FCC Has Faced Computer Issues Throughout 2023
Recent problems with the FCC’s filing systems such as the universal licensing system (see 2306140077) are the latest in a struggle with computer problems that have plagued the agency since the start of 2023, multiple broadcast attorneys told us. Monday,…
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the agency’s On Circulation page wouldn’t load for part of the day, and the online public inspection files used by broadcasters have been experiencing intermittent problems since January. Although the frequency of issues has decreased, the system remains unreliable, users said. The FCC didn’t comment on the ongoing outages and computer issues, possible fixes or causes. Broadcasters and attorneys uploading public file documents often find their entries don’t show up, or the system doesn’t list them as having been uploaded even though the documents are there, said Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Anne Crump. “You can see the documents listed, but you can’t look at them,” she said. “It could be as simple as not being able to upload,” said broadcast attorney Dawn Sciarrino. Though attorneys told us the public file system has improved since it caused the agency to issue deadline extensions at the start of the year, it's still a problem, they said. It was one of the subjects of a Media Bureau panel at the NAB Show in April, with Audio Division Chief Albert Shuldiner then calling it the problem the bureau gets more calls about than anything else. Crump and Sciarrino said they tell their clients to screenshot the error messages that turn up and keep them. That way when “it’s seven years later and there’s a license renewal and they ask why you were late uploading something, you have an answer,” Sciarrino said. Quarterly issues/programs lists are due in all broadcaster online public files July 10, and could be affected by the computer issues, broadcast attorneys said. “It’s a widespread problem, but it hasn’t really stopped me from being able to do something that’s important,” said Lerman Senter broadcast attorney David Burns, though he qualified that by noting the current ULS outage is likely preventing action on important applications for his clients.