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Rumor: Intel to facilitate Sprint/Clearwire deal
Rumors are circulating again that Sprint Nextel will spin off its Xohm WiMAX broadband unit and form a joint venture with Clearwire. The Street.com is reporting the deal between the two firms will include a $2 billion investment from Intel Capital.
If this rumored deal actually goes through, it will give a much-needed vote of confidence to WiMAX. Many companies at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week said much of WiMAX's future was resting on Sprint's Xohm business. Without Xohm, mobile WiMAX may not be anything other than a niche play.
Find out the latest on Xohm at the FierceWireless co-located event "4G and Beyond" on April 2 at CTIA Wireless 2008. Barry West, CTO of Sprint and head of the Xohm unit will be a keynote speaker and will provide a status update on Xohm. Here's a link to the agenda.
For more on Sprint and Clearwire:
- see this Street.com report
Related articles:
WiMAX's future still rests heavily in Sprint's hands Report
Sprint launches three markets as planned Report
Comments
Posted by Amitabh Kumar | February 22, 2008 - 3:30am
The deal if it goes through will give a new dimension to mobile WiMAX in the US and perhaps in parts of Europe. Embroiled as they are in the 700 MHz spectrum auction, the companies have bid over $19 Billion for 700 MHz spectrum, which has just now been declared as one for which certification profiles" will be announced" by the WiMAX forum. However Sprint and Clearwire can sew together virtually all of the mobile WiMAX spectrum in the 2.5-2.69 GHz, the band where certified Wave 2 devices with MIMO are set to be available anytime now. The support of Inel, will also help with the chipsets and customer devices the last remaining link for success of this new technology. It is to be remembered that the competition will be with the Mobile industry at the prime of its life with mobile handset launches averaging one a day, mobile multimedia on the go and WiFi connectivity et el. Hence the new combination presents one of the best opportunities for success against the industry in the prime as well as one yet to be born in the 700 MHz band with a handicap of Billions of dollars in spectrum charges weighing down the business plans.
Amitabh Kumar
www.wimax-home.com
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