Sprint Nextel and other investors will pump another $1.5 billion into US-based Wimax operator Clearwire, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
Sprint is reportedly prepared to put in “at least” $1 billion into the loss-making carrier. Its partners, including Comcast, Intel and Time Warner Cable, are willing to tip in another $500 million.
An announcement about the fresh investment could come some time this week, when the company is expected to announce its Q3 result.
In its Q2 filing in August, Clearwire reported 511,000 subs, having added just 12,000 for the quarter.
It recorded an operating loss of $241 million on $63 million in revenue, and said it had $2.5 billion in cash and short-term investments.
Sprint's CEO Dan Hesse said during a recent earnings call that the company supported extra funding for Clearwire.
However, one of Clearwire’s backers, Google, won’t be pouring any more money into the venture, Reutersreported.
“[A]t this point we think the best way we can continue to add value is through continued product and strategic cooperation,” a Google spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Austrian-based Wimax Telecom has filed for insolvency after it was unable to meet its payments to Alcatel-Lucent for network infrastructure. The company owns nationwide licenses in Austria and Slovakia and five out of six regions in Croatia.