Federal Communications Commission DA 25-922 DA 25-922 Released: September 30, 2025 IMPACT OF POTENTIAL LAPSE IN FUNDING ON COMMISSION OPERATIONS In the event of a partial lapse in federal government funding, the Commission will suspend most operations effective 12:00:01 a.m. EDT on October 1, 2025. During a suspension of normal operations some public facing filing systems and databases will remain available while others will not, as per the following list: (1) the Network Outage Reporting System (NORS), the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS), the Public Safety Support Center (PSSC), 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 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). (2) 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. and (3) 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), 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. and the Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD) The RMD will be publicly available, including via the API and .CSV file download. Users will not be able to log into the RMD to submit, revise, or delete filings. will be available to the public but with no user support. 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, 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. As described below, 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. If normal operations are suspended, the Commission’s filing window and mail operations will be open only for the purpose of receiving filings related to the spectrum auction activities authorized by section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 309(j), and filings necessary for the protection of life and property. Content on the Commission’s website will remain accessible to the public, but will not be updated during the suspension of operations except as to matters related to spectrum auction activities authorized by section 309(j) and matters necessary for the protection of life and property. Spectrum Auction Activities Authorized by Section 309(j). If normal operations are suspended, Commission staff will continue to perform ongoing work related to spectrum auction activities authorized by section 309(j) of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. § 309(j). All spectrum auction filing deadlines will continue to apply. Commission staff will be available to answer spectrum auction questions and may communicate with relevant parties regarding spectrum auction activities and requirements. Commission staff will not be available to perform work other than the section 309(j) activities described in this Public Notice and will not process any other materials delivered by U.S. mail to Commission facilities or any other materials received by the Commission electronically. Such materials will be considered as accepted on the day following the day of return to normal operations. The Commission’s website will have active links to the electronic systems listed above as needed. For matters related to spectrum auctions, including whether an activity is authorized under section 309(j) to continue during a suspension of operations, parties should call (202) 4180660 or send an email to the appropriate auction-specific email address. For example, emails regarding Auction 113 (Advanced Wireless Services (AWS-3)), should be sent to auction113@fcc.gov. If an activity is determined by Commission staff not to be authorized by section 309(j), staff will not take any further action on that activity during the suspension of regular Commission operations. Extension of Filing Deadlines: In the event operations are suspended, the normal filing deadlines under the Commission’s rules are extended by this Public Notice so that all Commission submissions that would be due during a suspension of operations through the day normal operations resume will be due on the next business day after normal operations resume. Unless otherwise announced, the FCC’s normal operations will resume on the day after funding is appropriated. Thus, for example, if funding is appropriated for the Commission on a Monday, the Commission would return to normal operations on Tuesday morning. To accommodate the orderly resumption of business, submissions due either during the suspension of operations (including the Monday when funding was appropriated), or on the Tuesday when normal operations resumed, would instead be due on Wednesday. In the event normal operations are suspended, we hereby waive the Commission’s rules to the extent necessary to effectuate this extension. This extension of filing deadlines does not apply to NORS and DIRS filings, to filings related to spectrum auction activities authorized by section 309(j), to provider responses to BDC fixed and mobile challenges or verification or audit requests, or to enforcement matters for which other deadlines have been set by the Enforcement Bureau. If the Commission is unable to restore electronic filing systems on the day that normal operations resume, the Commission may issue another public notice further extending filing deadlines. This Public Notice affects only the due dates for filings with the Commission that are scheduled to occur during the suspension of normal operations through the day normal operations resume, as described in the preceding paragraph, and except for the specific filings excluded in this Public Notice. We are not automatically extending the deadlines for any comment or filing periods that occur outside of this time period, but we will consider whether it is appropriate to do so once normal operations resume, and requests for extension of time will be considered consistent with the Commission’s normal practice. This Public Notice also does not affect the effective date of Commission actions or other events, or dates for filings with entities other than the Commission, During the period that the E106 system is not in operation, FCC Forms 620 and 621 may be submitted directly to the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) as provided in the Nationwide Programmatic Agreement (NPA), 47 CFR part 1, App. C, to the extent the SHPO will accept such filings. The deadlines set forth in the NPA for responses to the applicant or the SHPO shall be measured from the date of filing with the SHPO. even if such filings are also made with the Commission. Any filings with fund administrators (Universal Service, Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS), North American Numbering Plan Billing and Collection Agent, including the Reassigned Numbers Database Administrator) or entities other than the Commission (such as state commissions, U.S. Territorial Governments, or Tribal Governments) still must be filed timely with such entity, even if the Commission has suspended operations. These programs will continue to operate, and services such as TRS will continue to be provided, during a suspension of normal operations. If such filings are also required to be filed with the Commission, they should be filed with the Commission pursuant to the deadlines established in this Public Notice. We stress that filings related to spectrum auction activities authorized by section 309(j) can and must be made by or before the previously announced deadlines. Responsive Pleadings: To the extent that due dates for filings to which opposition, reply, or responsive pleadings are allowed are extended by this Public Notice (other than those related to spectrum auction activities authorized by section 309(j)), the due dates for opposition, reply, or responsive pleadings shall similarly be extended. As noted above, filings (other than those related to spectrum auction activities authorized by section 309(j)) submitted during the time normal operations are suspended through the day normal operations are resumed will be considered accepted by the Commission on the day following the return to normal operations. See supra notes 1 & 4. Where due dates for opposition, reply, or