Sprint Drops Out of Spectrum 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. It’s a big opportunity for carriers to beef up their networks, though Sprint, the fourth largest wireless service provider in the USA, isn’t planning to participate. Low-frequency airwaves travel farther and penetrate buildings better than airwaves at higher frequencies, meaning carriers can cover larger areas using fewer cell towers.

It can increase its coverage and capacity by “densifying” its network and increasing the number of cell sites. It’s also the reason why Sprint’s absence from the upcoming auction is notable.

600 MHz spectrum is considered prime real estate by mobile phone companies, because it is a lower frequency than the airwaves now used for cellular communications.

Sprint said it needed to focus on improving its current network and that it has all the spectrum it needs.

An FCC official said on Sunday that the agency wasn’t surprised Sprint decided not to participate given the public hints it has made in the past few months, and pointed out that the last two major auctions were a success even though Sprint wasn’t involved. However, Sprint is indeed sitting on extra spectrum from its Clearwire acquisition in 2013, so it’s not in desperate need. But smaller carriers like Sprint and T-Mobile have been concerned about how fair their positions against the biggest carriers, AT&T and Verizon, will be, as PC Magazine noted. And the company isn’t exactly flush with cash, because it’s spending heavily to attract new customers; for example, Sprint is heavily marking down new the iPhone 6s by offering customers a $1-a-month leasing plan.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere came out on Twitter to mock on Sprint’s decision to stay away from the auction. The carrier has seen dramatic improvements in call quality and data speeds in the past year, according to independent network analytics firm RootMetrics.