Clearwire launches WiFi service in California, Florida and Ohio

Broadband wireless provider Clearwire (Nasdaq: CLWR) officially debuted its WiMAX-based service in five additional markets--Los Angeles, Miami, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio--yesterday and said it plans to launch 4G service in the San Francisco Bay area on Dec. 28. 

To be sure, it's been a bumpy ride for the broadband wireless provider, which is majority owned by Sprint. Earlier this month Clearwire said it will eliminate 15 percent of its workforce, or about 630 employees, and substantially cut back sales and marketing spending, among other cost-cutting measures. 

The company has been eating up cash like mad. Clearwire had $1.39 billion in cash and equivalents as of Sept. 30, compared to $2.27 billion at the end of June. The Kirkland, Wash.-based company has said it is looking at various avenues for raising capital, including potential strategic transactions, additional debt or equity financings and/or asset sales.

Clearwire's 4G network now serves 68 markets now serves 68 markets in the U.S., including in New York, Chicago, Houston and Philadelphia, which covers 103 million people. The company hopes to gain more than four million subscribers by the end of this year. In California alone, for instance, Clearwire covers more than 11 million people. The company covers approximately 3.8 million people in Florida, 1.4 million in Cleveland, 1.3 million in Cinncinati and 1.1 million in Columbus.

For more:
- see this story
- and this release

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