Broadband Co. Clearwire Announces $900M in Financing

Wireless broadband company Clearwire said on July 5 that Intel Capital, Motorola and Motorola Ventures in total have agreed to provide $900 million in financing to help the company develop and deliver mobile WiMax networks.

WiMax is an IEEE standard, supported by the WiMax Forum, which was started in 2001 to promote the IEEE 802.16 wireless broadband standard and to provide certification for compliant devices.

Clearwire, which has focused on bringing wireless broadband access to 27 midsized cities, is headed by Craig McCaw, who founded the company in 2003 and currently serves as the co-CEO.

He is also currently involved in a number of other investment companies that focus on the communications industry.

The agreement includes Intel Capital investing $600 million in financing, and Motorola will acquire the Clearwire subsidiary NextNet Wireless, which provides OFDM-based (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing-based), wireless broadband not dependent on line of sight.

/zimages/2/28571.gifClick hereto read more about Intels support of WiMax.

The companies did not disclose the amount of the NextNet Wireless acquisition.

/zimages/2/28571.gifRead morehereabout Intels new WiMax chip, “Rosedale 2.”

Motorola Ventures will also participate in the financing of the deal.

Once all the transitions are approved, Motorola will begin to supply broadband equipment for Clearwires current and future networks.

To increase the proliferation of mobile WiMax in PC clients, Intel will work to enable the inclusion of WiMax chip sets in next-generation mobile computing platforms, according to a joint statement from all three companies.

/zimages/2/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, reviews and analysis on mobile and wireless computing.