Unlike the first installment of this series, Globalstar’s sequel may have a happy ending. Globalstar’s low-power Wi-Fi plans don’t have the interference problems of LightSquared’s LTE network. The FCC also let Dish repurpose its spectrum.
With the three tie-up between Sprint, Clearwire and SoftBank now final, Dish Network is left empty handed. But Dish’s chairman Charlie Ergen is hatching other plans, some of which he’s already set in motion.
Sprint is juggling its two competing buyout offers. It’s appointed a special committee to evaluate Dish’s proposal on one hand, but it’s not delaying its wedding date with SoftBank on the other.
DISH Network’s bid for Sprint could result in a revolutionary combination of video and mobile delivery and wireless broadband. But DISH needs Clearwire’s spectrum more than it needs Sprint’s network.
To hear Cisco tell it, the world is quickly running out of wireless spectrum. Tim Farrar, of TMF associates, says a look at the numbers shows that Cisco first overstated them, then revised them, and is now overstating them again.
According to a regulatory filing, Sprint entertained four possible M&A deals in the last two years apart from Softbank. Dish and MetroPCS are obvious candidates, and the other two could have been T-Mobile and the cablecos.
Dish Network isn’t taking Sprint’s takeover of Clearwire lying down. The company has submitted a bid to acquire all or part of Clearwire at a price 11 percent higher than Sprint is offering. Are we witnessing a bidding war or two telecom giants posturing?
If Sprint really wants to buy Clearwire, why did it low-ball its offer, and why is Softbank reportedly choking off Sprint’s bargaining power? Analyst Tim Farrar thinks there is more to this deal, and many other related ones, than meet the eye.
The CTIA says wireless providers are in a desperate race against the clock and need more spectrum, yet their very own numbers reveal a different story. Tim Farrar of Telecom, Media, and Finance Associates, says wireless data growth is actually slowing.
Today SpaceX is an aerospace sensation, but several years ago the prospects of the fledgling space travel startup weren’t so certain. That’s when satellite communications provider Iridium decided to place a huge bet on SpaceX, handing it the single biggest commercial launch contract in history.
