Broadcasters trying to file applications for facility changes, sell their station, or pretty much make any other change that requires approval by the Federal Communications Commission, have been frustrated by an unprecedented outage. The FCC’s License Management System remained offline for a second day on Thursday.
The FCC did not respond to emails seeking an explanation for what’s gone awry, and the System Alerts & Notifications page on the FCC’s website has offered no clues for users since the outage began. Previous, shorter outages have led the FCC to adjust filing deadlines, but it hasn’t made a similar announcement for the current situation.
The LMS system, which had been scheduled for maintenance this week, is the means by which Media Bureau applications are submitted to the FCC. It is the worst outage for LMS since the Commission begam transitioning broadcasters to the LMS in 2019, and later made it required in January 2022. The FCC promised the system would be more reliable for the broadcasters, attorneys, engineers, and consultants who previously relied on the Consolidated Data Base System, or CDBS, since it was introduced in 2000. The CDBS was discontinued for good on Jan. 2, 2025.