The FCC’s Wireline Bureau released a series of orders on delegated authority Thursday with the goal of making it easier for carriers to move away from legacy copper networks, said a news release and a number of filings. Outdated agency rules “have forced providers to pour resources into maintaining aging and expensive copper line networks instead of investing in the modern, high-speed infrastructure that Americans want and deserve," said Chairman Brendan Carr in the release.

President Donald Trump’s unprecedented firing of Democratic FTC Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter on Tuesday doesn’t necessarily mean FCC Democrats Geoffrey Starks and Anna Gomez are next, industry experts said. Starks has already announced plans to leave the agency this spring (see 2503180067). The two FTC Democrats have vowed to fight.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's administration plans to defend his Tuesday firing of Democratic FTC Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter (see 2503180067). The Trump administration is seeking U.S. Supreme Court reversal of Humphrey's Executor v. U.S., a unanimous 1935 high court decision that set a precedent preventing the president from firing members of commissions like the FTC (see 2503040019). The firings drew swift opposition from congressional Democrats.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) released Tuesday the executive summary for its guidance publication "5G Cybersecurity." NCCoE asked for comment by April 16.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sent letters to 20 law firms -- including Cooley, Perkins Coie and Hogan Lovells -- about their diversity policies, said an EEOC release Monday. The letters from EEOC acting Chair Andrea Lucas point to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts mentioned on the firms' websites and public releases, accusing them of discrimination. The White House previously targeted Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling in an executive order and memo (see 2503120049). “It appears likely that Cooley disparately provides access to certain privileges of employment (training and leadership development) based on its employees’ race or other protected characteristics,” says the EEOC letter to Cooley.

Ligado defended its proposal to reallocate the 1675-1680 MHz band for 5G, as it urged previously in 2019 (see 1905090041). The company filed reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 19-116. The FCC in January sought to refresh the record on the future of the band for shared use between federal incumbents and nonfederal fixed or mobile operations. Other parties continue to raise questions, as they did in the initial comment round (see 2503030045).

The FCC will likely take an "all or nothing" approach toward its proposed $4.5 million fine against Telnyx, rather than settle with the firm somewhere in between, Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawyers told us. The notice of apparent liability issued last month (see 2503050026) faces strong pushback from Telnyx and parts of the voice service provider industry (see 2503110023). The NAL also netted Free State Foundation criticism (see 2503120071). Many said the Telnyx fine fight shows the need for FCC clarity about the "know your customer" (KYC) process.

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks’ announcement Tuesday that he plans to resign from the commission in the spring (see 2503180009) is already prompting speculation about potential successors, despite there not being an obvious front-runner. Some officials voiced renewed concerns about whether President Donald Trump will use the upcoming vacancy as an opportunity to erode FCC norms, either by not filling Starks’ role or picking a Democratic nominee who hews more closely to the administration’s telecom policy priorities.

While companies are making fewer customer calls, 86% of business executives “across a wide range of industries agree the phone” remains “the most important outbound channel for meeting customer service goals and increasing revenues,” Forrester Consulting said Monday. “Key pain points” in calling include “inaccurate customer contact data and the threat of call spoofing,” Forrester said. The executives reported that their companies are making 26% fewer calls than three years ago “while increasing use of other digital channels.” The report stressed the importance of branded calling: “Three in four decision-makers say accurate caller information displayed on outbound calls is important for improving customer engagement and increasing answer rates.” Protections against call spoofing were listed as important features by 67% of respondents.

The White House executive order asserting control over executive branch agencies (see 2502280048) looks “dramatic” but “changes little,” said a blog post Monday from American Enterprise Institute nonresident Senior Fellow Mark Jamison, a former member of President Donald Trump’s transition team. “Independent agencies have long been subject to political influence, and their supposed autonomy is more myth than reality,” Jamison wrote. “For decades, presidents and lawmakers have found ways to steer their agendas.” The order “can be seen as simply formalizing what has already been happening.” Critics “are reacting to an idealized version of regulatory independence that doesn’t exist in practice,” he said. “The real issue isn’t whether presidents exert influence over these agencies -- it’s that agency leaders have often ceded their independence voluntarily, undermining confidence in regulatory neutrality.”