WASHINGTON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Sprint Corp will not bid in the upcoming auction of U.S. radio airwaves, looking ahead to the bigger sale of spectrum planned for next year, a company spokesman said on Thursday.

Initial applications are due on Friday for companies considering participation in the Federal Communications Commission's auction of frequencies known as AWS-3.

Scheduled to begin on Nov. 13, the auction is expected to raise at least $10 billion and attract bidders such as satellite operator Dish Network Corp, and three other top U.S. wireless carriers, Verizon Communications Inc, AT&T Inc and T-Mobile US Inc.

"Sprint has decided not to participate in the FCC's AWS-3 auction but will continue to evaluate the opportunities presented by the upcoming 600 MHz incentive auction," Sprint spokesman Jeffrey Silva said in a statement.

The so-called incentive auction, planned for mid-2015, will offer wireless carriers the first opportunity since 2008 to buy low-frequency airwaves, considered the "beachfront property" of radio spectrum for their reach and strength.

Sprint, the third-largest U.S. carrier, is working to gain scale and become a stronger competitor after its plans to acquire T-Mobile collapsed earlier this year.

(Reporting by Alina Selyukh; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)