Verizon wins FCC -Nik for Frontier Deal after pouring out Dei

(Bloomberg) – Verizon Communications Inc. won the Federal Communications Commission approval for its $ 9.6 billion from Frontier Communications Parent Inc. After agreed to the demands of the agency to return diversity initiatives in accordance with the policy of President Donald Trump. The agreement “will unleash billions of dollars on new infrastructure in communities across the country – including rural America,” FCC chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement on Friday. “This investment will accelerate the transition from old, brass line networks to modern, high speeds.” The transaction appreciates the Dallas-based company at $ 20 billion, including debt. The approval is one of the first transactions to get the green light under the chairman Carr, who threatened to block mergers unless companies that he called “invasive” diversity, fairness and inclusion practices rolled back. In February, Carr sent a letter to Verizon warning the company that its Dei efforts of the Trump administration guidelines were incurred. Carr told the New York-based telecommunications to end the promotion of Dei in corporate values ​​and training materials. Trump has tried to extract such policies of the federal government, corporate America and further, issuing executive orders that prohibit practices and asking agency heads to identify targets, including listed companies, to investigate “illegal Dei” efforts. Verizon has committed to ending a few practices and confirmed a commitment to equal opportunities and not -discrimination, the FCC said in its statement. “This will ensure that the combined enterprise will introduce policies and practices that correspond to the law and the public interest.” In a May 15 letter to Carr, Verizon said he concluded his Dei team and rethink staff members and then removed references from corporate manuals. The company will no longer set diversity goals or participate in surveys that detect these characteristics. The FCC approval paves the way for the largest US telephone business to expand its high-speed internet business. According to the FCC, Verizon will enable Frontier’s existing network in 25 states. Telecommunications companies such as Verizon have struck on fiber optic assets to add the capacity of the increasing data set of customers. The flow of data is expected to increase further as more businesses adopt artificial intelligence. The agreement combines Frontier’s fiber network with Verizon’s portfolio of fiber and wireless assets, including the FIOS offer. It also brings back some assets that Verizon sold to Frontier in 2015 for $ 10.54 billion. Frontier applied for a bankruptcy for chapter 11 in 2020 after years of losses in his wire line telecommunications company to balloon debt. It came from bankruptcy the following year and focused on building its fiber network to better compete against cable and wireless businesses. About the past four years, Frontier has invested $ 4.1 billion to upgrade its network and replace outdated copper lines. Now the company earns more than half its revenue from fiber products. After the transaction, Verizon expects fiber to deploy at 1 million or more US homes annually, according to the FCC statement. (Updates with Verizon Dei letter in the seventh paragraph.) More stories like this are available on Bloomberg.com © 2025 Bloomberg LP