WASHINGTON-The wireless industry will be gearing up soon for cutover to a universal electronic licensing system that will consolidate 11 systems and databases into one and allow a one-day turnaround in a best-case scenario. The on-line, secure, private system, demonstrated earlier this month at the Federal Communications Commission, looks relatively easy to use, but things may not be what they seem, at least for now.
“The bad news is, the system will be difficult to deploy,” said Karen Wrege, head of the ULS task force. “It will take practice to make all of this work at home, and we know we are going to have problems. There is no easy way to get all the information associated with wireless filings together, and we are trying to put together one-stop shopping.”
The ULS, which is supposed to be implemented in full by September, will present a consolidated database that uses a browser, allows for aggregation across wireless services, consolidates 50 forms into five using only one set of rules, and will allow public access (via password and payment) to licensing and market information. Currently, users of the FCC’s licensing database are charged $2.30 per minute, but it is unknown at this time if that charge will be changed or even dropped in the future.
According to Wrege, the new system will be put together service by service. The text of the ULS notice of proposed rule making was released March 18, and commenters may be able to influence the first version of electronic licensing later this year.
On the ULS site, users will be identified first by their tax ID number and a password. A licensee ID number also will be issued by the FCC to make sure a TIN is masked. Wrege assured licensees and attorneys that confidential material would be kept confidential, and that a quality-control system would be in place. In addition, printouts of completed and submitted applications would be accepted as proof of filing because only submitted applications would contain a filing number. Granted licenses will either be mailed or emailed to the licensee.
Upon submission of an application, fees can be paid on the system via credit card or they can be paid by mail. Batch payments also will be possible. If a licensee fails to submit a completed ULS application, it will be returned within 24 hours with prompts regarding the missing information. Many of the questions on the form are in the form of “yes” or “no.” If a licensee needs to clarify or explain an answer, a waiver must be submitted electronically as well.
The task force still has some issues to resolve regarding simultaneous viewing of applications (for example, between lawyer and client, or between parties buying and selling from each other) and with obtaining two signatures (in reality, two TINs) on a document.
The commission said the benefits of the ULS*could outweigh the initial inconvenience and newness. What the commission wants is user reaction to:
filing all routine requests regarding change of address, change of contact name, etc., via on-line ULS forms, instead of on paper, except in cases of emergency;
streamlining Wireless Telecommunications Bureau authorization and application processing, including cancellations and terminations, amendments to pending apps, modifications of existing licenses, reinstatements, and construction and coverage notification requirements;
possible standardization of the collection of ownership information across wireless service licensees;
using the taxpayer identification number as a standard identifier; and
eliminating unnecessary or duplicate filings across the services.
