Like many government agencies impacted by the government shutdown, the FCC has stated that they'll be operating with a skeleton crew moving forward, with some 1,700 full-time employees sent home until the shutdown ends. According to the FCC shutdown plan (pdf), FCC commissioners and three inspectors general will be working given they're not paid they are not paid via annual appropriations.

Another sixteen employees will be on staff to handle things like interference detection and disaster response, national security issues and IT support (though the FCC website just went down). Consumer protection will be one of the things put on hiatus (well, greater hiatus than is usually the case at the FCC).

"Consumer complaint and inquiry phone lines cannot be answered; consumer protection and local competition enforcement must cease; licensing services, including broadcast, wireless, and wireline, must cease; management of radio spectrum and the creation of new opportunities for competitive technologies and services for the American public must be suspended; and equipment authorizations, including those bringing new electronic devices to American consumers, cannot be provided," said the FCC.