The ARRL VEC had hoped to see the problem resolved by now, but since February 22, an intractable mainframe computer system glitch has kept the VEC from managing and posting the schedule of future examination sessions and processing application data from completed sessions to the FCC.

“This time it’s not an FCC problem but our own, said ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM. “What we thought initially was an easy fix was not to be. There are approximately 400 future test dates waiting to be submitted into the system, and nearly 200 completed sessions are waiting to be transmitted to the FCC.”

Somma said the system has been working “sporadically,” so a few test sessions here and there have been getting through to the FCC for processing, so it could act on the applications. Those whose applications did not slip through are still waiting.

The problem centers on a legacy mainframe system. The ARRL IT Department has indicated that it hopes to resolve the problem by week’s end, if not sooner.