jraskal
09-16-2009, 06:16 PM
From WSJ.com
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Clearwire Corp. (CLWR) Chief Executive Bill Morrow said he would be open to switching fourth-generation, or 4G, wireless technologies down the line if it helped the company.
Clearwire is rolling out a mobile broadband network running on a technology called WiMax. Much of the rest of the wireless industry, however, is heading toward a different standard called Long-Term Evolution. Clearwire and majority backer Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) have staked their claim to have the first 4G network in the U.S.
If LTE becomes the dominant 4G technology, Clearwire can easily switch technologies given its newly built infrastructure, Morrow told Dow Jones Newswires.
"We're the only carrier that can do this," he said. "We'll do what's right for the business. Whether it's LTE, WiMax, future technology X, it doesn't matter to me."
Speculation of a potential bid by Deutsche Telekom AG (DT) for Sprint arose recently. A deal would call into question Sprint's commitment to WiMax, since Deutsche Telekom has already committed to LTE as its 4G technology.
Morrow declined to comment on the speculation, but noted Clearwire was ready to handle shifts in strategy. The changes would require a simple software update, since many of its routers are compatible with both technologies. Morrow made a keynote speech at a WiMax conference earlier Tuesday.
For now, Clearwire is committed to WiMax. Morrow noted that "WiMax is here today, and LTE is not."
Clearwire shares recently rose 5.5% to $8.97.
The Kirkland, Wash., company is in the middle of building out its WiMax network and plans to cover 80 markets by the end of next year. But the company still needs $2.3 billion of additional funding to complete the buildout and run the network until it can turn a profit.
The company is sitting on $2.4 billion in cash, but wants to settle on finding the additional investment by the end of the year, Morrow said. He declined to speculate on the potential source of the additional funds, but noted that it likely wouldn't be through a debt offering. The most likely source would be from the company's current backers.
Such heavy hitters as Google Inc. (GOOG) and Intel Corp. (INTC) already own stakes in the company, but have had to write down much of their investments as Clearwire's stock tumbled earlier this year.
On whether or not those companies would be reluctant to double-down on such an investment, Morrow said that the companies all have vested business and strategic interests in the success of Clearwire.
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Clearwire Corp. (CLWR) Chief Executive Bill Morrow said he would be open to switching fourth-generation, or 4G, wireless technologies down the line if it helped the company.
Clearwire is rolling out a mobile broadband network running on a technology called WiMax. Much of the rest of the wireless industry, however, is heading toward a different standard called Long-Term Evolution. Clearwire and majority backer Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) have staked their claim to have the first 4G network in the U.S.
If LTE becomes the dominant 4G technology, Clearwire can easily switch technologies given its newly built infrastructure, Morrow told Dow Jones Newswires.
"We're the only carrier that can do this," he said. "We'll do what's right for the business. Whether it's LTE, WiMax, future technology X, it doesn't matter to me."
Speculation of a potential bid by Deutsche Telekom AG (DT) for Sprint arose recently. A deal would call into question Sprint's commitment to WiMax, since Deutsche Telekom has already committed to LTE as its 4G technology.
Morrow declined to comment on the speculation, but noted Clearwire was ready to handle shifts in strategy. The changes would require a simple software update, since many of its routers are compatible with both technologies. Morrow made a keynote speech at a WiMax conference earlier Tuesday.
For now, Clearwire is committed to WiMax. Morrow noted that "WiMax is here today, and LTE is not."
Clearwire shares recently rose 5.5% to $8.97.
The Kirkland, Wash., company is in the middle of building out its WiMax network and plans to cover 80 markets by the end of next year. But the company still needs $2.3 billion of additional funding to complete the buildout and run the network until it can turn a profit.
The company is sitting on $2.4 billion in cash, but wants to settle on finding the additional investment by the end of the year, Morrow said. He declined to speculate on the potential source of the additional funds, but noted that it likely wouldn't be through a debt offering. The most likely source would be from the company's current backers.
Such heavy hitters as Google Inc. (GOOG) and Intel Corp. (INTC) already own stakes in the company, but have had to write down much of their investments as Clearwire's stock tumbled earlier this year.
On whether or not those companies would be reluctant to double-down on such an investment, Morrow said that the companies all have vested business and strategic interests in the success of Clearwire.