President Donald Trump renewed the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology on Thursday to “provide advice and evidence-based recommendations to the President to ensure that policies are informed by the latest scientific discoveries and technological advancements,” the White House said. The council will “champion bold investments in innovation, the elimination of bureaucratic barriers, and actions to help the United States remain the world’s premier hub for scientific and technological breakthroughs.” Trump’s executive order reestablishing PCAST would give the advisory council up to 24 members and sets as its co-chairs the White House AI and "cryptocurrency czar," a role previously given to David Sacks, and the assistant to the president for science and technology. Other PCAST members should be “distinguished individuals and representatives from sectors outside of the Federal Government appointed by the President,” the EO said. “These non-Federal members shall have diverse perspectives and expertise in science, technology, education, and innovation.” The White House said Trump’s first administration “accelerated research and collaboration,” including via “spectrum auctions to unlock valuable frequencies for 5G and innovation.”

Ookla on Thursday released its connectivity report for the second half of last year, with T-Mobile and AT&T Fiber emerging as the big winners. “T-Mobile was the fastest mobile provider in the United States during 2H 2024, across all technologies combined, and also specifically for 5G,” Ookla said. The carrier saw a median 5G download speed of 281.52 Mbps and upload speed of 13.39 Mbps. T-Mobile also offered the best gaming experience, the report said. AT&T Fiber was the fastest ISP in the U.S. during the period, with a median download speed of 357.45 Mbps and a median upload speed of 286.93 Mbps, the report said. Among the most populous U.S. cities, it said, "Pittsburgh recorded the fastest median mobile download speed of 302.96 Mbps, while Raleigh outpaced the other cities to record the fastest median fixed download speed, with 329.82 Mbps.”

The FCC is revising its Freedom of Information Act fees to reflect increases to federal employee pay enacted by Congress and the White House, said a public notice Thursday. The agency made a corresponding increase in 2023 (see 2302060054). “The Commission bases its FOIA Fee Schedule on the grade level of the employee who processes the request,” the PN said. “The Commission’s rules provide that the Fee Schedule will be modified periodically to correspond with modifications in the rate of pay approved by Congress.” The FOIA fee changes are effective as of the PN’s release.

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.”