T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) told the FCC it is eliminating more of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The action happened as the carrier awaits regulatory approval for the acquisition of UScellular (NYSE: USM) and Metronet. It did not mention those transactions specifically, but filed its letter this week in those dockets.
“You’ve made clear that you expect companies the FCC regulates to have practices that are lawful, free from [unjust] forms of discrimination, and open to all,” said T-Mobile EVP/General Counsel Mark Nelson in a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. Nelson said he’s sharing “adjustments” the carrier is making “to ensure our policies and practices maintain close alignment with our values and are responsive to the direction you’ve provided.”
Carr said in a post on X that he was pleased with the changes. “This is another good step forward for equal opportunity, nondiscrimination and the public interest.”
“We recognize that the legal and policy landscape surrounding DEI under federal law has changed and we remain fully committed to ensuring that T-Mobile does not have any policies or practices that enable invidious discrimination, whether in fulfillment of DEI or any other purpose,” Nelson writes. After a review of T-Mobile’s policies, programs, and activities, the carrier is ending certain DEI-related policies, “not just in name, but in substance,” according to the executive.
Concerning public messaging, the “handful” of T-Mobile employees who focused on diversity and inclusion will be redirected within Human Resources to focus on employee culture and engagement, according to Nelson. T-Mobile is also removing references to DEI on its websites and will ensure future communications don’t refer to DEI. It also removed DEI references in its workplace training.
Earlier this year, T-Mobile told the agency it was eliminating “specific targets or goals for diverse spend in our procurement policies.”
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez called the action a “cynical bid to win FCC regulatory approval” and stated the carrier “is making a mockery of its professed commitment to eliminating discrimination, promoting fairness, and amplifying underrepresented voices.”
T-Mobile awaits Commission approval to buy almost all of UScellular’s wireless operations including customers, stores and 30 percent of its spectrum assets in a deal valued at $4.4 billion, Inside Towers reported.
The FCC is also weighing a separate transaction in which T-Mobile would establish a joint venture with KKR & Co. (NYSE: KKR) to acquire ISP Metronet, which reaches more than 2 million homes and businesses in 17 states. T-Mobile plans at closing to invest about $4.9 billion to acquire a 50 percent equity stake in the joint venture and 100 percent of Metronet’s residential fiber retail operations and customers, reports Reuters.
T-Mobile sent a similar letter to the agency before it approved the carrier’s purchase of Lumos. Verizon (NYSE: VZ), too, sent such a letter before its acquisition of Frontier (NASDAQ: FYBR) was allowed to move forward, according to Broadband Breakfast.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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