Digital Daily » Cleawire http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com by John Paczkowski Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:37:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 http://allthingsd.com/theme/images/logo-rss.jpg All Things Digital http://allthingsd.com/ 144 22 Clearwire as Mud http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20081201/clearwire-as-mud/ http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20081201/clearwire-as-mud/#comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:10:31 +0000 John Paczkowski http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/?p=8900
Ironic, isn’t it, that the nationwide WiMAX network created by the $14.5 billion merger of Clearwire (CLWR) and Sprint Nextel (S) is to be rebranded as “Clear,” since the joint-venture transaction that spawned it is about as muddy as they come.

With $3.2 billion in investments from the likes of Comcast (CMCSA), Intel (INTC), Time Warner Cable (TWX), Google (GOOG) and Brighthouse Networks, the new Clearwire has quite a few masters to serve, though CEO Benjamin Wolff insists none will have a direct hand in the company’s operations. “We have very little in common with a joint venture,” he said during a conference call on Monday, claiming Clearwire’s investors have no say in the timing of network launches. Hard to believe that’s the case when a $1 billion investor like Intel holds a seat on Clearwire’s board. But if it is, Wolff’s lucky. Because with Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) planning to bring a competing fourth-generation network called LTE (long-term evolution) online in the next year or so, Clearwire can’t afford any unnecessary distractions lest it lose that all important time-to-market advantage. “The credit markets are lousy” will only work as an excuse for slowed deployment for so long …

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