Commissioner Geoffrey Starks will hold an off-the-record panel of Black former FCC chairs Feb. 10, in honor of Black History Month, said a public notice Wednesday. Former Chairmen William Kennard and Michael Powell and former Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who served as acting chairwoman in 2013, will participate. The event is in-person only.

Cheryl Leanza is the co-chair of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Task Force on Media and Telecom (see 2501210070).

The Donald Trump administration’s decision to remove all members of the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) raises questions for the wireless industry, since the board was developing a report on the Salt Typhoon cyberattacks (see 2412050044), industry experts said. China's Ministry of State Security reportedly launched the attacks. The dismissal came as acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman removed all members of departmental advisory boards as the administration cleaned house. “This is a case of out with the old, in with the new,” Daniel Castro, vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, told us. “Terminating the CSRB is a way ... Trump's team" can remove "any potential [Joe] Biden holdovers” and seems like “part of a broader reset of advisory committees for the new administration.” Castro predicted that federal law enforcement will pursue an investigation into Salt Typhoon and work with the private sector on it, “but CSRB won't be the lead vehicle for this activity in the short term.” The CSRB was created as part of a Biden executive order aimed at strengthening U.S. cybersecurity. CSRB is part of DHS, and the department’s “leadership, and its actions came under heavy criticism by then-candidate Trump and the GOP,” John Strand of Strand Consult said in an email. “There are legitimate issues of how to handle Salt Typhoon,” he said. “That Salt Typhoon even happened is a wake-up call, and it demands a top-to-bottom review of security and likely a reboot of the national cybersecurity establishment, which is falling short of expectations.” “Disappointing that the CSRB was disbanded, especially given their work looking into salt typhoon,” Daniel Cuthbert, a London-based cybersecurity expert, said on X. “That report would have been vitally important for not just the US but many others.”

The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents FCC and FTC employees, is challenging the White House's Schedule F executive order aimed at reducing federal worker protections against firing. The EO -- one of a slew the new Trump administration issued Monday (see 2501210070) -- expressly applies to career employees, who typically remain in their jobs after a presidential transition, NTEU said in a complaint filed this week with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (docket 1:25-cv-00170). NTEU said the EO runs contrary to Office of Personnel Management rules that limit transferring positions into new categories. The EO "will radically reshape the civil service by drastically increasing the number and type of employees who are in a new category of excepted service and be at risk of dismissal without adverse action rights," the union said. It asked the court to enjoin President Donald Trump from instituting or enforcing the EO.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is leaving a number of key officials in place, at least for now, while changing others as he takes over the agency. He unveiled selections for leaders of bureaus and offices in a Wednesday release. For example, Carr named FCC veteran Jacob Lewis as acting general counsel, replacing Michelle Ellison. Carr was general counsel before being confirmed as a member of the FCC. Erin Boone, just tapped as a Carr aide (see 2501210022), will also serve as acting chief of the Media Bureau, replacing Holly Saurer, who recently left the post (see 2501130071). Patrick Webre, a deputy chief of the Enforcement Bureau, is now acting chief, replacing Peter Hyun, who had also been serving in an acting capacity. Carr named Eduard Bartholme acting chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, replacing Alejandro Roark. Joel Taubenblatt will continue leading the Wireless Bureau, Trent Harkrader the Wireline Bureau and Debra Jordan the Public Safety Bureau, though all three are currently in an acting capacity. Mark Stephens remains in place as managing director. Carr plans a second release on appointments, the notice said.

The FCC Office of Communications Business Opportunities on Tuesday issued small-entity guides on compliance with the agency's wireless handset hearing aid order, "all-in" video pricing order and pole attachment disputes order. It said in docket 23-388 that the hearing aid compatibility rule for handset manufacturers will take effect on or after Dec. 14, 2026, while the hearing aid compatibility rule for nationwide service providers will take effect after June 14, 2027, and after June 13, 2028 for non-nationwide service providers. In docket 23-203, the FCC said that while the all-in pricing order is already in effect, cable operators with annual receipts of $47 million or less have until March 19 to comply. The agency said in docket 17-84 that the pole attachment disputes order went into effect July 25.

John Strand of Strand Consult emailed that he agreed with Commissioner Brendan Carr’s sharp criticism of the FCC’s order on the Salt Typhoon cyberattacks, approved 3-2 with Carr and Commissioner Nathan Simington dissenting (see 2501160041). “The division of roles between the various authorities is always decided by the national parliaments,” Strand emailed: “National regulators are not the ones who interpret the rules, but the ones who execute the rules that the political system makes.” Strand said the Secure Equipment Act, which was quickly enacted in 2021, shows how the system should work: “The FCC finds a thing it needs to do; it checks the books on whether it has the authority to do it. If not, it goes to Congress and asks permission. Permission is granted in a matter of weeks, nearly unanimously. There is no reason why that process should not be pursued here with Salt Typhoon.”

The FCC on Thursday unveiled its selection of the initial 707 participants for the FCC’s cybersecurity pilot program, including 645 schools and districts, 50 libraries and 12 consortia. The program's future is unclear. Commissioners approved its launch 3-2 in June, with Republican Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissenting (see 2406060043). Both questioned whether the FCC had the authority to act. The FCC said Thursday, “Participants in the three-year pilot program will receive support to defray the costs of eligible cybersecurity services and equipment and provide the Commission with data to better understand whether and how universal service funds could be used to improve school and library defenses against increasing cyberattacks.” All 50 states, in addition to Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, and several Tribal lands, "are reflected by the Pilot participants announced today," the FCC said. Illinois had the largest number of winners at 76, 12 more than California, which was second.

The partner governments of the Global Coalition on Telecommunications have agreed to guidelines on the certification of open radio access network solutions and the adoption of AI by the telecom industry, NTIA said Thursday. The GCOT nations are the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Canada and Japan. “The GCOT ‘Open RAN Certification Principles’ highlight a range of considerations to inform industry-led certification approaches for Open RAN-based network equipment,” NTIA said. It continued, “Principles on AI Adoption in the Telecommunications Industry” will “inform the application of AI to network operations just as such efforts are poised for rapid growth. They also represent the first instance in which like-minded governments have comprehensively addressed the use of AI within telecommunications in particular.” The U.K. Department for Science, Innovation & Technology posted the AI principles. One component of AI improvements “is edge inferencing, which allows AI to process data locally, enabling real-time decision-making and reducing latency,” the document said: “These advances can support the industry by providing faster, more reliable, and secure connectivity, driving economic growth, promoting digital inclusion, and enhancing infrastructure resilience. At the same time, the adoption of advanced AI systems into telecommunications networks should address safety, security and privacy.”

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, plans to file a Congressional Review Act resolution next week to undo a July 2024 FCC order that lets schools and libraries use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services (see 2407180024), a Cruz spokesperson said Thursday. The E-rate CRA and two unrelated “measures are forthcoming,” the spokesperson added. Cruz has repeatedly opposed proposals expanding E-rate’s scope to pay for off-campus hot spots (see 2307310063). The 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals tossed Maurine and Matthew Molak's challenge to the July order (see 2409260046) but is still reviewing another case the couple brought against the FCC’s 2023 declaratory ruling (docket 23-60641) clarifying that Wi-Fi on school buses is an educational purpose eligible for E-rate funding. Lobbyists said Cruz’s E-rate CRA resolution may not be congressional Republicans’ only bid to undo an FCC rule enacted during the administration of outgoing Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said during a Tuesday American Petroleum Institute event that he and other Republicans “are scrubbing right now to determine what is eligible” for CRA action.