Clearwire Nabs $2.8 Billion In Additional Funding Now they just need to build the network, run it well, and add users... Since the project was announced, analysts have raised questions over whether Sprint and Clearwire's Mobile WiMax joint venture would have enough money to successfully fund a full deployment. Estimates to bring the service to 140 million POPs in fifty US markets ranged as high as $12 billion in some quarters, though Clearwire itself has always said they'd get the job done for considerably less. To that end, Clearwire recently announced that they'd be getting a new $1.5 billion cash infusion from Sprint, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Intel. Yesterday the company also announced they'd received an additional $920 million in debt financing: "Today, we are proud to have secured an additional $920 million in debt financing, which, when coupled with the $1.56 billion of recently announced equity financing and the $1.85 billion of debt financing that we closed on today, demonstrates our ability to access the capital markets on attractive terms and in sufficient size to meet our needs, while at the same time prudently balancing equity dilution with the cost of capital," said Bill Morrow, CEO of Clearwire. Partner investment, debt financing, and and a bond offering closed this week bring their total recent cash infusion to around $2.8 billion. Now all Clearwire has to do is build a massive network, run it properly, work out some of the early kinks our users are seeing, add considerably more users, and then prepare to do battle over the next five years with two of the most powerful companies in the United States (AT&T and Verizon). Easy, right?
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  dellsweigExtreme AerobaticsPremium,MVM
join:2003-12-10
Campbell Hall, NY
kudos:1 | ace in the hole The ace in the hole for Clear is the cable company involvment.
It is the magic bullet the cable companies have been looking for in "last mile" delivery" and gets them into the Quad Play world when/if handset makers imbed WiMAx | |
|  | | | Re: ace in the hole Only if Clear can figure out how to get WiMAX to work indoors. | |
| | | | | Re: ace in the hole said by Network Guy:Only if Clear can figure out how to get WiMAX to work indoors. MIMO antennas. Methinks 4G isn't 4G w/out MIMO. | |
| | | iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 | Assuming there are cable providers in the area, microcells built into cable gateways would do the trick.
For more rural establishments, Clear just needs to offer an external antenna like any other WISP does. | |
| | | |  wifi4milezBig Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace
join:2004-08-07
New York, NY | Re: ace in the hole said by iansltx:Assuming there are cable providers in the area, microcells built into cable gateways would do the trick. For more rural establishments, Clear just needs to offer an external antenna like any other WISP does. Not to mention that can simply add outdoor antennas (even if they are internally mounted) to all the existing equipment on the telephone poles. Walk through any residential area and you will see a cable co "box" on every 3rd pole. They could have tremendous coverage very quickly.
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God bless America, God bless our troops, and God help us destroy the Islamic terrorists.
»www.theadvocates.org/quizp/index.html
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| | | | | iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 | Re: ace in the hole Trememdous? Yes, but also rather expensive. Though I like the way you're thinking  | |
| | | | | | wifi4milezBig Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace
join:2004-08-07
New York, NY | Re: ace in the hole said by iansltx:Trememdous? Yes, but also rather expensive. Though I like the way you're thinking Far, far, FAR cheaper than setting up cell towers however. In fact, its probably the cheapest possible way to roll out a wireless network. | |
| | | | | | | iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 | Re: ace in the hole Tell that to Earthlink and other mesh WiFi proponents, though in fairness this doesn't rely on very few entry points for bandwidth... | |
| | | | | | | | wifi4milezBig Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace
join:2004-08-07
New York, NY | Re: ace in the hole said by iansltx:Tell that to Earthlink and other mesh WiFi proponents, though in fairness this doesn't rely on very few entry points for bandwidth... And the fact that Eartlink didnt already have rights to be on all the poles. | |
| | | | | | | | | iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 Reviews:
 ·Verizon Online DSL
 ·Comcast
| Re: ace in the hole Well, if it works and Clear does it, it works and Clear does it. Though I'm pretty sure the TWC system around here doesn't have a huge number of nodes, so microcells might not do the job. Maybe centicells?  | |
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| | | | | | | | | metro pcs has cell links on telephone poles in poor coverage areas. im not sure if they are actual cell nodes or just repeaters . but ppl in 5 towns area on longisland NY complained they were ugly or going to hurt them with radiation . | |
| | | | | | | | | iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 | Re: ace in the hole I know about MetroPCS; there was an article about MetroPCS recently and they pointed out the cost-effectiveness of those cell sites. | |
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| | good for them i hope they come to nyc soon
tired of waiting....oh yeah...legitimate concern about indoor coverage...they did screw it up somewhat... but i think they're shipping femtocell devices already to get around that problem | |
| | | CLWR up in pre market trading Now all Clearwire has to do is build a massive network, run it properly, work out some of the early kinks our users are seeing, add considerably more users, and then prepare to do battle over the next five years with two of the most powerful companies in the United States (AT&T and Verizon). Easy, right?
