Nov 13 (Reuters) - Sprint Corp said on Wednesday itwould not take part in an upcoming government auction ofso-called H-Block airwaves, potentially leaving the field clearfor Dish Network Corp to buy the spectrum.
Sprint announced the decision a day after No. 4 U.S. mobileprovider T-Mobile US Inc, said it too had decidedagainst participating in the auction, which is slated to takeplace in January.
While Sprint already bought a huge amount of spectrum inJuly through its take over of Clearwire Corp, analysts had still expected Sprint to bid for the H-Block spectrum because it isadjacent to other Sprint spectrum holdings. The U.S. governmenthad set a Nov. 15 deadline for applications for the auction.
Shares in satellite TV provider Dish rose 1.6 percent to$51.19 on Nasdaq after the news. Its shares had traded above $50for the first time since 2000 on Tuesday after its earningsreport.
BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk said Sprint's decision was goodnews for Dish because it may not face any rival bidders. He does not expect AT&T Inc or Verizon Wireless to bid for the spectrum. AT&T declined to comment.
Verizon representatives did not respond to several requestsfor comment.
Dish has already told the Federal Communications Commission that it would bid a base price of about $1.5 billion in theauction if the FCC grants it waivers of conditions related toits existing spectrum licenses.
If Dish wins the spectrum without having to pay any morethan the reserve price, Piecyk said ift implies a price that is half that of recent transactions in the industry.
Dish investors have been waiting for almost a year for thecompany to decide how it will use its existing wirelessairwaves. One of its options could be to forge a networkpartnership with a rival such as Sprint or T-Mobile US.
Vodafone (VOD)