Clearwire eyes selling up to $2 billion spectrum

Clearwire expects to snag another round of funding late this year or early 2011 and may raise as much as $2 billion from selling wireless spectrum, according to its finance chief Erik Prusch.

Clearwire, which is 54 percent owned by Sprint Nextel, needs billions of dollars more funding to complete construction of its high-speed wireless network even after a $1.3 billion debt offering last week. It is considering an equity investment from a strategic partner like Sprint and a sale of wireless airwaves that it does not need for its service. Prusch said the company is half-way though a spectrum auction and has had interest from several partners who are doing due diligence. "We would be looking to find up to $2 billion from a sale," Prusch told reporters after his presentation at a UBS investor conference, adding that it was still not clear if Clearwire would look for both equity funding and a spectrum sale. "The question is whether we close either or both," Prusch said.