WiMAX service provider Clearwire is to receive at least another US$1.5 billion in funding from its partners, according to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report. The WSJ article claims that Clearwire’s majority shareholder (51 percent), Sprint Nextel, will pump another US$1 billion into the venture, whilst a group which includes Comcast, Intel, Time Warner and Bright House Networks will stump up another US$500 million. Citing unnamed sources, the article notes that existing investor Google isn’t involved in the latest financing round, official details of which could come as soon as this week. The report adds that Clearwire in recent months has been attempting to attract new capital from other telecom companies such as Deutsche Telekom, but these efforts have failed.
Last year Clearwire’s five partners invested a combined US$3.2 billion into the US WiMAX venture. In August, Clearwire – arguably the world’s biggest service provider proponent of mobile WiMAX technology – reported a slightly narrower loss for the second quarter and promised strong growth ahead. The company’s 2Q09 net loss was US$73.37 million, a 2 percent improvement on the year-ago period. Revenues were up 9 percent year-on-year to US$63.6 million, driven by 11 percent subscriber growth. It reports its latest quarterly results tomorrow. It is targeting launch of WiMAX services in 25 US markets by the end of this year.
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