Deutsche Telekom Said to Be in Talks With Clearwire on Networks
By Serena Saitto and Ragnhild Kjetland
Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Telekom AG is in talks to gain access to airwaves controlled by Clearwire Corp. and MetroPCS Communications Inc. as the German company seeks to expand U.S. networks, said two people familiar with the matter.
Europe’s biggest phone company is looking for the most cost-effective way to build nationwide networks using high-speed technology, according to one of the people, who declined to be identified because the negotiations are preliminary. The Bonn- based carrier is in discussions with Sprint Nextel Corp., which owns 51 percent of Clearwire.
MetroPCS and Clearwire each own airwaves suitable for fourth-generation networks, which can provide faster service for Web-equipped phones than their predecessors. Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile USA unit, whose subscriber gains have slowed in five of the past six quarters, has yet to announce its own expansion plans. Larger rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc. are already upgrading their systems.
Clearwire uses the WiMax standard, which is up to four times as fast as the average speeds on some older networks. Clearwire said in August that it needed $2 billion by the end of the year to complete its network expansion, and Deutsche Telekom could provide funding in exchange for access, one of the people said.
Sprint spokesman James Fisher and Susan Johnston, a spokeswoman for Kirkland, Washington-based Clearwire, declined to comment. Deutsche Telekom spokeswoman Anna Bischof and MetroPCS spokesman Jim Mathias also declined to comment.
Clearwire says it believes it holds more wireless airwaves than any other carrier in the U.S., according to a regulatory filing. Clearwire combined its fourth-generation services with Overland Park, Kansas-based Sprint last year.
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