Preparing for a possible reopening of the Government.
Recent actions in the Senate could signal that the reopening of the government may be on the horizon.
The lack of appropriations caused the closure of most Federal government functions started on October 1, 2025, which in turn, ceased operations at the Federal Communications Commission. On Sunday, November 10, about forty days later, there has been bipartisan progress in the U.S. Senate in an effort to reopen the government. As of this writing, the Government is not yet open. There are a still several hurdles to cross first.
By policy (“bonnet on”), REC Networks takes no position on the nature of the continuing resolution other than our support for the resumption of FCC operations and returning career FCC employees back to work.
FCC filing deadlines that fell during the shutdown
Those needing to file with the FCC may receive, but should not assume extended filing deadlines upon reopening. In our current shutdown, LMS and ULS are not operational. On September 30, 2025, the FCC released a Public Notice to advise that the filing due date will the business day after the FCC resumes normal operations. We do note though that during the 2019 government shutdown, which lasted 23 days and resulted in systems such as LMS and ULS not being available, the FCC did extend filing deadlines based on what date during the shutdown that the filing was actually due. Again, I stress: do not depend on the 2019 policy to match the one that will be put into place when 2025 operations resume. It may be the same, it may not. We won’t know until after the government reopens.
For full-service broadcast stations, as the deadline for the Q3 issues lists (public file) would have been during the shutdown (October 10), we strongly suggest that you have your documents prepared and be ready to upload your reports to OPIF once the FCC resumes operation and makes OPIF available again.
If your station was on a silent STA and the statutory 365-day limit on being silent passed during the shutdown, but your station did resume operation on or before the original 365-day deadline, be prepared to include additional statements to show that the station did truly return before the 365-day deadline. §312(g) of the Communications Act permits the FCC to extend the deadline for “any other reason to promote equity and fairness”. I cannot guarantee that they will. They may ask for more evidence of construction prior to the §312(g) date, so be prepared with copies of any invoices, photographs, etc. that prove that the station was broadcasting a signal on or before the statutory 365-day period date. In my non-attorney opinion, this 365 day period does stand, even though the government was shut down. For legal advice, please seek the services of a qualified communications attorney.
REC operations following the conclusion of the shutdown
Unless superseded by family priority, REC will return to normal operations on the first day of federal business. Our first priorities will be on the following:
ETRS Form One filings (REC will be advocating for an extension to allow for reasonable time for these “routine” filings to be made).
§312(g) silent station resumption notifications (where the resumption of operations happened on or before the business day of the station going silent).
License to cover applications for construction permits with expiration dates during the shutdown period.
As of Monday, November 10, 2025, REC will return to modified operations as FCC systems will not be available. We will accept new requests and collect fees. Once government operations resume and FCC systems are restored, then we will move ahead handling applications, giving first priority to the three bullet points above.
When FCC systems are restored, the impacted REC interfaces (such as eLMS) will be restored and we will go back to our normal database update schedule. At that time, we will restore services on fcc.today.
During the shutdown, REC has been involved in some heavyweight non-broadcast related projects which included the development of some methods that could improve the user experience in our broadcast-related online products.
How to help support REC Networks
You all may have noticed that I have taken somewhat of a back seat during this shutdown. This is mainly because of our “bonnet on” policy where I do not take partisan political sides of an issue and because the issues at hand do not directly address the purview of REC’s broadcast related operations from a policy perspective. Right now, our priority is getting the government reopened, getting government employees back to work and getting applications and other services once again flowing through our shop. During the shutdown, we did not collect any money for services because we could not anticipate when the government would be reopen for business. In addition, the lack of some FCC resources (such as past application exhibits, etc.) compromised the quality of the work that I do here. I was not going to collect money only to have to give it back because it turns out we could not do that.
For those who have made sustaining donations to REC on a monthly basis, I would like to thank you all as that little bit of a donation did help during these difficult times.
Those who wish to help support REC’s efforts can do so in four different ways:
Have REC handle your FCC application filing needs. We handle LPFM, full-service FM (commercial and noncommercial), FM translators as well as FM booster stations in certain situations.
Direct donations can be made by going to our main website (recnet.com) and clicking on the donate link (REC is not a §501(c)(3) organization for tax purposes). You may donate one time or become a sustaining supporter once per month.
If you need to purchase a broadcast transmitter, you may purchase one through Progressive Concepts. Use the coupon code REC for a 5% discount on equipment manufactured by BW. REC receives a commission on those sales. (The 5% discount and REC support only applies to BW equipment and does not apply to antennas or anything else they sell.)
If you need streaming services, mobile apps, Alexa skills or other similar services, you can purchase those through Cirrus Streaming (SecureNet) using our specific website link. REC will receive a recurring commission for as long as you continue their services.
https://cir.st/?RSCODE=10070352
Money received helps keep our systems running and helps keep food on the table.
Thank you for your support.
Due to family priority, REC will be in reduced operations (unavailable for a portion of the day) on Tuesday, November 11 (this is also a federal holiday, REC is normally closed on holidays but given the situation, the phones will be on) and minimal operations (unavailable for most of the day) on Wednesday, November 12.
You can reach REC by calling 202 621-2355 or email lpfm@recnet.com.