MetroPCS boosts spectrum position in Florida

MetroPCS Communications Inc. plans to begin offering service in Jacksonville, Fla., following the acquisition of 10 megahertz of Personal Communications Service (PCS) spectrum.
The company said it will pay an undisclosed sum for the spectrum from PTA Communications Inc.; MetroPCS also agreed to buy network assets and subscribers from PTA and Cleartalk PCS in Jacksonville.
The Dallas-based carrier already has 10 megahertz of PCS spectrum in Jacksonville and has been building its own network in advance of a service launch “in the near future,” according to Raymond James analyst Ric Prentiss. MetroPCS said the addition of the Jacksonville market will allow it to offer service to roughly 1.5 million people.
MetroPCS may be less anxious to participate in the upcoming auction for 700 MHz spectrum thanks to the deal, according to Prentiss, but the carrier is likely to expand northward later this year.
“Jacksonville will be the last major expansion market (i.e. market launched after 2004 with PCS spectrum such as Tampa, Dallas and Detroit) for MetroPCS and will give the company coverage in all large cities in the Sunshine State,” Prentiss wrote in a research note. “We expect that Metro will start launching future markets (i.e. markets launched with advanced wireless services spectrum including New York, Boston and Philadelphia) starting in the second half of 2008 and look forward to hearing from the company regarding the progress of these new buildouts.”
Shares of MetroPCS, which shot up 18% Tuesday following rival Leap Wireless’s news of strong fourth-quarter customer additions, fell 52 cents, or 3%, to $17.01 following news of the recent acquisition.