Who Owns the Media: Verizon

Verizon 🐔🐔🐔

Capitulation Rank: Capitulating
Category: Telecommunications 
Market Cap: $183.2 billion

In May 2025, the Federal Communications Commission blessed Verizon’s proposed merger with Frontier Communications, But the deal came with disturbing conditions attached.  Buried in the FCC’s approval order, but proudly touted in the agency’s press release, is the claim that Verizon got the deal done only after promising to end its diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Verizon announced its surrender of these programs in a letter filed with the FCC just a day before receiving the FCC’s blessing.

The company has been feeling pressure on several official fronts. In February 2025, The Washington Post reported that the Federal Aviation Administration is seeking to cancel a $2.4 billion Verizon contract to overhaul air-traffic-control communications in favor of awarding the deal to Trump crony Elon Musk and his satellite-internet company Starlink.

Like other major cellular companies, Verizon is seeking other regulatory favors from Carr’s agency, especially the sale of additional spectrum to meet its growing need for access to the public airwaves. The massive telecommunications company has struck many deals with the federal government. It has a 10-year, $2.67 billion contract with the U.S. Department of the Navy and a $176 million contract with the Department of Homeland Security. Verizon has also been awarded contracts for digital modernization with the U.S. Department of Energy, among other federal work. The potential Starlink switch must concern company Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg given Verizon’s other entanglements with a cost-cutting federal government — and Trump’s tendency to squeeze political concessions from companies under government contracts.

DEI Doublespeak:

In March, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr launched an investigation of Verizon’s DEI practices, indicating that its failure to fall in line with Trump’s executive order on the topic could jeopardize the telecommunications company’s bid to buy Frontier Communications for $9.6 billion. Verizon did so in May, announcing that it would immediately end its DEI-related actions and policies. This capitulation resulted in the FCC’s approval of the acquisition.

What It Owns:

Verizon offers wired home internet and other telecommunications services in 10 U.S. states, and wireless telecom services across the United States. At the end of 2024, Verizon reported 7.3 million home-broadband customers (plus an additional 2.7 million fixed-wireless-internet customers) and 146 million retail wireless subscriptions. Verizon is the parent company of prepaid carriers Tracfone Wireless and Visible. Verizon also has dozens of telecom, tech services and advertising subsidiaries in Canada as well as various Asian, European and Oceania markets.  It controls a number of other integrated communications companies serving U.S. businesses, including Alltel and XO Communications.

Money & Influence Game:

Verizon paid lobbyists $11,380,000 in 2024, and Verizon employees made $3,735,525 in contributions to political candidates (2024 cycle). (SOURCE: Center for Responsive Politics)