[CTSARA] The FCC is Back in Business

[Tom Alessi]

The FCC is Back in Business

01/29/2019

In the wake of the more-than-month-long partial government shutdown, the
FCC has said it would begin processing the Amateur Radio application
backlogs starting today, January 29, in addition to the other applications
that have built up. Information released before the shutdown said the FCC
would take the first day it was open, Monday, January 28, to get idle
systems up and running again.

“The FCC has resumed all operations since the partial funding lapse has
ended,” the FCC said via Twitter on Monday.

This means the ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) should soon be
able to transmit the some 2,300 pending Amateur Radio applications it has
in the queue, many of them from 325 ARRL VEC examination sessions that took
place during the shutdown or immediately prior to it. These do not include
files that the other 13 VECs may be waiting to upload to the Universal
Licensing System (ULS). ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, said that as
of 15:30 UTC, the FCC was not yet processing, and that the ARRL VEC won’t
send all its pending files until it’s sure the system is working properly.

“We had some files already pending in their system, and then also uploaded
a few new files into their system today to see if anything is happening
yet,” she said. “So far, no movement as we are continually checking for
them to be processed.” Somma said an FCC source told her that the filing
system is scheduled to resume processing today. “As soon as those pending
files go through, we are sending all of our files!” she said.

In a January 28 Public Notice addressing filing deadlines, the FCC pointed
out that its filing window, mail operations, and electronic filing systems
have been unavailable or unsupported during the partial shutdown, “except
for filings necessary for the protection of life and property and filings
related to spectrum auction activities.”

The FCC had announced in early January that all filings that would have
been due during the suspension of operations, including applications to the
ULS, would become due on the business day following the resumption of
normal operations, January 29. “If the Commission is unable to restore
electronic filing systems on the day the government reopens, the Commission
may issue another Public Notice further extending filing deadlines.” The
January 28 Public Notice said the Commission now is extending those
deadlines by 1 day. “Thus, deadlines for all filings that would have been
due from January 3 through January 29 are now extended until January 30,
2019,” the FCC said.

If an Amateur Radio license recently had expired or was about to expire
before the shutdown, the licensee could apply for license renewal via the
ULS and continue to operate while the FCC was closed, with the filed
application remaining in limbo. Licensees who waited until the FCC reopened
to apply will have 2 days to submit a renewal application before the
license is considered to have expired in the FCC database.

The resumption of normal FCC operations means the FCC’s January 30 open
meeting will be an in-person session. The Commission had made provisions
for a teleconference should the shutdown not be over by the meeting date.
The FCC said, however, that due to the funding lapse, items initially
included in the tentative agenda published on January 3 would not be
considered at this week’s meeting, which would address only “Commission
announcements.”


Tom - K1TA

Tom Alessi
Tom at K1TA.com | K1TA.com | ARRL DXCC Card Checker
State of Connecticut - Justice of the Peace & Notary Public
C: (203) 253-7745 | O: (914) 231-1691 | F: (914) 813-4091
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