Comcast says no interest in acquiring divested spectrum from Sprint, T-Mobile deal
(Adds details on spectrum, carriers)
By Angela Moon and Sheila Dang
May 31 (Reuters) - U.S. cable operator Comcast Corp has no interest in acquiring divested spectrum from the Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc transaction, the company said on Friday.
Bloomberg reported earlier this week that Comcast and Charter Communications Inc were in discussions with U.S. regulators to buy wireless spectrum. T-Mobile and Sprint were considering divesting spectrum back to the government, which would then sell it to help establish a fourth carrier.
But an industry source familiar with the discussion said the spectrum would not be enough to create a viable fourth carrier. The source also said Comcast is not interested in buying Boost Mobile, Sprint's pre-paid brand that will be divested if the T-Mobile and Sprint merger goes through.
The $26-billion merger deal won support from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission last week, but still needs approval from the U.S. Department of Justice, which is looking at the merger on antitrust grounds. (Reporting by Angela Moon Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Grant McCool)
