During a ceremony unveiling Charter Communications’ new diversity commitment, CEO Tom Rutledge said it was “not impossible” that the company would bid in the upcoming FCC incentive auction, Reuters reported.

Though Rutledge characterized the company’s bid prospects as “unlikely” due to the “awkward” timing of company’s $55 billion merger with Time Warner Cable, he did not rule out the prospect that Charter would participate in the bidding. Rutledge said the company would be more likely to participate if the Time Warner Cable deal closed faster than expected.

The news comes as the industry looks to see who will participate in the coming auction.

Applications for broadcaster participation in the reverse auction closed last week, but applications for forward auction participants remain to be submitted. The later must be filed between January 26 and February 9.

Thus far, the FCC has remained tight-lipped in terms of naming broadcast participants in the reverse auction, but forward auction prospects have been more open about their intentions.

Wireless giants Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile have all signaled their intent to participate, albeit to varying degrees. The carriers have been joined by former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya, who has said he plans to go head to head with industry giants in the auction with spending in the realm of $4 billion to $10 billion. Dish Network is also expected to participate substantially in the auction.

However, there have been some surprise sit-outs already.

 In September, Sprint said it will not participate in the auction, citing its “sufficient” spectrum holdings. U.S. Cellular echoed that sentiment earlier this month, when CEO Ken Meyers said the carrier had enough spectrum to satisfy its consumer needs. Unlike Sprint, however, Meyers did not completely rule out participation.