FCC NEWS: Trump appointee to FCC could put the brakes on Wheeler cyber initiatives.

One of the chief architects of cybersecurity policy during the Obama years — Federal Communications Commission Chairman Thomas Wheeler — last week announced he will leave the FCC on Jan. 20, clearing the way for a Donald Trump appointee who may put the brakes on a couple of cyber initiatives that have roiled industry.

Wheeler is a one-time telecom executive whose cyber and other policies at the FCC often put him at odds with his former industry.

President-elect Trump will choose the next FCC chairman, and Commissioner Ajit Pai, a Republican appointee, is frequently mentioned in telecom circles as a possible candidate.

That would be a welcome move to many in the industry, as Pai, an amiable former Verizon executive and FCC staffer, opposed some of Wheeler’s actions on cyber as going beyond the commission’s statutory authority to set requirements in this area.

I like Ajit Pai. Here’s one reason why.