Verizon Pushes 2025 Approval of Frontier Deal, Defends DEI Commitments

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2025 – Verizon and Frontier are making a final push for California regulators to clear their $20 billion merger by the end of the year. Justice Department approval expires in February, and the companies are eager to close the deal before that happens.

The companies “must close the Transaction no later than February 13, 2026, and this date is not extendable; that means [California Public Utilities Commission] approval should occur by December to accommodate any last-minute procedural issues that may arise,” Verizon and Frontier wrote in a reply brief posted Nov. 4.

Verizon attorneys later scheduled two meetings with CPUC staff, one for Friday, Nov. 7 and one for Wednesday, Nov. 12, according to filings with the CPUC. At each, “Verizon would discuss the need for timely action on the Joint Application,” the company wrote.

Filings detailing the Nov. 7 meeting had not yet been posted on Tuesday morning.

Verizon leadership has publicly projected confidence the deal would close, and close on time. The belief is apparently sincere, as the company is looking to sell corporate bonds “to fund the acquisition of Frontier, including related costs and expenses,” and “to refinance indebtedness of Frontier,” it told the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday. 

Bloomberg reported Verizon was looking to raise $10 billion through the bond sale. The company is paying about $9.6 billion in cash and taking on about $10 billion of Frontier’s debt as part of the acquisition.

Verizon and Frontier defend their diversity, equity and inclusion commitments

The companies also defended their diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments related to the deal, part of a settlement with the California Emerging Technology Fund. 

The issue has created some friction in California because Verizon committed to end several diversity initiatives in exchange for Federal Communications Commission approval. The state has its own rules requiring large telecoms to report annual spending with minority-owned suppliers, and Verizon told the FCC it would stop setting benchmarks for that spending.

Opponents of the deal, including the Center for Accessible Technology, have urged the CPUC to attach extra DEI conditions if it approves the deal, arguing the FCC improperly imposed the anti-diversity condition in the first place. Verizon and Frontier in their reply brief strongly opposed the prospect.

“Flouting the [FCC] commitments would expose Verizon to obvious FCC enforcement risk that the company will not accept,” the companies wrote. “The [CPUC] cannot unilaterally declare the FCC commitments void on First Amendment grounds and impose conditions on Verizon based on that conclusion; such a decision would be preempted by federal law.”

Verizon has said it will use the CPUC’s minimum benchmarks and continue to report its diverse supplier spending relative to those, thus complying with state law and its promise to the FCC. The company noted that fellow ISPs Charter, AT&T, and T-Mobile have done the same.

T-Mobile committed to the FCC to end diversity programs

T-Mobile also committed to end diversity programs in exchange for FCC approval of recent fiber acquisitions, and Charter and AT&T have deals pending before the agency.

CforAT said in a filing posted Nov. 4 that, at the request of CPUC Commissioner John Reynolds, it tried unsuccessfully to reach a settlement with Verizon on the DEI issue.

“We had lowered our settlement expectations accordingly to try to reach an agreement,” CforAT wrote in a summary of a meeting with CPUC staff. “However, despite expending substantial time and efforts, CforAT conveyed that we were unable to reach a settlement with Verizon.”

Verizon has entered into three settlement agreements, efforts to gain interested parties’ support for the merger, that it would support the CPUC tacking on as conditions of its approval. 

Those include commitments to offer $20 broadband plans, invest $500 million in California small businesses and $40 million toward digital equity programs, and agree to minimum deployment milestones for its fiber and wireless networks. Verizon would also hire 600 new union employees and commit to “no involuntary layoffs” for four years.

The company also offered $10 million for a workforce development program at California State University.

The CPUC’s Public Advocates Office was one of the pirates that settled, but it also didn’t reach a consensus on the DEI issue. In a reply brief, the office asked CPUC commissioners to consider whether additional conditions would be necessary to address its concerns in that area, but didn’t propose anything specific.