Many analysts had predicted that this to be the end result, together with DISH, which was initially anticipated to purchase 13.5 megahertz of spectrum within the 800 MHz band from T-Cellular. The corporate had accused T-Cellular of getting found out a method to put the low-band spectrum to good use.
T-Cellular was required to promote the spectrum as a part of its Dash acquisition. DISH backed out earlier this yr as a result of funding points. DISH did attempt to ask for extra time to purchase the spectrum and it now owes T-Cellular $72 million for not honouring its dedication.
It was predicted that there won’t be different takers. Utilities corporations have been mentioned to be displaying curiosity, however the opening bid of $3.6 billion was maybe an excessive amount of for them.
In the course of the Q3 earnings name, Ulf Ewaldsson, T-Cellular‘s president of expertise, mentioned that the public sale for 800MHz licenses got here to an finish with no qualifying bid. CEO Mike Sievert added that the corporate is now not required to promote the spectrum.
T-Cellular hasn’t determined whether or not it should deploy the spectrum or do one thing to learn financially from it.
On the 800 band, we concluded the public sale with out actually a bid that was qualifying. That provides us now new optionality actually.
We will both deploy it or we might take a look at doing one thing to learn monetarily from it. So, we’ve got these optionalities as we go ahead. We’re all the time engaged on our spectrum portfolio and proceed to construct this main 5G community primarily based on it.
Ulf Ewaldsson, T-Cellular‘s president of expertise, October 2024
T-Cellular believes that this can be a helpful and necessary spectrum, so it was an exquisite stroke of luck for the corporate that nobody might muster up sufficient funds or curiosity to buy it. Apparently, 800MHz is not sufficient so as to add a number of capability or companies, which might be why nobody wished to pay $3.59 billion billion for it. Most corporations have already got low-band spectrum and what they’re chasing is mid-band spectrum, which is the candy spot for protection and pace.
And secondly, in Ulf’s community plan, using that spectrum just isn’t at the moment within the plan. So, the explanation I level this out is that simply we’ve got a number of optionality and that is helpful spectrum. It is necessary spectrum. And you will have to remain tuned because it pertains to our decision on how we plan to make use of it.
Mike Sievert, T-Cellular‘s CEO, October 2024
This is not the primary time that T-Cellular has revealed that there are many issues it might do with the spectrum and had beforehand hinted at rising applied sciences for example.
