Let's Make a WiMAX Deal Q: What do you get when you combine an über capitalist (Craig McCaw), a heavily hyped network technology (WiMAX), and established corporations (Intel and Motorola) looking to protect and expand their turf?

A: A $900 million deal that could have a huge impact on the future of broadband wireless networking.

In 2003, McCaw, an early cellular entrepreneur, bought Clearwire, which provides broadband wireless Internet using licensed spectrum in the 2.5-GHz band. The company currently offers service in 200-plus cities and towns worldwide and is reportedly capable of reaching more than 90 million U.S. households. Clearwire had planned a $400 million IPO but scrapped that plan in early July when it received investments totaling $900 million from Intel Capital and Motorola Ventures.

What's Intel's angle? It wants to promote Mobile WiMAX (802.16e), a technology central to its strategy to blend Wi-Fi and WiMAX into a powerful wireless mix. Ironically, Clearwire doesn't use WiMAX on its network ... yet. That will soon change thanks to a planned supply partnership with Motorola, which will take over Clearwire's NextNet subsidiary--which serendipitously manufactures proprietary broadband wireless network access gear that overcomes the line-of-sight requirements plaguing earlier-generation products, making service much easier to deploy. We expect Motorola to leverage that technology as part of its own WiMAX product portfolio.