**PUBLIC NOTICE**![](media/image1.png){width="0.7388888888888889in"
height="0.7458333333333333in"}

**FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION**

**445 TWELFTH STREET, S.W.; TW-A325**

**WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554**

News Media Information: (202) 418-0500

Fax-On-Demand: (202) 418-2830

Internet: http://www.fcc.gov

ftp.fcc.gov

**DA 99-2205**

# Released: October 15, 1999

WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUREAU ANNOUNCES THE AVAILABILITY OF
UNIVERSAL LICENSING SYSTEM (ULS) DATABASE FILES VIA THE INTERNET

The Universal Licensing System (ULS) public access files are now
available for downloading via the Internet. These files contain complete
application and license data, along with daily updates, that can be used
for private programming and research efforts. Anyone can download them
directly to a personal computer free of charge.

**Available Services**

Public access files are created for all of the radio services that have
been converted to ULS. As additional services are added to ULS, public
access files will be made available for those as well. A notice will be
placed in the *ULS Update Newsletter* at
http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls/newsletter when this occurs.

**NOTE**: Public access files from the Antenna Structure Registration
(ASR) database are not yet available. In the interim, ASR data is
accessible via the "Query" feature on the Antenna homepage at
<http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/antenna>.

Table 1: Services Currently Available and File Naming Convention

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  **Radio             **Complete     **Complete     **Daily        **Daily
  Service(s)**        Application    License Data** Application    License Data**
                      Data**                        Data** ^1^     ^1^
  ------------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --------------
  Amateur             a_amat.zip     l_amat.zip     a_am_xxx.zip   l_am_xxx.zip

  Aircraft Services   a_aircr.zip    l_aircr.zip    a_ac_xxx.zip   l_ac_xxx.zip

  General Mobile      a_gmrs.zip     l_gmrs.zip     a_gm_xxx.zip   l_gm_xxx.zip
  Radio Service                                                    
  (GMRS)                                                           

  Cellular            a_cell.zip     l_cell.zip     a_cl_xxx.zip   l_cl_xxx.zip
  Radiotelephone                                                   
  Services                                                         

  Paging,             a_paging.zip   l_paging.zip   a_pg_xxx.zip   l_pg_xxx.zip
  Radiotelephone, and                                              
  Offshore                                                         
  Radiotelephone                                                   
  Services                                                         

  Applications for    a_aatc.zip     n/a            a_aa_xxx.zip   l_aa_xxx.zip
  Transfers and                                                    
  Assignments                                                      

  Microwave and       a_micro.zip    l_micro.zip    a_mw_xxx.zip   l_mw_xxx.zip
  Microwave Broadcast                                              
  Auxiliary                                                        

  Market-based        a_market.zip   l_market.zip   a_mk_xxx.zip   l_mk_xxx.zip
  Auctioned Services                                               
  ^2^                                                              
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

^1^ "xxx" denotes the day of the week.

^2^ Market-based auctioned services include 900 MHz Specialized Mobile
Radio (SMR), Auction 20 - VHF Public Coast Service, Auction 18 - 220 MHz
Radio Service, Personal Communications Services (PCS), Wireless
Communications Services (WCS), Auction 17 - Microwave Local Multipoint
Distribution Service, and Auction 16 - Land Mobile SMR, 806-821/851-866
MHz.

**NOTE**: Because applications for a transfer of control or assignment
of authorization can be associated with multiple radio services, a
separate download file contains these applications. Once these
transactions are consummated, each of the licenses will be updated
appropriately. The following day, the license data will be updated and
reflected in the appropriate service's daily license data file.

**Location of Files**

The ULS data files are located on the ULS home page
([www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls](http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls))). To access the
files, scroll to the hypertext links labeled "Download Complete ULS
Databases" and "Download ULS Daily Transaction Files." The complete
files are created at 5:00 am eastern time Sunday morning and the daily
files are created at 5:00 am eastern time Tuesday through Saturday
mornings. The file created on Tuesday contains Monday data, Wednesday
contains Tuesday data, etc. The data files can also be accessed from the
FCC's ftp site (<ftp://ftp.fcc.gov/pub/Bureaus/Wireless/Databases/uls>).

**NOTE:** A zipped file size of 110 bytes indicates that there were no
new or modified applications or licenses for that radio service for that
day.

### 

### Definition Files

Four files containing definitions are available for downloading:

-   *pa_ddef.xls* (**Attachment A** to this Public Notice) is an Excel
    file containing definitions of the data fields in the database
    tables.

-   *pa_ddl.sql* (**Attachment B** to this Public Notice) contains the
    SQL for the table definitions for Amateur, Aircraft, GMRS, Paging,
    Cellular, Microwave and Market-based applications and licenses.

