Sprint Corp. (S:US), working to make best use of airwaves acquired last year, is the only major U.S. wireless-service carrier intending to pass on an auction of frequencies designed to accommodate data-guzzling smartphones.
A spokesman confirmed that Sprint won’t participate in the November sale, which the Federal Communications Commission expects to be the largest since a $19 billion auction in 2008. Verizon Communications Inc., AT&T Inc. (T:US), and T-Mobile US Inc. all said they’re interested in bidding.
The decision by Sprint to opt out comes a month after Chief Executive Officer Marcelo Claure was hired by to help revitalize the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier after seven years of customer losses and a failed plan to buy smaller rival T-Mobile US. The FCC is planning another auction next year of airwaves relinquished by TV stations, and Sprint said it’s interested in that sale.
“Sprint has decided not to participate in the FCC’s AWS-3 auction but will continue to evaluate the opportunities presented by the upcoming 600 MHz incentive auction,” Jeffrey Silva, a spokesman for the Overland Park, Kansas-based company, said in an e-mail today.
AWS refers to November’s auction, and 600 Mhz to the sale next year. The need to feed mobile devices has made airwaves auctions, with billions of dollars at stake, something of a chess game as wireless companies weigh odds of winning airwaves coveted by rivals.
The FCC expects to raise at least $10 billion from the November auction.
Competitors’ Plans
“Sprint really has a lot more spectrum than its rivals, so they don’t have that pressing need to get more,” said John Butler, a senior telecommunications analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence.
In addition, Sprint doesn’t hold airwaves that would be easily compatible with the frequencies to be offered, he said.
Sprint has revamped expansion plans for its high-speed Spark network to focus on making coverage denser in three to five initial cities, CEO Claure said earlier today. Claure said he still expects Spark, which relies in part on 2.5-gigahertz wireless spectrum acquired last year from Clearwire Corp., to cover 100 million people by the end of the year.
Verizon, the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., intends to take part in the November sale, Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam said at an investor’s conference.
AT&T, the second-largest mobile provider, also will participate, said Michael Balmoris, a spokesman.
T-Mobile US intends to bid as well, Timothy O’Regan, a spokesman, said in an e-mail.
Earlier this year Dish Network Corp., led by Chairman Charlie Ergen, paid $1.56 billion to snap up airwaves in a smaller auction. Bob Toevs, a spokesman for Dish, said today the company hasn’t changed its position and is interested in participating.
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