AG13
QST de W1AW  
ARRL Bulletin 13  ARLB013
>From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  June 22, 2023
To all radio amateurs 

SB QST ARL ARLB013
ARLB013 FCC ULS Reopened, Except Electronic Batch Filing System

On Wednesday morning, June 21, 2023, the FCC had reopened the
Universal Licensing System (ULS) and supporting systems, according
to an email distributed to VEC organizations. However, as of 4:00 PM
on Wednesday, the Electronic Batch Filing (EBF) system, used by VEC
organizations for filing exam sessions, individual applications, and
club license applications, was still not available as promised.
Unfortunately, this means applications for new and upgraded
licenses, and individual and club license filings still cannot be
uploaded in the system for issuance.

When the EBF system becomes available, the Commission is requesting
VECs to limit submissions into the filing system. In an email sent
by the FCC, all EBF filers were asked to adhere to a restricted
upload schedule in order to keep the EBF system stable and to avoid
any potential technical problems. The FCC will be monitoring to
ensure the EBF system is stable during this reopening period. If
they assess that the upload volume is too high, they will send out
another notice with directions to reduce the amount of uploads per
hour.
 
ARRL VEC will comply with the FCC directive, limiting our
transmissions but sending as many backlogged sessions as possible
without overloading their system. The files will be submitted to the
FCC in the order in which they were received, starting with the
files from Monday, June 12, and moving forward from there. ARRL VEC
will begin submitting the backlogged applications as soon as the EBF
system becomes available, and assuming all FCC systems remain
stable.
 
In an FCC notice published on June 21, 2023 (please see,
https://www.fcc.gov/document/uls-tcns-e-106-and-asr-available), the
Commission provided a deadline extension for filings in the ULS and
the Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) system, explaining,
'Because parties could not make electronic filings or view the
contents of the affected systems while they were unavailable, we are
extending the deadlines for all regulatory filings that were due in
the affected systems between June 9, 2023, and June 29, 2023, until
Friday, June 30, 2023.

'We note that we have provided for a longer extension for these
filings than initially contemplated in the June 13 Public Notice in
anticipation of high traffic volumes on these systems in the coming
days. In that regard, we encourage filers to consider deferring
discretionary filings this week, and we encourage filers preparing
large submissions to coordinate in advance with [the] staff of the
Bureaus.'