From: Steve Stroh <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: May 16, 2004 1:09:09 PM PDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Business Week: Craig McCaw's Secret Plan
Business Week's May 24, 2004 issue has another wireless story:
Craig McCaw's Secret Plan
His deals in wireless broadband have the telecom world buzzing
Ever since he was a boy growing up near Seattle, Craig O. McCaw saw the
moneymaking potential of the public airwaves. His father, J. Elroy
McCaw,
built one of the first rock 'n' roll radio stations in the country, New
York's WINS-AM, and netted about $20 million when he sold it in 1962.
An
inveterate practical joker, Elroy sent his then-12-year-old son into a
New
York bank to deposit the multimillion-dollar check from the deal. Years
later, Craig scooped up licenses for radio spectrum and cobbled
together
the first nationwide cellular empire, which he sold to AT&T (T ) for a
neat $11.5 billion in 1994.
Now, McCaw is trying to get back on the air. After losing billions on
several ventures in recent years, the reclusive entrepreneur is quietly
making wireless investments that could be the start of a new empire
that
once again upsets the balance of power in the telecom industry. In
March
he acquired Clearwire Holdings Inc., a Texas company that provides
wireless broadband service in Jacksonville, Fla., and holds the
exclusive
rights to radio spectrum in about 100 other U.S. cities. In April he
snapped up NextNet Wireless Inc., a Minneapolis startup that makes gear
for delivering high-speed Internet access through the air. And on May
3,
he invested $36 million in Microcell Telecommunications Inc., a
Montreal-based cellular provider that plans to introduce wireless
broadband throughout Canada.
The rest of the story at
<http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_21/b3884110_mz063.htm>
Update: It was announced in the last week that McCaw will be the
keynote
speaker at the upcoming WCA Conference.
Thanks,
Steve
---
Steve Stroh
Editor, FOCUS On Broadband Wireless Internet Access
Co-host, Wireless Tech Radio - Live on Wed. @ 10:00 Eastern
www.focusonbwia.com / www.corante.com/bwia / www.wirelesstechradio.com
425-939-0076 - steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx - www.stevestroh.com