Impact of the FCC Shutdown: What About Filing Deadlines and Databases?

As you know, as of October 1, the federal government has officially shut down after Congress failed to pass a funding bill before the start of the new fiscal year. Funding for most federal programs and services lapsed at midnight, triggering the suspension of nonessential operations and the furlough of hundreds of thousands of federal employees. This update provides an overview of some of the major impacts of the lapse in funding on FCC operations.

Unlike prior government shutdowns, where the FCC used surplus funds from prior appropriations or alternative sources to remain operational for extended periods, the FCC's plan is a more immediate and substantial curtailment of activity, including the reported furlough of more than 81% of the FCC's workforce.

Parties should contact the FCC Operations Center at (202) 418-1122 or FCCOPS@fcc.gov for emergencies affecting the safety of life or the protection of property.

During the suspension of normal operations, some public-facing filing systems and databases will remain available while others will not, as per the following:

• The Network Outage Reporting System (NORS), the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS), the Public Safety Support Center (PSSC), the PSIX-ESIX interference complaints reporting system, the Electronic Document Management System (EDOCS), the Auctions Public Reporting System (PRS), the Auction Bidding System, the Daily Digest, the Commission Online Registration System (CORES), the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program Portal (SCRP), and the Cable Operations and Licensing System (COALS) will remain available.
• The Daily Digest will continue publication to notify the public of releases related to activities that continue during a suspension of normal operations and spectrum auction activities authorized by 47 U.S.C. § 309(j). Similarly, EDOCS and CORES will remain available but will be supported only for activities that continue during a suspension of normal operations and spectrum auction activities authorized by 47 U.S.C. § 309(j).
• The Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) and the Integrated Spectrum Auction System (ISAS) will remain available to the public, but no user support will be provided except as may be necessary for activities related to spectrum auctions authorized by 47 U.S.C. § 309(j). These systems will only be reviewed for information related to spectrum auction activities authorized by section 309(j); all other filings will not be reviewed or processed and will be considered accepted on the day following the day of return to normal operations.
• The Broadband Data Collection (BDC) system, the National Broadband Map, the Broadband Funding Map, the Part 90 Class B Signal Booster Registration System, the Antenna Structure Registration System (ASR), and the Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD) will be available to the public, but with no user support. The ASR will be publicly available for searches, but users will not be able to log into the ASR to file applications or modify existing registrations.
• All other Commission electronic filing and database systems will be unavailable to the public until normal agency operations resume. The systems unavailable include, among others, the Equipment Authorization System (EAS), the Licensing and Management System (LMS), the Universal Licensing System (ULS), the Recordkeeping Compliance Certification and Contact Information Registry, the Private Entity Robocall and Spoofing Portal, the Electronic Tariff Filing System (ETFS), the Experimental Licensing System (ELS), the International Communications Filing System (ICFS), the Section 43.62 Online Filing System, the Study Area Boundary Data Collection System, the Study Area Boundary Data Recertification System, the Tower Construction Notification System (TCNS), the Electronic Section-106 System (E-106), Fee Filer, the Urban Rates Survey Data Collection Site, the Emergency Alert System Test Reporting System, the Public Inspection File, the 911 Reliability Certification System, the CALEA Electronic Filing System, and Arkcase FOIA. This unavailability of systems will impact the work of any entities requiring access to such systems and information.

NOTE: Federal Universal Service Fund operations, including Lifeline, E-Rate, RHC and High-Cost operations, are funded by USF contributions and are not appropriated. Therefore, USAC will remain open and operational, and funding will be disbursed.

Filing Deadlines

Because the FCC will be closed, any filings that come due during the shutdown will not be due. The FCC waived the filing deadline (which would normally apply on the next business day) until the day after the day the FCC resumes full operations. For example, if funding is restored on a Monday, the FCC will resume normal operations on Tuesday, and all filings that were due during the shutdown will be due on Wednesday. (This extension does not apply to outage filings via NORS or DIRS, however.)

In enforcement matters involving individual parties, this extension will not apply. Therefore, according to the FCC, if any responsive enforcement deadline falls on a date when operations are suspended, the responsive deadline still applies absent direction from the FCC Enforcement Bureau.

+++

If you have any questions, please contact Burt Braverman or Sharon Mathis, broadcast paralegal.

Disclaimer

This advisory is a publication of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. Our purpose in publishing this advisory is to inform our clients and friends of recent legal developments. It is not intended, nor should it be used, as a substitute for specific legal advice as legal counsel may only be given in response to inquiries regarding particular situations.