Satellite provider DirecTV is looking for partners and funding to create a national WiMax network that would catapult News. Corp., which owns the majority stake in DirectTV, into the next generation
of Internet service. WiMax, short for World Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a wireless broadband technology that offers a range of 30 miles versus the current 20 feet offered by most Wi-Fi
hotspots. According to
The Hollywood Reporter, News Corp. and DirecTV are poised to pump $2 billion into a two-year project, pending approval. Through the proposed network, News Corp. would be
able to directly sell content, advertising, and goods and services. "I would expect to have wireless broadband advanced in at least two or three cities before the end of this year, and then it might
take two or three years to build it out across the entire country," said News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch in a recent interview. The deal is likely to involve Clearwire Corp., a builder of
WiMax infrastructure. If DirecTV decides to move without Clearwire, it would have to bid on WiMax spectrum rights to be auctioned by the FCC on Aug. 9. More than 250 companies, including Time Warner,
Comcast, Sprint Nextel, and Clearwire, have registered with the government to bid on wireless spectrum.
Read the whole story at The Hollywood Reporter »
