Download and process FCC ULS bulk license database files for spectrum analysis across all wireless services
domain: fcc.gov · 6 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
Sampled — shipped under file-level sampling, not individually fact-checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Steps
Navigate to the FCC ULS daily transaction files at https://www.fcc.gov/uls/transactions/daily-weekly — no authentication required
Download the weekly full database file for the desired service (e.g., LS for land mobile, PW for public safety, AM for amateur) in pipe-delimited .zip format
Extract the archive; primary files include HD (header/license record), EN (entity/licensee name and address), FR (frequency assignments), and LO (location) tables with shared call_sign join key
Join HD to EN on call_sign to get licensee name, entity type, and FRN; join HD to FR on call_sign to get assigned frequencies, bandwidth, and emission designators
Filter by radio_service_code in the HD file and expire_date to isolate active licenses; licenses with radio_service_code starting with 'P' are public safety
For incremental updates, download daily transaction files from the same page and apply inserts (I), updates (U), and deletes (D) indicated by the record_type column in each row
Known gotchas
The bulk files are pipe-delimited with no header row; the field order is documented per-service in the ULS Database Definitions PDF on the FCC website — field order differs between service types
FRN (FCC Registration Number) ties licenses to the licensee entity but is not always present for legacy records pre-dating the FRN system; do not use FRN as the sole join key for historical analysis
Daily transaction files apply only delta changes; a missed daily file creates a gap that cannot be backfilled from daily files alone — fall back to the weekly full extract to resync if more than one daily file is missed
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