responsive pleadings to such filings would normally be counted from the date the underlying submission is filed, such due dates will be counted from the day after normal operations are resumed. Due dates for pleadings in reply or response to filings due or submitted prior to October 1, 2025 are not at this time extended beyond the day after the resumption of normal operations. These extensions do not apply to enforcement matters for which other dates have been set by the Enforcement Bureau. Enforcement Matters: Except as specified by the Enforcement Bureau, there are no extensions of deadlines relating to enforcement investigations and other enforcement proceedings that involve specific parties. The Enforcement Bureau may contact the parties to those proceedings regarding their case-specific deadlines, and parties are welcome to contact the Enforcement Bureau if they have any questions about those deadlines. Any dates conveyed by the Enforcement Bureau in these individual contacts will govern over those set forth in this Public Notice. This means, for example, if a deadline to file a response to an inquiry or subpoena falls on a day that the agency has suspended normal operations due to a lapse in funding, that deadline remains in effect unless the Enforcement Bureau grants an extension. The deadline extensions in this Public Notice will apply, however, to any rulemaking proceedings or other proceedings handled by the Enforcement Bureau in which public participation generally has been sought. Informal Consumer Complaints: The Consumer Complaints Center, including the main FCC Call Center and the American Sign Language Consumer Support Video Line, will be unavailable to the public until normal agency operations resume. Providers with deadlines that occur while the Consumer Complaints Center is unavailable to the public will be able to access the system and are expected to file required responses according to their deadlines. In addition to filing required responses, providers must continue to send these same responses to consumers directly. Broadband Data Collection (BDC). The BDC system, the National Broadband Map, and the Broadband Funding Map will remain open and accessible. Filers will be able to log in to the BDC system (http://bdc.fcc.gov), but Commission staff will not provide support related to the system or the maps during a suspension of normal operations. In addition, the Commission will not publish new versions of the National Broadband Map or Broadband Funding Map during this period. Providers subject to challenge, verification, or audit response deadlines established prior to the suspension of normal operations are still subject to such deadlines and should submit their responses in the BDC system. However, no new challenges will be processed, sent to providers, or adjudicated by FCC staff during the suspension of normal operations. Special Temporary Authority (STA): Any STAs expiring during the suspension of normal Commission operations are extended to the day after normal Commission operations resume except to the extent that such STA relates to activities authorized by section 309(j) as described herein. Emergency STA requests involving potential risks to life or property will be processed through the FCC Operations Center, (202) 418-1122, while the Commission’s electronic dockets and other online resources are unavailable. Fees and Other Payments: The FCC’s Fee Filer System will not be available while normal operations are suspended, and therefore no regulatory fee Regulatory fee payments for FY 2025 were due on September 25, 2025. See Commission Registration System (CORES) Is Open for Payment of Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Regulatory Fees; FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Are Due September 25, 2025, MD Docket Nos. 25-190 & 24-85, Public Notice, DA 25-807 (OEA Sept. 5, 2025). or application fee payments can be made through Fee Filer during such a period. Application fees are not required to submit a short-form application to participate in an auction.  No deadline for payments of any type is being extended by this Public Notice, however, except to the extent a payment can only be paid through Fee Filer, in which case the applicable due date is extended in the same manner as the due dates for other regulatory filings herein. Otherwise, we expect payments to be timely made through the use of US Bank as they normally would if normal operations had not been suspended.  Any payments made through US Bank, such as for civil monetary penalties, miscellaneous debts, and installment payments, will continue to be processed by US Bank and will be posted to the FCC financial system effective as of the date paid. Auction-related payments, including final, and upfront payments, will continue to be processed consistent with deadlines and instructions that have been announced by this Public Notice or which may be announced in future public notices. Transaction Shot Clocks: The Commission’s informal 180-day time clock for review of transactions will be suspended if normal operations are suspended. See generally FCC, Overview of the FCC’s Review of Significant Transactions, available at https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/guides/review-of-significant-transactions (“The Commission endeavors to complete its review of all transactions and issue an order within 180 days of accepting the application for filing.”). The time clock for each pending transaction will be paused on the day of review that coincides with the last business day before normal operations are suspended. The informal time clocks will be restarted on the business day following the day of return to normal operations. Thus, for example, if funding is appropriated for the Commission on a Monday, the Commission would return to normal operations on Tuesday, and the time clocks would be restarted on Wednesday. The Wireline Competition Bureau will release a separate public notice removing any necessary domestic section 214 transfer of control applications from streamlined processing, domestic section 214 discontinuance applications from the auto-grant process, and interconnected VoIP service provider numbering authorization applications from the auto-grant process during suspension of normal operations, as well as addressing other section 214 matters impacted by the suspension of normal operations. 47 U.S.C. § 214; 47 CFR § 52.15(g)(3). Employment Discrimination Filings: In an effort to preserve the rights employees and other aggrieved individuals may have under Federal employment discrimination statutes, the agency will receive and record receipt of discrimination complaints. Any such complaint must be submitted within forty-five (45) days of the alleged discriminatory action; anyone needing to file during the suspension of normal operations to meet this deadline should call (202) 418-1122 for further filing instructions. Please note that, while the agency will accept discrimination complaints that must be filed in order to preserve the rights of the aggrieved during a suspension of normal operations, discrimination complaints will not be investigated during the suspension. Emergencies: Although the Commission will not open for normal operations during a suspension of normal operations, parties may contact the Commission in the case of an emergency affecting the safety of life or the protection of property through the FCC Operations Center at (202) 418-1122 or FCCOPS@fcc.gov, which will remain staffed. Pursuant to 47 CFR § 1.3, and their respective delegated authorities, this Public Notice is issued by the Consumer and Governmental Affairs, Enforcement, Media, Public Safety and Homeland Security, Space, Wireless Telecommunications, and Wireline Competition Bureaus, and the Offices of Economics and Analytics, Engineering and Technology, General Counsel, International Affairs, and the Managing Director. -FCC- 7