Sprint is close to a deal with Dish Networks that would clear the way for the wireless carrier to buy a valuable chunk of wireless spectrum, The Post has learned.
Sprint, the third-largest wireless player, behind Verizon and AT&T, is hoping to get its hands on spectrum that the US government is set to auction off next year.
Sprint is prepared to bid as much as $3 billion for the spectrum to help it build out its 4G LTE network, according to a source. US Cellular is expected to be the only rival bidder, the source added.
That government-owned block of airwaves combined with neighboring spectrum Sprint already owns would double its bandwidth.
“That spectrum is ideal for 4G LTE,” another source said.
Dish also owns an adjacent block of spectrum to the government-owned airwaves that it plans to use for its own wireless ambitions.
The Federal Communications Commission is expected to decide at the end of this month whether Dish gets to use that spectrum to roll out its nationwide wireless network.
Problem is, Dish’s spectrum could interfere with Sprint’s plans to build out its network unless the two arrive at a quid pro quo, according to sources.
There “is a lot of back and forth between Sprint and Dish right now,” said one source close to the situation.
Meanwhile, Japanese telecom giant Softbank is in negotiations to buy Sprint, although it could encounter regulatory concerns about a foreign entity owning the US carrier.
“Approval will depend on the structure of the deal,” the source said.
Sprint’s purchase of additional spectrum, along with a Dish deal, could also make it a more attractive takeover target for Softbank, one source said.
Sprint and Dish declined to comment, as did the FCC .