AT&T follows Verizon and T-Mobile by taking action to get the FCC to approve a key transaction
By getting on the regulatory agency's good side, AT&T hopes to get its transaction approved by the FCC.
AT&T needs the FCC to approve the $1.02 billion purchase it made in 2024 of some spectrum licenses from UScellular. However, that approval would not get granted by the regulatory agency under the policies of the Trump Administration if AT&T had kept its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. Under President Donald Trump, telecom firms must eliminate their DEI practices in order to get a transaction approved.
AT&T sent a letter to the FCC confirming that it is eliminating any DEI poliicies
AT&T sent a letter to the FCC that was posted on Tuesday in a tweet disseminated by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. The Trump-appointed Carr said that in the missive, AT&T confirmed its commitment, which it announced earlier this year, to end its DEI policies.
In the letter, AT&T wrote that it "does not and will not have any roles focused on DEI." It also wrote "We have closely followed the recent Executive Orders, Supreme Court rulings, and guidance issued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and have adjusted our employment and business practices to ensure that they comply with all applicable laws, and related requirements including ending DEI-related policies as described below, not just in name but in substance."
Other carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile have followed suit
AT&T isn't the only U.S. carrier that dropped its DEI programs in an attempt to curry favor with the FCC for the regulatory approval needed to close its transactions. Back in July, T-Mobile sent a letter to the FCC promising that it would stop its DEI policies and remove references to it in its training program and on its website. It also eliminated DEI-focused roles and disbanded any teams focusing on it.
At the time, T-Mobile was awaiting FCC approval on two transactions including the purchase of 4.5 million UScellular customers, UScellular's retail stores, and 30% of UScellular's spectrum licenses for $4.4 billion in cash and assumed debt. The FCC not only approved those transactions, it also gave the carrier the greenlight to pursue a joint venture with KKR to acquire Metronet, an internet service provider (ISP).
NEW on DEI:
AT&T has now memorialized its commitment to ending DEI-related policies in an FCC filing and “will not have any roles focused on DEI.”
This follows the big changes @robbystarbuck already announced earlier this year. pic.twitter.com/kxpljJYYOS— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) December 2, 2025
Verizon also had to shut down its DEI programs earlier this year so that it could get approval from the FCC for its acquisition of fiber-optic internet provider Frontier Communications. That approval was given to the carrier in May.
In January, President Trump issued an Executive Order that required the U.S. government to end its DEI programs. President Trump was able to convince the private sector to follow suit. The carriers were obviously an easy industry to pressure since AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon needed the FCC to approve their transactions and FCC Chairman Carr is nothing if not extremely loyal to Trump.
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