BELL CONSULTING GROUP INC.

summary Wall Street Journal article: Tech Firms to Build WiMax Network in U.S.

This $3.2B proposed cross-sector tech investment banking deal and joint venture announced May 7 2008 is to be consummated this fall after regulatory review, will allow Sprint to spin XOhm into Clearwire, gaining majority 51% ownership while also receiving financial backing from partners Google, Intel, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and other important backers.  This is the most interesting large-scale tech deal of 2008, barring the failed Microsoft-Yahoo discussions, with potentially a huge 5-10 year impact on growth across most the big tech sectors. Keep in mind though - it is still only a proposed deal, not a done deal!  It is easy to lose sight of that while reading about it in the financial media.

We have been anticipating the twists and turns in this one since it started three months ago. This outcome, Microsoft leaving as a jilted suitor and Yahoo! facing a crisis of confidence, is a bit of a disaster for Yahoo. Chief Yahoo! Yang will have his work cut out, just to hold onto his job by the time the dust settles on this heavily botched, unsightly mating dance and non-dialog between two tech giants.