- T-Mobile sealed the deal on its joint venture to acquire fiber provider Lumos
- The carrier's DEI landing page is back up — Fierce is unable to verify what changed as of April 3, 2025
- The Lumos acquisition will allow T-Mobile to further its foray into fiber broadband
Update 4/3/2025 10:03 a.m. ET: Fierce Network reported on April 1, 2025, that T-Mobile's DEI webpage no longer existed at the time of the Lumos joint venture's closing. This webpage is live again. While we cannot verify the exact changes to the company's page, with regard to its DEI initiatives, T-Mobile said in a letter to the FCC dated March 27 that:
- The company has "modified our approach to supplier diversity, which in the past was subject to directives from the prior administration that were recently rescinded by the President’s Executive Orders and subsequent agency actions. As a result, our new supplier development program no longer focuses on specific categories of diverse businesses and instead is directed at fostering opportunities for small businesses."
- The company has also "eliminated specific targets or goals for diverse spend in our procurement policies and instead made clear that it is T-Mobile’s policy that purchases and contracts are awarded based on the best qualified and most competitive suppliers to enable T-Mobile’s success."
- In addition, the mobile operator has "dissolved as planned our External Diversity & Inclusion Councils, which were created five years ago in partnership with civil rights organizations to advise the company on workforce recruitment, procurement, community investment, and corporate governance."
We have updated our headline to reflect these changes.
A quote from T-Mobile, and our original story follows.
Update 4/2/2025 9:00 a.m. ET: Following this story's publication, T-Mobile reached out to Fierce and told us the following: "We wanted to send a note to thank you for pointing out the broken link, which was the outcome of normal updates we make across our TMO.com site. You can visit the refreshed page at https://www.t-mobile.com/responsibility/people/stronger-together.
We also want to note that nothing is changing at T-Mobile as it relates to our core values. We always review our programs to ensure that they are well-aligned to our values and are fully compliant with the law."
The original story follows.
T-Mobile and EQT’s joint venture to acquire Lumos is now officially a done deal, but at what cost? Apparently, the carrier's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy.
The companies last year first unveiled their plans to acquire fiber-to-the-home provider Lumos, through which T-Mobile expects to reach around 12-15 million households with fiber by the end of 2030.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has now signed off the deal, and what do you know, T-Mobile’s DEI landing page no longer exists.
As you may know, FCC chief Brendan Carr recently said he’s prepared to block M&A deals that promote DEI policies, and has been cracking down on telcos for their diversity practices (see: Comcast and Verizon).
T-Mobile's website previously stated, “We’re stronger when we embrace diversity" and that 63% of its employees identify as members of traditionally underrepresented racial or ethnic groups.
Mark Nelson, T-Mobile EVP and General Counsel, told Carr in a letter to the FCC dated March 27 that T-Mobile is conducting a "comprehensive review" of its DEI policies, programs, and activities.
"Our proposed transaction with Lumos will result in the formation of a new company that we have determined from its inception will not promote invidious forms of discrimination," Nelson wrote.
Once all was said and done, the FCC wrote that “there are no likely potential public interest harms identified in the record” and the proposed transaction “will not result in a reduction of competition.”
T-Mobile closes its Lumos deal as Verizon still awaits approval of its $20 billion purchase of Frontier. We checked to see if Verizon's DEI policy section was still there and sure enough it was - for now.
T-Mobile's plans for fiber
The joint venture with EQT would see T-Mobile invest an initial $950 million plus another $500 million in the next few years. Lumos meanwhile intends to pass 3.5 million homes by the end of 2028 via a wholesale model, with T-Mobile as anchor tenant.
Recon Analytics Principal Roger Entner told Fierce the carrier will likely take a page out of AT&T’s fiber strategy. For AT&T’s part, it’s been off to the races with fiber expansion, what with its Gigapower wholesale network and even rumors that it’s eyeing Lumen’s consumer broadband business.
Through its “Un-carrier moves and structure,” T-Mobile can offer “transparent, everyday low prices, a great router and no funny games [which] will resonate with customers disillusioned by cable providers,” Entner said. “AT&T is very successful with that playbook.”
As of the end of 2024, T-Mobile offers fiber broadband in parts of 32 U.S. markets. It hasn’t said how many of its customers subscriber to fiber, but T-Mobile does note FTTH is “a complement” to its fixed wireless access (FWA) offering, which serves more than 6.4 million customers and has over 1 million customers on its waitlist.
Furthermore, we’ve heard ad nauseam from carriers on their fixed and mobile “convergence” strategies. AT&T is ahead of the pack on that front, Entner noted in an op-ed last year, “and T-Mobile has certainly noticed another area where it can profitably expand its business.” T-Mobile has another fiber JV in the works to acquire regional provider Metronet, though that deal has yet to close.