. Can I reimburse a 12 month pre paid dongle? Yes, you must also make the student aware that their full yearly allowance has been used. Can we fund mobile internet? Yes. Internet is an allowance which we agree it is up to the student to choose which device they want their internet on. See the INTERNET GUIDANCE SECTION for more information. Mobile internet may be on a mobile or tablet device as well as on a dongle. If a Mobile Broadband receipt does not contain the name and address, can I accept phone number? Yes, in this instance we can accept the mobile number/ address. Where a bill does not show a breakdown for internet how would I proceed? Some companies are unable to provide a breakdown and internet may be grouped with Telephone and TV packages. In these cases you should speak to your Team Leader for advice especially with bills that do not clearly give a cost breakdown, such as Virgin. Some examples however are given below.

2 Example 1 Virgin Media Virgin media bills may not show the actual cost of internet use where it is taken as one of their package deals (currently referred to as Collections, e.g., the Premiere Collection as shown below). These packages are listed on the bill and show what items are in the bundle, but not what price each bundle item costs. Some bundle items are free, others only cost a couple of pounds. To calculate the amount to reimburse for internet you need to look at the main bundle items, these being TV/TiVo fee, internet/broadband and Phone/Talk. You will also need to account for any discounts that may be applied to the bill and make sure not to include the cost of line rental (which is a cost on top of the Talk plan). Once you have the total for the bill, divide this amount by 3 (assuming the bundle includes TV, phone and internet) to get the monthly amount. This will not be an entirely accurate figure, but should not see us paying an excess over a whole academic year. Using the example below total cost of bundle = 56. Discount of 5. Line rental of Bill total Of these costs, we need only be concerned with the bundle and discount, so we would look at 56-5 = 51. In this case the bundle includes fees for TV, internet and phone. Therefore 56 / 3 = 17. As we can see that the student is on a contract we can apply this cost over the relevant number of months being claimed, let s say a whole year for this example; 17 x 12 months = 204. The student only has a maximum of 150 allowance per year so we can only pay up to 150. Note that where Virgin broadband is taken on it s own, the bills will generally show the exact cost for broadband and line rental separately. Example 2 Sky A Sky bundle on a bill will show any bundle deal that the student may have but, unlike some other companies, Sky itemise the bill to show each cost for each service. When reimbursing for Sky internet you need only look at the relevant part of the bill (Sky Broadband). This service is typically 7.50 for standard broadband but is higher (around 25 per month) for Sky Fibre Optic Broadband. Beware of students submitting claims for internet where the

3 internet is specifically discounted in the example below the internet is free so there is nothing to reimburse to the student. Example 3 TalkTalk

4 A TalkTalk bill will typically show the internet as being zero-rated cost. As in the example below, TalkTalk charges 6.50 per month for TalkTalk Essentials, which includes the use of Broadband. For TalkTalk bills, where it can be seen that Internet is included we can pay the whole cost of the Essentials service note that we would still not pay line rental etc. As with all other providers please beware of any offers or discounts that may apply to the service provided. We can multiply this monthly cost by the relevant number of months to get the annual amount payable to the student let s say a whole academic year; 12 months x 6.50 = 78 for the whole academic year (please note that this assumes the students agreed internet allowance is sufficient to cover this, otherwise we can only reimburse up to the agreed allowance). INTERNET GUIDANCE Over the last few years technology has moved forwards with regards to how you can now subscribe to and use the internet. Due to this the students we are supporting are now receiving their internet through a variety of sources such as dongles and mobile phone providers. Please see below brief descriptions

