Comcast bullish on Clearwire despite Q4 earnings hit

Comcast Corp. blames the economy and even Clearwire Corp. for some of its struggles in 2008. According to a report from CNNMoney.com, Comcast said fourth-quarter profit fell 32% because of decreased value of its investment in the Clearwire WiMAX service. During its earnings conference call this morning, Comcast said it remains excited about its investment in Clearwire, and the nature of the partners in the deal gives Comcast the “piece parts to begin to try out some wireless offerings.” The company said not to expect anything in the first few months of the year, but will launch wireless services in the back half of 2009.
When asked if there were worries about Clearwire negatively affecting Comcast’s wireline offerings, the company said its strategy is to have the most robust network, then a relationship with the consumer and then let the consumer decide which services he or she prefers. “If wireless wants to come along, I for one believe that the needs in the home are going to be so great that wireline should be able to offer way more than what wireless can do,” a Comcast executive said during the call.
Further, Comcast went on to say that it cable is the best network in the home as customer demand for mobile TV and high definition streaming comes about. “We are partnering with Clearwire to see where wireless goes so we have permanent access, and to see what gets built with that 100 megahertz of spectrum,” the executive said.