Upgrading to a new cell phone? A government shutdown means you could be waiting a while.

If the federal government stays closed for more than a couple weeks, new wireless devices may take longer to get to market, disrupting the economy in the process. That's because the Federal Communications Commission is charged with testing and approving new wireless products. And the people who work there were forced to stay home, along with thousands of other federal employees. Industry analyst Jeffrey Silva said that a brief shutdown probably won't cause many problems. But he added that a prolonged shutdown "could very well lead to a backlog and delays in the equipment approval process, a far more troublesome scenario for manufacturers and other stakeholders."