5 of what a few of these are and what we would require to be able to refund some of the different types of internet access. NOTE: From Academic Year 2014/15, DSA will not be used to fund Internet for New Students. This will also apply to New Recommendations in 14/15 for existing students. Those students with agreements already in place can continue to claim this in the usual way. See here for more details. Standard Internet Service Provider (ISP) This is still the most common way of sourcing internet through an ISP where you would usually sign up for a fixed amount of time, at a fixed monthly charge, for a certain amount of internet usage. The charge may increase if you go over your monthly usage allowance. Very often when signing up to an ISP you may find offers where the first so many months are free or at a reduced price. To pay an internet claim you would require a copy of the monthly bill. This should be dated within the academic year the student is claiming, and must show the correct home or term time address, however it does not need to be in students name; e.g. may be parents address or shared accommodation. We can accept 1 month bill and pay for the full year if the student is signed up to a contract to cover this period. This is because we are satisfied the student will incur these charges as they are signed up for this fixed term. We can only pay for usage and cannot pay for connection fees, line rental costs or phone calls and TV costs so the bill must show a breakdown of all costs and we will refund the internet cost only. If the student is sharing their accommodation, we should divide the allowance by the number of students, as this type of internet would be sourced per household. Internet Dongle - Mobile Internet We have over the last year or so seen this be recommended and claimed for. This is where you would purchase a Dongle (which SFE will not fund) and then generally use this as a "Pay As You Go" item where you would only pay for the usage either as Data or Days e.g. depending on the company you might pay 5 for 1GB worth of data or 5 for a weeks usage. With these you would generally not incur a fixed monthly charge as most are not in a contact. Internet Dongles that are "Pay As You Go" can be topped up online, using top up cards, in a service providers shop but all would receive a receipt showing the amount paid which is what we require to be able to refund. As these do not generally come with a fixed monthly cost/contract, you would not pay for the full year based on the one receipt. You would pay what has been claimed for at the time and continue to do so until the agreed amount is reached. The receipts for this would not show an address because the internet is mobile and not for a specific address. The receipts must show some detail to explain this is for Internet.

6 Exceptionally, if a student has purchased a 12 month prepaid dongle we can reimburse this but it must be made clear to the student that internet for the full year has been paid even if it cost less than the allowance available to them. Mobile Phone Internet - Add Ons or Bolt Ons The latest recommendation we have seen for Internet is where it is being provided through your Mobile Phone Contract. Some Smart Phones now have the capability to create a Wifi Connection so that the Internet Allowance through a mobile phone can be accessed and used on a PC/Laptop. If this is being recommended we would only pay where the student has taken out additional Add Ons, Bolt Ons, Additional Data Bundles to their contact mobile phone contract. These are often advertised at around 5 extra on your monthly bill for so much Data. Most mobile phone contracts nowadays come with some kind of internet allowance as part of the contract but we would not fund this, as this is part of the standard monthly bill. We will only pay for the additional Add Ons/Bolt Ons/Bundles. These additional charges will be shown separately on a Mobile Phone Bill which we would be able to accept. However the bill must confirm that the Add On, Bolt On or Data Bundle is actually for Data as these are also available for Texts and Calls e.g. you may pay an additional 5 per month as a bundle for 500 extra texts. Again with this type of internet service, you would not sign up to this for a fixed amount of time. These additional Add Ons, Bolt Ons and Data Bundles can be cancelled/added from month to month, so you would only pay for the amount on the bill that has been provided. Mobile internet may apply to smartphones/tablets/mobile phones/laptops/dongles. BT Fon BT Fon, also known as BT Wifi, is a world network that allows people who have BT Broadband to share their wifi connection with the BT Fon Community. There are two types of BT Fon customer; BT Fon Broadband Customer and BT Fon Community Customer. A BT Fon Broadband Customer would sign up to BT Broadband and pay for their internet as a regular internet user (Standard Internet Service Provider) and their wifi connection is then opened up as a BT Hotspot. As a broadband customer they would also be able to use the BT Hotspots around the world for free and only be paying for their broadband at home. A student who is claiming their internet allowance via the DSA would be required to provide the same information as a Standard ISP customer A BT Fon Community Customer is someone who would not have their own BT Broadband at home but can sign up to any Hotspot as a type of Mobile Internet, similar to using a dongle. This type of customer would be on a 'pay as you go' tariff and pay for an amount of hours/days of continuous internet use. They would purchase this by signing up to the internet when they are in reach of a registered Hotspot using their laptop/mobile phone. Payment Methods for BT Fon Community Customers Premium SMS - available for 1hour passes - it is unlikely that we will receive a student claim for this type of service but if we do we would need to be satisfied that we have proof of

7 purchase and with this being via a SMS it may be that a phone bill showing this payment is required. Click and Buy - (similar to paypal) - students who have a click and by account would need to submit evidence of payments made and this could be a confirmation (similar to online shopping) or printouts of their click and buy account showing the payments. Credit and Debit Cards - available for 1 and 5 day passes - Credit and debit card purchases should still have a receipt sent to the student in some form and we would require a copy of this. The receipts for this may not show an address because the internet is mobile and not for a specific address. Further information can be found at

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