Believe it or not, 25 years ago there were hundreds of telecom companies competing to offer customers local and long-distance telephone service. Now, other than turning Northern Virginia into an economic powerhouse, those days are long gone. The latest consolidation of our industry into a few massive broadband providers supplemented by smaller regional providers and resellers took place on May 16, 2025, when the FCC approved Verizon’s merger (actually takeover) with Frontier Communications in Docket 24-445. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr explained,
By approving this deal, the FCC ensures that Americans will benefit from a series of good and common-sense wins. 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. (FCC May 16, 2025, News Release).
While Carr may be proven correct in the long run, by extinguishing Frontier as a unique company, the Commission is eliminating a company that currently owns and operates more than 50 incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) and a small number of competitive LECs (CLECs) in 25 states throughout the country while serving urban, suburban, and rural communities. “Through its interexchange carrier (IXC) subsidiaries, Frontier also provides intrastate, interstate, and international long-distance service on a resale basis in each of the states where Frontier operates as an incumbent LEC. Frontier’s operating subsidiaries offer residential consumers, businesses, and wholesale customers a broad range of communications services available as distinct products or in bundles that include data and Internet services, voice services, video services, access products, advanced hardware/network solutions, and other services.” This will now all be part of Verizon.
While dismissing concerns about loss of competition, by asserting that the companies mostly serve complementary markets and have no plans to expand into other areas, the FCC touts the benefits of the merger including the controversial elimination of Verizon’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies as follows:
Secures New Infrastructure Builds and Investment for Rural America. Approving this transaction allows Verizon to upgrade and expand Frontier’s existing network in 25 states, bringing more fiber to more communities. Verizon’s new fiber deployments will enable the retirement of old copper networks, ensuring that more communities benefit from advanced technologies. Following the transaction, Verizon expects to deploy fiber to 1 million or more American homes annually.
Ensures that Discriminatory DEI Policies End. Verizon has also committed to ending DEI-related practices as specified in the FCC’s record and has reaffirmed the merged entity’s commitment to equal opportunity and nondiscrimination. This will ensure that the combined business will enact policies and practices consistent with the law and the public interest. Please note that the FCC commissioners did not vote on the merger. That is widely attributed to the expectation that the Democratic commissioners would oppose it based on the Verizon DEI concessions.
Delivers for America’s Workers. Finally, this transaction delivers wins for America’s workers. Following its engagements with NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, Verizon made valuable commitments to America’s tower and telecom crews. These commitments remove costly burdens on this workforce and provide good-paying jobs for America’s workers while improving safety. A world-class wireless industry depends on having healthy companies that both construct and operate these networks. Verizon’s new commitments promote exactly that type of outcome.
While Verizon claims that Frontier management and workers will be unaffected by the takeover, similar consolidations historically have led to massive layoffs and cost cutting. We’ll see if this merger is the exception and actually helps customers.
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