REC Networks is preparing for a potential government shutdown
Protocols are being put into place in the event the government closes on Saturday.
As the news flows in surrounding the legislation needed that will keep the government open after Friday, December 20, 2024, REC Networks has enacted our shutdown protocol in the event of a government closure if no agreement is reached by Friday night.
We do stress that the only official information regarding FCC operations during the period of time where there is no appropriations will come from the agency itself. The FCC will normally release official statements which should propagate to REC’s FCC.today website. Therefore, any information that REC provides, absent any official FCC release is based on our experiences in the past, but no potential shutdown situation is the same and the actual outcome may vary.
In the event of a closure of the FCC, normally all employees except those that are considered essential are furloughed. A skeleton operation will remain to handle urgent safety of life situations only. No routine business will be conducted. By rule, in the event that the FCC is closed any filings due during the closure will be due on the first business day the agency reopens. Please note though, the FCC has in the past extended these deadlines to allow for additional days. Therefore, it is important to watch all FCC news releases. We will do our best to pass the message along.
It is important to realize that even if there is continuing resolution or other legislation passed to keep the government open after Friday, it is possible the FCC may remain open for a temporary period of time through funding from a previous year’s appropriation. This is why it is important to stay tuned for official information from the FCC on the state of their Agency.
The closure of the FCC could lead to the loss of various FCC systems such as LMS. Therefore, filing of applications may not be possible during the closure. Applicants, especially those from the 2021 NCE Filing Window with expiring construction permits should file their license to cover applications on the first day that systems return as those deadlines will be extended to the first business day or whatever day the FCC will subsequently announce.
Because some REC services, such as eLMS (which is used to drive updates to FCC.today and FCCdata) will not be able to operate, our site updates will be frozen at that time for US FCC records. REC services that utilize the FCC Contour API, such as myLPFM encroachment reports and U/D studies as well as the HAAT tool will not be available during a shutdown of that resource. The Contour API will also cause some maps on FCCdata to not display correctly.
Unless reduced or closed operations were previously announced, REC will be in a shutdown mode where we will continue to provide a level of phone and email support during this period. We will have some ability to preliminarily check for potential availability using our backup sources but will need to follow up after government resumption in order to provide a more authoritative answer.
REC Networks has a dedicated Government Shutdown Page which includes information updates, “survival” details based on information from REC and the FCC as well as archives of certain database and PDF files from the FCC that may need to be accessed during a shutdown.
REC Networks government shutdown information page:
recnet.com/shutdown
We do anticipate that in the event of a shutdown, the FCC will keep their main website operational. As long as the FCC keeps their electronic documents (EDOCS) service available, any news releases from the FCC will be available at FCC.today. FCC.today will remain operational for updates from the FCC and the US Office of Personnel Management.
We are aware that the deadline for filing a time share agreement with aggregated points or a settlement agreement in the 2023 Third Generation LPFM Filing Window is on January 15, 2025. Unless the shutdown is extended into the middle of January, 2025, we do not anticipate that this deadline will be impacted. Unlike applications involving technical changes, time share agreements and universal settlements normally do not require the access of FCC or REC systems to prepare for those types of filings. Therefore, we do not anticipate a postponement of the January 15, 2025 date.
You may continue to support REC’s efforts by donating by visiting the REC Networks home page (recnet.com) and clicking on the Ko-Fi Donate link.
Updates from REC will be available through this Substack, the REC Networks home page, the REC Networks Facebook page, REC Networks on Bluesky, REC Networks on Twitter/X and Michelle Bradley on LinkedIn.
If you have any questions, please email REC Networks at lpfm at recnet.com.
REC takes no political position on the circumstances surrounding the threat of a shutdown or an actual shutdown if one takes place. Our concerns are for the welfare of career federal employees during the shutdown and others outside the federal sector who are dependent on an open and functioning government.