U.S. Cellular Corp. agreed to sell its 20-megahertz PCS license covering Daytona Beach, Fla., to MetroPCS Inc. for $8.5 million.
U.S. Cellular said the sale was consistent with its recent initiative to exit non-strategic markets and redeploy its capital to more important parts of its business. That initiative included the sale of its south Texas properties earlier this year to AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and its more recent agreement to sell a number of its holdings in Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Mississippi and Wisconsin to Alltel Corp.
U.S. Cellular has said it would use funds received from the market sales to fund the growth of its core market clusters in the Midwest, Northwest and Northeast.The deal increases MetroPCS’ holdings in Florida, which include Miami, where the company offers its flat-rate unlimited calling service, as well as the recent acquisition of PCS licenses during NextWave Telecom Inc.’s auction covering Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater and Sarasota-Bradenton.
Analysts at Raymond James Associates noted they expect spectrum sales to continue this year and into next as operators prepare to compete against a combined Cingular Wireless L.L.C./AT&T Wireless.
