| Company | Score | Grade |
| BellSouth | 3.54 | B+ |
| Verizon | 3.40 | B |
| AT&T | 3.16 | B |
| Sprint Nextel | 3.16 | B |
| Alltel | 2.67 | C+ |
| Cincinnati Bell | 2.58 | C+ |
| Qwest | 1.52 | D+ |
| Excel | 0.00 | F |
This year's grade for the telecommunications industry is B-, improving over last year's C. The telecommunications industry has made noticeable progress since its first grade of C in 1998. BellSouth led the firms with a B+ followed by Verizon, AT&T and Spint Nextel all of who made a B in the latest round of grading. Alltel and Cincinnati Bell recorded a C+. Qwest got a D+. Excel received an F for not responding for five consecutive years.
Charitable giving is the strong suit of this industry but it ranks slightly below average in advertising/marketing. Although the companies have programs to increase supplier diversity, those mechanisms have yet to fully translate into substantial minority business contracts.
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