Intel's $600 million Investment In HypeMAX Paying Off

from the make-the-bubble-bigger dept

Intel's throwing a lot of money at WiMAX -- not just to fund its own efforts, but to almost singlehandedly prop up the market in an effort to ensure it will have some customers. It started a joint venture with a UK ISP to build a WiMAX network there, and has even funded rival WiMAX chipmakers. Those investments pale in comparison to its most recent one where it pumped $600 million into Craig McCaw's Clearwire WiMAX operator. This huge investment negated the need for Clearwire to continue with plans to go public, after its IPO announcement raised a lot of questions. But it looks like Intel's cash injection is already having its intended effect, as BusinessWeek anoints Clearwire as the next big thing in broadband access, taking all the as yet unproven claims about WiMAX to heart, without touching on any of the plethora of questions surrounding the company, its viability and the reception its IPO was getting on Wall Street. Which is just the kind of hype Intel likes for WiMAX, and was hoping its investment would generate.
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Reader Comments

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  1. identicon
    anonymous coward, 14 Jul 2006 @ 9:57am

    just to piss off the first haters...

    first!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Floyd, 14 Jul 2006 @ 10:18am

    second!!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 14 Jul 2006 @ 10:19am

    retard!!!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    just so you know, 14 Jul 2006 @ 10:19am

    Floyd,

    Second place is first loser

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    just so you know, 14 Jul 2006 @ 10:19am

    Floyd,

    Second place is first loser

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Bob W, 14 Jul 2006 @ 10:26am

    This is juvenile

    Why not post something relevant to the topic :rolleyes

    Like where did Intel stash $600 million to "pump" into WiMAX ro why is it so important to them?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    jimmy dean, 14 Jul 2006 @ 10:35am

    theyll never beat AMD.......

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 14 Jul 2006 @ 10:45am

    Re:

    last time i checked they wer beating AMD NOW.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Yakov, 14 Jul 2006 @ 10:56am

    Easy

    They fired a bunch of people and found 600 mill to invest into this nonsence.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 14 Jul 2006 @ 11:34am

    Re: This is juvenile

    They make WiMAX chipsets. If there is no WiMAX providers, then there are not customers and therefore no need for the chipsets. They've already put a lot of money into the technology. They don't want to see it just fall by the wayside.

    I don't see why anyone should be complaining. It is going to pur pressure on the traditional ISPs. WiMAX is young and still has a lot of potential, so the ISPs are going to have to start looking forward at how they are going to compete. And whenever companies compete, consumers win.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    WirelessGuy, 14 Jul 2006 @ 11:39am

    First spend, then fire

    Interesting how this gets good press, then they state that they are firing 1,000 managers...

    Don't you hate that they save $1B by getting rid of humans to invest $600M in a product that will more than likely flop? Then more people will get fired and all of us technical people will end up working McDs....

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    JerseyRich, 14 Jul 2006 @ 12:52pm

    Life is Tough

    If you're good enough, you won't get fired. Or, if you have bad luck, you might.

    Even if you do, if you're good enough, you'll get another job soon. If you don't or can't, you probably suck (in one way or another).

    Lesson here? Get skills, use them, be confident and capable, and you'll never be out of work for long.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. identicon
    lay person, 14 Jul 2006 @ 2:26pm

    Bored

    HA HA!

    I'm Last!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 14 Jul 2006 @ 2:39pm

    Re: Life is Tough

    wohoo, at least ONE person thats commented thus far understands business :)

    To everyone else, yes, welfare and pinko-socialist economics must sound nice, warm and fuzzy. Jobs for everybody!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. identicon
    Night of the Night is Nigh, 14 Jul 2006 @ 2:55pm

    Uh Huh..

    No,

    I AM!!

    :P

    link to this | view in thread ]

  16. identicon
    Night of the Night is Nigh, 14 Jul 2006 @ 2:57pm

    :(

    Damn it! Anonymous Coward beat me to it!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  17. identicon
    Dumb, 14 Jul 2006 @ 3:27pm

    Re: Life is Tough

    That might be the dumbest thing I have heard in a long time

    link to this | view in thread ]

  18. identicon
    Jay, 14 Jul 2006 @ 3:41pm

    Get off your high horses

    I am getting sick and tired of Tech dirt's trashing clearwire. I am a clearwire customer and I am very happy with the service. I have not enountered any major problem since I signed up in January of this year. And It's a whole lot faster than dial up.

    So stop trashing Clearwire and give it a chance. I'm happy that a company like Intel sees the value of this company and other WiMax companies.

    Tech Dirt, get off your high horses.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  19. identicon
    my, myself, and i, 15 Jul 2006 @ 10:11pm

    yeah...someone sounds like a little baby, or a spammer.

    but they aren't neccissarily trashing clearwire as they are showing the stupidity of intel in this useless race for the 'next big thing'

    link to this | view in thread ]

  20. identicon
    dude, 18 Jul 2006 @ 4:32am

    last post

    YEAH

    link to this | view in thread ]

  21. identicon
    Brian, 28 Oct 2006 @ 9:27pm

    Let me do the math for you.

    If Intel corners the market in WiMax chips, they can sell them to computer retailers like Dell. So when someone gets a brand new laptop they are already hooked up for High-Speed internet wherever they go. (eventually) Clearwire is building the network, so Intel invested money in them... Get it now?

    Intel Chips + Clearwire's Network = WiMax = $$$

    There ya go. As for Intel canning people to come up with the $, sorry to tell ya thats just life.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  22. identicon
    Steve, 15 Mar 2007 @ 8:12pm

    Re: Get off your high horses

    I agree!!! When the Clearwire stock falls to 17.00 per share BUY!!! As soon as we complete the Washington-Balto build the Clearwire will climb to 41.00 per share.

    link to this | view in thread ]


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