Sprint says it could help Clearwire stay afloat
updated 04:55 pm EST, Tue November 9, 2010
Clearwire to get more funds from Sprint: Hesse
Clearwire's recent money concerns don't mean its existing partners, including Sprint, will stop funding the company, according to a Tuesday report. Sprint Chief Executive Dan Hesse said Clearwire's going concern notice was an accounting technicality as Clearwire has less than 12 months worth of funding left. Clearwire is uncertain it can raise new funds, and has been tied to talks with T-Mobile in recent months.
"That doesn't mean that Sprint and other partners won't continue to fund Clearwire," Hesse said to a gathered crowd at the OpenMobile conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.
Hesse did not go as far as to actually commit moneys to Clearwire, however. Sprint owns 54 percent of Clearwire, and analysts expect Sprint to invest more money into the 4G wireless network provider.
Clearwire last week announced a net loss of $564.6 million and will cut 15 percent of its workforce. It will further delay plans to release its own smartphone and stop development of future retail stores. It said the problems facing the company may mean it will struggle to survive past the middle of next year.
