KeyOn's broadband stimulus apps rejected, stock tanks - FierceBroadbandWireless

Rural wireless broadband operator KeyOn Communications announced that all 11 of its applications for broadband stimulus funds were rejected by the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS). Following the announcement, publicly traded KeyOn lost 46 percent of its value.

The company had requested $152 million in funds to build a WiMAX network in the 3.65 GHz band to expand its current rural coverage area from 2.5 million people to 6.5 million across 16 states. For several months in 2006, KeyOn's stock surged on the idea that it would be a big winner of broadband stimulus funding. From May 1 to Nov. 1, the per share value of KeyOn rose from 4 cents to $2.10, representing an increase of more than 5,000 percent...