I really like how this is said. | |
| decifal
join:2007-03-10
Bon Aqua, TN
kudos:1 Reviews:
 ·Verizon Broadban..
| fail I see this as a failure.. I mean, they are deploying in already saturated markets.. NOT areas where OPTIONS are needed! Or just at least one provider in the area would be great!
Fail, I write this company off as a scape goat like satellite for service deployment, with its current stradegy.
(toss's clearwire in the basket with BPL) | |
| | patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
kudos:1
1 edit | Re: fail said by decifal:I see this as a failure.. I mean, they are deploying in already saturated markets.. NOT areas where OPTIONS are needed! Or just at least one provider in the area would be great! Fail, I write this company off as a scape goat like satellite for service deployment, with its current stradegy. (toss's clearwire in the basket with BPL) Looks to me like Clearwire will be the underdog forever. Think Nextel. Urban only coverage. Proprietary network technology/no USA roaming partners (unless you want to buy Sprint WiMAX with 5GB cap on EVDO).
Will it ever pay back its investment? No, it will just be silent write offs 5 years from now from Google, Intel, Comcast, TWC, and Sprint. Only positive thing I can say is it will keep the LTE folks in check, but the prepaid unlimiteds (MPCS/CRKT/RVL) are also doing a good job keeping the incumbants on edge, but they will be switching to LTE. I wonder if Clearwire's base stations use software radios that are a firmware flash away from doing LTE. If so, shows how little faith the execs at Clearwire have in WiMAX. Theres been talk before »Clearwire Not Ruling Out LTE | |
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·WOW Internet and..
| Re: fail Metro is the only provider that said they'd be switching to LTE. Revol has NOT stated what they will switch to. Cricket may go to LTE but i wouldn't hold that out on Revol. Revol is privately owned and managed. They depend on Sprint for their network for roaming just like the others do.
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www.two-pugs.com www.2pugs.etsy.com | |
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| | | It’s funny how everyone gets angry about them not covering rural areas and areas not served by other ISPs. Do ever wonder why that area isn’t served? Because it’s not profitable enough to warrant large amounts of capital expenditure. I now it sucks that the boondocks doesn’t have 50 meg symmetrical fiber but that’s the nature of Capitalism. If you want an area covered that has one person every half a mile the government is going to have to step in. Don’t expect the free market to correct the wrongs. | |
| | | iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
·Comcast
| Re: fail Correction: don't expect a publicly held company to do it. Though due to the nature of wireless some areas will be covered that can't get cable or DSL now. Since I'm so close to where cable and DSL run, I hope that'll be me someday.
As it stands however, you've got Comcast, TWC and Brighthouse investing in Clear so they have a quadruple play option. They're getting that option. Eventually coverage will have to expand to keep pace with LTE from AT&T and Verizon, but Clearwire has some time before that will happen. In the meanwhile, expect all Comcast, TWC and Brighthouse areas to get Clear coverage on a priority basis.
The bright spot in all of this is that Google is pouring in a good bit of money with this venture. Their goal: get the Internet as many places as possible. So they would probably be the most likely to push Clearwire toward a more rural deployment plan. At least one can hope.
Realistically though I don't see Clear WiMAX extending service much beyond current cable service areas. My estimate: areas who were previously a mile or les from the current cable plan will be able to get decent-quality Clear service. Raise that number to three or four miles with the use of external antennas. That's no small feat, but there will be some places left out in the cold. That's sorta life. | |
| | | | | Hence some are calling for a national broadband policy and a national network. | |
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| | | While I'm inclined to agree with you I must stop and think for a second. We usually complain about monopoly and duopolies in an area. At least this is another option. As long as there are no caps. It's a start. Now it would be nice to expand this into smaller areas, provided it will work indoors. I don't think it's quite a fail yet. | |
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·Comcast
| C'mon Clearwire! Just keep on keepin' on! I'm hoping that Clear will finally get Seattle lit up and then fill the void between Tacoma & Portland (along Interstate 5). There are thousands of households on that stretch who have no cable or DSL going to their homes who could benefit from this technology...or LTE...whatever comes first. We live three miles from the county courthouse and we have to use satellite...1.5 Mbps with a FAP from the dark ages for $80+! Clear offers a home solution with a mobile solution and VOIP for $70 (for those who can get service)! Bring on the competition! | |
| geonaplolatidiots
join:2005-12-14
Glendale, CA
kudos:1 | it's 2009.. why is it taking so long with that much cash? there are a lot of jobs that the 2.8 billion could pay for, why does it seem like whenever someone gets any type of additional funding, they skimp the money and service. | |
| | | Why it takes so long with all that cash??? Please don't forget that the CEOs' have to get their super mega bonuses/payday for leading their respective companies down the toilet which is where Clearwire is headed in the future. That's why it takes so long even with all that cash infusion. All the people at the top have to fill their pockets first!!!! | |
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