In a letter submitted to the FCC, AT&T said it “does not and will not have any roles focused on DEI,” marking one of the most significant policy reversals by a major US carrier this year.

The move comes as the FCC, under chair Brendan Carr, has increasingly linked approvals for mergers, spectrum transfers and other regulated transactions to operators abandoning DEI-based initiatives.

AT&T is seeking sign-off on its US$1.02 billion purchase of wireless spectrum licences from US Cellular. The transaction is one of several high-value deals now navigating a sharply altered regulatory environment in which corporate diversity policies have become a determining factor in approval decisions.

The shift places AT&T alongside other operators that have already scaled back or dismantled DEI commitments.

Both T-Mobile US and Verizon unwound DEI programmes earlier in the year while pursuing major transactions of their own. In Verizon’s case, the operator withdrew DEI frameworks shortly before the FCC approved its $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications.

AT&T has not published a comprehensive outline of the changes it will make. However, based on prior regulatory filings and similar cases, the company is expected to transition away from DEI-specific staffing, revise internal training content, and refocus supplier-engagement practices toward criteria such as value and service performance rather than demographic targets.

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