The Federal Communications Commission approved Verizon's $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications on Friday, clearing the way for the nation's largest telecom provider to significantly expand its fiber-optic footprint. The merger, approved after Verizon agreed to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies across its workforce and corporate operations, comes amid broader efforts by the Trump administration to dismantle DEI initiatives nationwide.
Verizon expects to bring fiber internet to more than 1 million U.S. homes annually as part of the expansion enabled by the deal. The company said it would upgrade Frontier's existing infrastructure in 25 states. Verizon acquired Frontier for approximately $9.6 billion and took on an additional $10 billion in debt.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr stated, "By approving this deal, the FCC ensures that Americans will benefit from a series of good and common-sense wins. The transaction will unleash billions of dollars in new infrastructure builds in communities across the country."
In a letter sent May 15 to Carr, Verizon Chief Legal Officer Vandana Venkatesh detailed the company's decision to discontinue all DEI-related initiatives. "Verizon recognizes that some DEI policies and practices could be associated with discrimination," Venkatesh wrote. She confirmed that Verizon would dismantle internal DEI roles, remove DEI terminology from training materials, end diversity-based supplier requirements, and eliminate workforce representation goals for women and minorities. The same provisions, the company stated, would be extended to Frontier.
Earlier this year, Carr had warned that DEI commitments could pose regulatory challenges for telecom companies seeking FCC approval for mergers. In February, he opened a probe into Verizon's DEI practices, signaling that continued promotion of such policies might jeopardize the Frontier transaction.
Verizon also confirmed it would eliminate a management compensation metric tied to increasing workforce diversity and would remove its "Diversity and Inclusion" website. The company committed to extending these changes to Frontier following the acquisition.
Carr, who was appointed to the FCC by President Donald Trump, has also investigated Comcast over its DEI efforts. Trump issued executive orders in January dismantling DEI programs across federal agencies and pressuring the private sector to follow suit.
Carr highlighted Verizon's new commitments to tower and telecom crews, presenting them as part of a broader infrastructure push. The merger also allows Verizon to regain ground in the fiber market it had ceded to Frontier in 2015 when it sold parts of its Fios business.
Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez criticized the approval, saying, "Yet another company capitulates to the administration's attempts to micromanage employment practices and impose heavy regulatory burdens on companies that require the FCC's approval of their transactions."
Similar regulatory scrutiny influenced T-Mobile's recent acquisition of fiber provider Lumos. The company removed DEI references from its website before receiving approval.
