FCC OKs Verizon-Frontier Merger After Telco Backs Down on DEI

WASHINGTON—The FCC has approved Verizon Communications’ $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications, which was first announced last September. As part of the FCC’s decision to grant a series of applications that transfer licenses and authorizations, New York-based Verizon will be required to end its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

The approval agreement also secures Verizon’s commitment to make major upgrades to Frontier's infrastructure that the FCC valued as being worth “billions” of dollars and promises to improve conditions for tower and telecom crews.

The deal is expected to close in early 2026. The acquisition adds the nation's “largest pure-play fiber internet provider” to Verizon's portfolio.

After President Donald Trump in January issued an executive order eliminating DEI programs at federal agencies, FCC chair Brendan Carr ended those programs at the FCC and said he would make eliminating such programs part of the approval process for mergers. Carr has also launched investigations into DEI practices at The Walt Disney Co. and Comcast.

“By approving this deal, the FCC ensures that Americans will benefit from a series of good and common-sense wins,” Carr said in a statement. “The transaction will unleash billions of dollars in new infrastructure builds in communities across the country—including rural America. This investment will accelerate the transition away from old, copper line networks to modern, high-speed ones. And it delivers for America’s tower and telecom crews who do the hard, often gritty work needed to build high-speed networks.”

In a post on X, Carr released the Verizon letter agreeing to end its DEI programs.