Sprint says will sit out of 2016 airwaves auction
Reuters
Published Sep 26, 2015 07:28PM ET
Sprint says will sit out of 2016 airwaves auction
By Malathi Nayak
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sprint Corp (N:S) will not join the U.S. government's auction of airwaves set for early 2016, as it has adequate airwaves to currently build out its network and for its future needs, the company said on Saturday.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is gearing up to auction off valuable 600 megahertz airwaves that can travel long distances and penetrate buildings, to wireless carriers, which are clamoring for faster speeds for data-guzzling customers.
Sprint will not participate as its current holdings of airwaves are "sufficient" for its ongoing network upgrade effort and to serve customers in the future, it said in a statement, making it the first U.S carrier to announce it will sit out of the auction.
"Sprint's focus and overarching imperative must be on improving its network and market position in the immediate term so we can remain a powerful force in fostering competition," Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, said in the statement. "Sprint has the spectrum it needs to deploy its network architecture of the future."
Investors have been concerned about financial health of Sprint, the no.4 U.S. wireless carrier based on subscribers, which has struggled to report a profit in recent years.
Sprint burned $2.2 billion in cash in the second quarter ended June 30. It is locked in an aggressive price war with its rivals, Verizon Communications Inc (N:VZ) , AT&T Inc (N:T) and T-Mobile US Inc (N:TMUS), which are going after each others' subscribers with deep discounts and promotions that have weighed on growth.
Sprint also skipped the airwaves auction called the "AWS-3" spectrum sale that concluded earlier this year.
Sprint's larger rivals, AT&T Inc (N:T) and Verizon Communications Inc (N:VZ), have said they plan on participating in the 2016 auction.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.