-   *pa_codes.txt* (**Attachment C** to this Public Notice) contains
    code definitions for the data elements in the tables.

-   *pa_tdefs.txt* (**Attachment D** to this Public Notice) contains
    table abbreviations and names.

File Format

The data is formatted as flat ASCII files and has been compressed and
stored as "zip" files. Any of the popular \"zip\" utilities can be used
to unzip the files. Each zipped file contains a set of data files named
"*xx*.dat" where *xx* are two unique characters to indicate the content
of the specific data file (*see Tables 2 to 4*).

### Data Files

The data files produced by unzipping a downloaded file will vary
depending on the type of data (application or license) and radio service
selected. Each data file is pipe-delimited (\"\|\") and contains a
specific type of data (e.g., names and addresses, location data). The
naming convention for these files is *xx.dat*, where *xx* indicates the
table from which the data came. Additionally, each data file has the
same name as its corresponding table; for example, file FR.dat contains
data from frequency data table FR.

Also, each record type begins with the same unique two-character record
type code that identifies the table from which the data was extracted.
The last data field is not followed by a pipe.

Tables 2 to 4 summarize the available data tables. Note that these
tables show the hierarchy of the data tables for each service, and which
data tables are required (R) or optional (O) for the applications and
licenses within a service.

# Table 2. Public Access Tables for the Aircraft, GMRS, and Amateur Radio Services

  --------------- ---- ---- ---- ---- --------------------- -------------- --------- ---------- --------- ------------- ---------
  **Tables**                          **Table Contents**    **Aircraft**             **GMRS**             **Amateur**   

  **Hierarchy**                                             **App**        **Lic**   **App**    **Lic**   **App**       **Lic**

  HD                                  Main Form 605 data    R              R         R          R         R             R
                                      that carries over to                                                              
                                      the license                                                                       

                  AD                  Main Form 605 data    R                        R                    R             
                                      that does not carry                                                               
                                      over to the license                                                               

                  EN                  Names and addresses   R              R         R          R         R             R

                  CO                  FCC Comments          O              O         O          O         O             O

                  HS                  Application/License   R              R         R          R         R             R
                                      History                                                                           

                  SC                  Special conditions                   O                    O                       O

                  AC                  Aircraft data         R              R                                            

                  AM                  Amateur data                                                        R             R

                       VC             Requested vanity call                                               O             
                                      sign                                                                              

                  AT                  Attachment            O                        O                    O             
                                      information                                                                       
  --------------- ---- ---- ---- ---- --------------------- -------------- --------- ---------- --------- ------------- ---------

Table 3. Public Access Tables for the Market-based Auctioned and
Site-based Services

  --------------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ------------------ ------------------ --------- ------------ --------- -------------- --------- ---------- ---------
  **Tables**                                             **Market-based**             **Paging**             **Cellular**             **Micro\   
                                                                                                                                      wave**     

  **Hierarchy**                       **Table Contents** **App**            **Lic**   **App**      **Lic**   **App**        **Lic**   **App**    **Lic**

  HD                                  Main Form 601 data R                  R         R            R         R              R         R          R
                                      that carries over                                                                                          
                                      to license                                                                                                 

                  AD                  Main Form 601 data R                            R                      R                        R          
                                      that does not                                                                                              
                                      carry over to                                                                                              
                                      license                                                                                                    

                  CF                  Multiple call      O                            O                      O                        O          
                                      signs or file                                                                                              
                                      numbers that                                                                                               
                                      application                                                                                                
                                      applies to                                                                                                 

                  EN                  Names and          R                  R         R            R         R              R         R          R
                                      addresses                                                                                                  

                  CO                  FCC Comments       O                  O         O            O         O              O         O          O

                  HS                  Application and    R                  R         R            R         R              R         R          R
                                      License history                                                                                            

                  IR                  IRAC status                                                  O                                             O

                  CS                  COSER status                                                 O                                             O

                  MW                  Microwave                                                                                       O          R
                                      administrative                                                                                             
                                      data                                                                                                       

                  BC                  Broadcast Call                                                                                  O          O
                                      Signs                                                                                                      

                  FC                  Frequency                                                                                       O          O
                                      Coordination                                                                                               

                  SC                  Special condition                     O                      O                        O                    O
                                      for licenses                                                                                               

                  BO                  License build out                     R                                               R                    
                                      data                                                                                                       

                  CP                  Control point data                              O            O         O              O         O          O

                  SI                  SID number                                                             O              O                    

                  MK                  Market data        O                  R                                O              O                    

                       MP             P&D market data    O                  O                                O              O                    

                            MF        Disaggregated      O                  O                                O              O                    
                                      frequency data                                                                                             

                            MC        Partition          O                  O                                O              O                    
                                      coordinates                                                                                                

