Alvarion lands largest gov't-backed WiMax deal - Telecom News Analysis

Alvarion Ltd. (Nasdaq: ALVR) announced a $100 million contract to supply U.S. WiMax startup Open Range Communications Inc. for the largest government-funded WiMax deployment in the country. The deal is significant not just because of its size, but also because it gives a taste of what's to come from the U.S. government's $7.2 billion broadband stimulus plan.

Open Range received a $267 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) in March 2008 to fund a WiMax-deployment plan to cover 6 million people in underserved regions. In January this year, the startup also received a $100 million investment from One Equity Partners , which is the private equity arm of JP.MorganChase...