Due to the Federal Government shutdown, the FCC has shut down all but emergency operations for the duration. The ULS system is also off-line as there is no staffing to monitor the system for security or to provide maintenance. Life or death emergencies that require a STA can be telephoned to the FCC watch officer. Routine matters involving STAs will not be accepted. The frequency coordinators will still accept applications for processing with the understanding of the applicant that it cannot be processed to the FCC until the economic issues in Washington DC are resolved. Any licenses requiring renewal (e.g. expirations) may be delayed until the day after DC gets rolling again. No enforcement action will be taken in this interval as there is no field staff working.
No enforcement is not the same as freedom from oversight. Just because there is no funding currently for a Federal Oversight Committee does not mean that operators and broadcasters can overturn federal laws and ignore federal mandates. All laws that were in place before the shut down are still in affects, and enforceable as soon as the FCC begins normal operations. In fact, there is reason to believe that commissioners continue working in the face of shut down, so it is very reasonable to expect that gross misuse of airwaves and spectrum will result in fines and shutdown orders still.
Please click here for the Procedures for Filings in the Event of a Lapse in Funding.