                  LO                  Location data      O                  O         O            R         O              R         O          R

                       OP             Area of operation                                                                               O          O
                                      text                                                                                                       

                       LS             Location special                      O                      O                        O                    O
                                      conditions                                                                                                 

                       BL             Location build out                                                                    O                    
                                      data                                                                                                       

                       AN             Antenna data                                    O            R         O              R         O          R

                            FR        Frequency data                                  O            R         O              R         O          R

                                 FS   Frequency special                                            O                        O                    O
                                      conditions                                                                                                 

                                 BF   Frequency build                                              R                                             R
                                      out data                                                                                                   

                                 RA   Radial data                                     O            R         O              R                    

                                 EM   Emission data                                   O            O         O              O         O          O

                                 PC   Points of Com data                              O            O         O              O                    

                  PA                  Paths                                                                                           O          R

                       SG             Segments                                                                                        O          R

                  AT                  Attachment         O                            O                      O                        O          
                                      information                                                                                                
  --------------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ------------------ ------------------ --------- ------------ --------- -------------- --------- ---------- ---------

**Table 4. Public Access Tables for Assignment and Transfer
Applications**

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  **Tables**                                **\                              **AA/TC**
                                            Table Contents**                 
  --------------- ---- ---- ---- ----- ---- -------------------------------- -----------
  **Hierarchy**                                                              **App**

                  HD                        Main Form 603 data that carries  R
                                            over to the license              

                       AD                   Main Form 603 data that does not R
                                            carry over to license            

                       CF                   Multiple call signs or file      O
                                            numbers affected by this         
                                            application                      

                       EN                   Names and addresses for          R
                                            licensees, contacts,             
                                            transferees, assignees,          
                                            transferors, assignors, owners   

                       CO                   FCC comments                     O

                       HS                   Application and License history  R

                       TA                   Transfer/Assignment data         O

                       MK                   Market data                      O

                            MP              Partition market data            O

                                 MF         Disaggregated frequency data     O

                                 MC         Partition coordinates            O

                       LO                   Location data                    O

                       AT                   Attachment information           O
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**NOTE**: Because data can differ from service to service, particular
columns in certain tables will always be null for some services but
contain data for other services.

Using the Data

Data can be joined whenever the column name is the same in both tables.
The primary column for joining license data is the call sign. The
primary column for joining application data is the ULS file number. In
addition to the call sign or ULS file number, each application and
license has been assigned a unique, 9-digit system identifier. This
system identifier is useful in cases where the status of the call sign
has changed, insofar as it allows you to differentiate between the
active call sign and the call sign that has expired or been cancelled or
terminated. (This situation occurs commonly with Amateur vanity
licenses.)

License data for site-based services can be joined by the following
combination of columns:

call_sign

call_sign and location_number

call_sign, location_number and antenna_number

call_sign, location_number, antenna_number and frequency_assigned

call_sign, path number, location_number and antenna_number

call_sign, path_number and segment_number

License data for market-based services can be joined by the following
combination of columns:

call_sign and market code

call_sign, market_code and market_partition_code

call_sign, market_code, market_partition_code and
undefined_partitioned_area

call_sign, market_code, market_partition_code and defined_partition_code

The unique system identifier can be used in place of the call_sign or in
conjunction with it.

Application data can be joined using the same columns as denoted above
for license data, except the uls_file_number must be substituted for the
call_sign. The unique system identifier can be used in place of the
uls_file_number or in conjunction with it.

**[For Further Information or Assistance]{.smallcaps}**

For general information about ULS, including answers to frequently asked
questions regarding submitting applications, finding the status of
pending applications, and searching the ULS database, the Commission
recommends first consulting the ULS webpage at
[http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls]{.underline}. Individuals having specific
questions not addressed on the webpage may contact Commission staff via
phone or e-mail as described below.

[FCC Technical Support Hotline]{.underline}: (202) 414-1250 (TTY --
(202) 414-1255), or via e-mail at ulscomm@fcc.gov. Contact the Technical
Support Hotline about questions concerning computer access to ULS, TIN
registration, uploading files, or submitting attachments in ULS. The
hotline is available Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., local
eastern time. In order to provide better service to ULS users and ensure
the security of the electronic filing system, all calls to the hotline
are recorded.

[ULS Licensing Support]{.underline}: 1-888-CALL-FCC (225-5322) (select
Auction/ULS Forms prompt), or via e-mail at <ulshelp@fcc.gov>. Contact
Licensing Support with questions about which application purpose(s) are
appropriate for a particular filing, what information is being requested
on a ULS Form or Schedule, or any other ULS-related licensing matter.
ULS Licensing Support is available Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to
5:30 p.m. local eastern time.

Comments on ULS should be sent via email to: ulscomm@fcc.gov.