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INTEL INVESTS IN UNWIRED |
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Written by Adam Gosling
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Thursday, 25 August 2005 |
Wireless Broadband provider Unwired has been copping a bit of unwanted scrutiny for its cash burn recently, but all that is in the past now Intel has slung it $37m.
Unwired has access to the radio spectrum required for WiMax, putting the company in a box seat to partner with Intel.
The $37 million investment by the Intel Capital fund will take the pressure off the fledgling telco as it gains a foothold in the broadband marketplace.
Unwired’s shareholders will hold a meeting in October to obtain shareholder approvals for the investment. The investment comes in the form of secured convertible notes issued by Unwired with a face value of AUD$37 million (approximately US$27.9) and will be used to expand its services to other major Australian cities.
As part of the announcement, the companies have agreed to jointly promote mobile wireless broadband capabilities using WiMAX networks in Australia. Unwired plans to adopt future Intel products that support the upcoming IEEE 802.16e standard for WiMAX solutions intended to be deployed in infrastructure equipment and notebooks.
"Continued investment in WiMAX technology is strategically important for the industry," said Arvind Sodhani, Intel Capital president. "It will enable the provisioning of fast, full-fledged broadband Internet access to a vast proportion of the population in an accelerated time frame."
"Twelve months ago wireless broadband was on the horizon, but today it’s an accepted and trusted option for thousands of customers as evidenced by the rapid growth of customers for our Sydney business," said Unwired CEO David Spence. "Intel Capital’s investment will enable us to make wireless broadband available to a greater number of Australians and to quickly move to WiMAX in other cities as equipment becomes available."
"The introduction of the upcoming version of WiMAX will help mobile wireless broadband become absolutely mainstream in the marketplace," Spence said. "Unwired will be in the unique position of having access to the majority of the WiMAX-designated 3.5 GHz and 2.3 GHz licensed bands in Australia’s major metropolitan areas."
Unwired will initially deploy technology from U.S.-based broadband wireless access solutions provider, Navini Networks, for its WiMAX networks. Dual-mode customer modems and base stations, which can operate Unwired’s current proprietary technology and WiMAX-based technology concurrently, will be available in the first half of 2006.
"The upcoming WiMAX network Unwired plans to deploy will demonstrate how a service provider can deploy this standards-based technology across multiple metropolitan areas potentially covering thousands of square kilometres and serving millions of people," said Varun Kapur, managing director of Intel Capital, Asia-Pacific Region. "It’s a model that other leading service providers around the world could and should replicate."
For more information, visit www.intel.com/capital and www.unwired.com.au.
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