Sprint has dropped out of the wireless consortium known as SpectrumCo which is headed by four major cable MSOs: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox and Bright House Networks, reports Unstrung.
News of Sprint’s withdrawal was buried in a 10-Q Time Warner Cable filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Wednesday in concert with the operator’s second quarter financial results.
The operator said Sprint notified other members of the SpectrumCo consortium of its intention to withdraw during the second quarter. As a result, Time Warner Cable said it will contribute roughly $30 million to the venture in the third quarter to fund its share of the payment to Sprint.
Last October, SpectrumCo was deemed the winner of 137 wireless spectrum licenses for $2.37 billion. Comcast’s share was $1.29 billion, followed by Time Warner Cable’s $632.2 million, and Cox’s $248.3 million. (See SpectrumCo Gets Licenses)
Bidders Net total of high bids 1. T-Mobile $4.2 billion 2. Verizon Wireless $2.8 billion 3. SpectrumCo $2.4 billion 4. MetroPCS $1.4 billion 5. Cingular $1.3 billion 6. Cricket $710 million 7. Denali Spectrum $365 million 8. Barat Wireless $127 million 9. AWS Wireless $116 million 10. Atlantic Wireless $81 million Click here to find out who is backing these bidders. Sprint’s involvement in SpectrumCo has been limited from the get-go. It did not participate in the auction, but did serve as a member of the bidding consortium. It held a non-voting 5 percent equity stake at the time the SpectrumCo partnership was formed. Sprint’s withdrawal will allow it to recoup its investment.
Sprint said it is withdrawing from the spectrum consortium so that it can focus on “primary strategic initiatives” with the cable industry, which includes the “Pivot” cellular service joint venture with Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, and Bright House. Those parties announced the cellular partnership in November 2005. (See Cable Firms, Sprint in Fixed/Mobile Deal.)
“This action has been long-planned and the withdrawal from participation in SpectrumCo does not reflect a change in strategy or focus,” the company said in an emailed statement. “Sprint Nextel and its cable partners remain committed to their current initiatives, including Pivot.”
But that hasn’t prevented speculation to swirl about the current state of Sprint’s relationship with its cable partners or whether the Pivot marriage will stand the test of time.
Comcast’s Pivot service allows consumers to link their wireless phones with their Comcast digital cable, high-speed Internet, and digital voice products.
You can activate Pivot service by subscribing to Sprint wireless service and at least one subscription to: Comcast Cable TV, Comcast Digital Voice® or Comcast High-Speed Internet. By adding Pivot (demo), Comcast customers can watch mobile television from dozens of networks, view television listings, check e-mail and voice-mail, access information on the Internet, make unlimited calls between their home and wireless phone without using wireless plan minutes, and receive one consolidated monthly bill for all four services, the companies said.
It’s unlikely Sprint will bid on 700 MHz, says Silicon Alley Insider. In February, chief Gary Forsee said Sprint had no interest in participating, adding “We’ve got the best spectrum position of any of our carrier competitors.”
Related DailyWireless stories include; Leap Into AWS Phone Service, AWS Visual Guide, AWS: It’s Done, Plan B from WirelessDBS and AWS Auction Begins.
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