Rural WiMAX operator secures $100M

Colorado-based rural broadband service operator Open Range Communications, which has a deal with Globalstar to deploy WiMAX in some 500 rural communities, said it has obtained $100 million in funding from One Equity Partners, the private equity division of JP Morgan Chase & Co.

The amount of funding the company has now secured is $367 million. In November, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved a $267 million loan under the department's Rural Development Utilities Program to Globalstar and Open Range. At the same time, the FCC granted Globalstar's request to modify its ability to offer Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) services in the U.S., which paved the way for the mobile satellite operator to deploy WiMAX to more than 500 rural communities with Open Range, its spectrum lessee. The ATC allows satellite operators to partner with terrestrial operators to offer services that can penetrate buildings, which is a major shortcoming to satellite services.

For more:
- read the Rocky Mountain News [1]

Related articles:
Commission allows Globalstar to offer WiMAX [2]
Two FCC decisions [3] could have major impact on WiMAX