Clearwire
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Murdoch is reportedly planning to jump into the world of WiMAX through its DirecTV broadcast company, and could either partner with Clearwire or go after its own spectrum. The Hollywood Reporter says the most likely story is a link with McCaw’s Clearwire, and quotes sources that say News Corp and DirectTV are in “advanced” talks with Clearwire.
Robert Young, the soothsayer who sees things before others had alluded to Murdoch’s broadband plans almost a year ago. You must go and read Murdoch, WiMax and The Two Way Web and get a sense of why it is the most important priority for News Corp.
Another option could be those spectrum auctions coming up in August that everyone from Gabelli, and Paul Allen to William Berkman are eying. FCC files say a group called Wireless DBS, which is backed by DirecTV, News Corp, Fox Entertainment, EchoStar, Rupert Murdoch, and EchoStar’s Charles Ergen, among others, are looking to bid. Though, the application is incomplete and today is the last day to update it. These applications could be a low-risk placeholder, but then again, it’s an indicator of company ambition.
Written by Katie Fehrenbacher on July 18th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Unwired and WiMAX and MySpace and Clearwire.
Clearwire pulled back its IPO plans yesterday, and turned to the more generous and less demanding private sector, scoring more than double what it planned to raise from the public markets. It was a smart move in the light of the sorry state of tech IPOs.
Despite a sense that tech IPOs are returning in certain sectors, the public markets are still tepid for the most part. Everyone knows the Vonage story. Likewise Omniture, a web analytics firm inched down on its first day in the public markets, and network processing comany Wintegra pulled its IPO plans in the final hour last month. Yesterday telecom hardware maker ECI Telecom, a substantial company with big revenues, withdrew its IPO. It makes you wonder about the prospects for companies like Acme Packet, which has filed to go public as well. What about Optium?
According to a report released yesterday by the National Venture Capital Association, tech IPOs rose significantly in the second quarter of the year, but are still pretty tepid. NVCA President Mark Heesan, puts it as, “The growth in tech IPOs is encouraging, but we are certainly not out of the woods yet. We will need to see those levels increase throughout the rest of the year to characterize the U.S. public markets as available to venture backed companies.”
There are quite a few stellar technology companies waiting in the wings for the IPO window to open up. Force 10 Networks and Infinera come to mind. Tell Me Networks is another mature company that could tap the IPO pump. But if Clearwire is any indication, they will all have to wait.
Written by Katie Fehrenbacher on July 6th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Vonage and Wired and Start-Ups and Clearwire.
Looks like Clearwire’s IPO plans weren’t going too well. The company, which was started by telecom master Craig McCaw, withdrew its IPO plans on Wednesday and simultaneously said it had raised $900 million in a private equity round from Intel Capital and Motorola Ventures. Given Vonage’s poor public performance, the move was probably a smart one.
A good deal of that financing–$600 million–will come from Intel Capital, which calls the Clearwire financing the largest in its history. Part of the deal also includes a sale of Clearwire’s NextNet Wireless division to Motorola for an undisclosed sum, and from here on out Motorola will provide the network equipment for Clearwire.
Previously Clearwire had raised nearly $360 million from backers that include McCaw, Intel Corp., and Bell Canada, and now even without the company’s planned $400 million IPO, Clearwire will have over $1 billion to burn on its network. The company needs the funds, given WiMAX networks are very expensive to build, and the company lost $140 million last year. The new injection of capital by the big partners is a major bet on WiMAX and means the network will likely be rolled out faster and more widespread.
Written by Katie Fehrenbacher on July 5th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Unwired and WiMAX and Wireless Broadband and Clearwire.