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Telecoms giant AT&T has formally notified federal regulators that it is moving to eliminate DEI programs as part of its effort to secure approval for a major wireless spectrum license purchase.
In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, the carrier said it “does not and will not have any roles focused on DEI.” The pledge was sent as the company works to complete a $1.02billion agreement struck in November 2024 to acquire wireless spectrum licenses from US Cellular. The transaction cannot proceed without FCC authorization.
FCC scrutiny of DEI programs
The statement aligns with the expectations of the FCC under Donald Trump, whose administration has required telecom firms to halt DEI initiatives when seeking regulatory clearance for large transactions. FCC Chair Brendan Carr said the correspondence confirmed an earlier commitment from AT&T to discontinue policies tied to DEI.
Carr, appointed chair in January, has taken an expansive approach toward oversight of corporate DEI activity. He informed Comcast in February that he had opened a probe into the company’s promotion of such programs. The move followed executive orders from Trump in January directing federal agencies to dismantle government DEI efforts and urging the private sector to follow suit.
'Devastating' | Trump's purge of federal DEI jobs subject to lawsuit
Industry-wide pressure during deal reviews
AT&T is not the first major carrier to make such assurances. T-Mobile US said in July that it would end DEI programs as it sought approval for two significant transactions. One of those deals involved acquiring nearly all wireless operations of regional provider United States Cellular, including stores, customers and 30% of its spectrum assets, for $4.4billion. The FCC also cleared a separate transaction that month allowing T-Mobile to form a joint venture with KKR to acquire broadband provider Metronet, which serves more than two million homes and businesses across 17 states.
The trend also extended to Verizon Communications. In May, regulators approved Verizon’s $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications’ fiber-optic business after Verizon agreed to end its DEI program.
AT&T’s letter is the latest example of carriers being strong-armed into complying with the Trump administration's regulatory conditions in order to complete major deals. The company is now awaiting the FCC’s final decision on whether it may proceed with the spectrum purchase.
The news comes as four former federal employees filed a class-action lawsuit alleging they were unlawfully removed from their roles during the Trump Administration's purge of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) roles.
The suit, filed in Washington, D.C., claims Trump-era directives eliminating diversity programs violated First Amendment rights and federal civil service protections.
The proposed class action could include thousands of former workers whose jobs were eliminated under the executive orders.
