We are experiencing a processing delay of several days at the FCC. The problem is located at the FCC, as Maria Somma's message to me indicates. You can share her comments if your members call with a question. Maria's message below: Tom - The FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) electronic batch filing (EBF) system stopped processing all commercial and Amateur license files early on Tuesday, June 28. I alerted the FCC IT staff which was looking into the issue. By midday Thursday June 30 most commercial and VEC license and examination session files began processing again. The fix for our organization remains elusive, however. I assumed the issue would be cleared up quickly as the FCC has done in the past. Finding a resolution has been escalated to priority one at FCC and resources have been reprioritized to resolve this. I have been in contact with the FCC every day inquiring about their progress and will continue to do so until the problem is resolved. I have also asked them to provide us with an alternate filing option ASAP. As of today, the ARRL VEC had more than 900 applications and nearly 275 exam sessions in the queue waiting to be processed by FCC. As soon as the FCC staff discovers and corrects the cause of the EBF system problem, we will immediately file the backlog, which would take only a day or so to release. A lot of candidates and volunteer examiners have begun asking why new call signs or license upgrades have not yet been issued. We usually transmit the exam sessions to FCC as soon as possible, which is 24 to 48 hours from the day received in our office. Therefore, questions from the field about the delay is understandable. Granting of license applications will continue to be delayed as a result of the anomaly at FCC. I would like to be able to place a news item on the web to head off some of the calls and emails. Sincerely, Maria Somma, AB1FM ARRL VEC Manager Tom Gallagher - NY2RF Chief Executive Officer ARRL Headquarters ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio(tm) 860 594 0404 cell 704 907 7158 tgallagher@arrl.org<mailto:tgallagher@arrl.org>