Clearwire Call, the Shorthand Version
A quick recap of the Clearwire earnings announcement and conference call:
– Clearwire will launch eight new mobile WiMax markets over the rest of 2009, beginning with Atlanta and Las Vegas by this summer, followed by new launches in Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth and Philadelphia later in the year; Clearwire will also add mobile WiMax services to its existing pre-WiMax services in Seattle, Honolulu and the Charlotte, N.C., urban area. It will also re-launch the existing “Xohm” market in Baltimore as a Clearwire-branded entity, also later in the year.
– In 2010, Clearwire plans to add mobile WiMax services in additional markets, including New York, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, D.C. and Houston, along with more of its existing pre-WiMax markets. Clearwire said it may speed or slow deployments based on the availability of capital.
– Clearwire says it has enough capital on hand to fund these plans, and plans to spend between $1.5 billion and $1.9 billion during 2009.
– Clearwire CEO Ben Wolff said that seeking government funding from the stimulus bill is a possibility, but that Clearwire’s current buildout plans do not factor in any government money.
– Clearwire will offer a “personal hot spot,” a mobile router that combines WiMax access with Wi-Fi broadcast capability, by the end of March. It will offer a dual-mode 3G/4G laptop card by this summer, which will work on the Sprint 3G network when not connected to Clearwire’s WiMax service.
