The Acting Chief of the FCC’s Office of Economics and Analytics (Office) has granted a waiver to Sprint Corporation (Sprint) of FCC rule section 1.2105(a)(2)(ix) regarding its short-form application (FCC Form 175) for Auction 103, which includes spectrum in the upper 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 47 GHz bands, notwithstanding the Business Combination Agreement (BCA) between T-Mobile US Inc. (T-Mobile) and Sprint. This rule requires an auction applicant to certify that it (or any party that controls or is controlled by it) has not entered into any arrangement relating to the licenses being auctioned that addresses bidding, bidding strategies, or post-auction market structure with another auction applicant or nationwide provider. The Office deems it unnecessary, and thus dismisses as moot, the requests of T-Mobile, Sprint, and DISH Network Corporation (DISH) for a waiver of the same rule with respect to the related Asset Purchase Agreement (APA) which the parties entered into as a condition of the U.S. Department of Justice’s approval of the BCA. The Office previously granted analogous waivers to T-Mobile and Sprint in Auctions 101 and 102, and to T-Mobile in Auction 103. The Office concludes that the public interest is served by enabling Sprint to apply and participate in Auction 103, notwithstanding its proposed transaction with T-Mobile.
