Cobra, what about WHP's suggestion,"Developmental Contracts"? It sounds plausible to me.
"I was recently at a trade show where much the same sort of situation unfolded for a good friend of mine who has an equally disruptive technology, which can solve an equally large industry wide problem (different industry, but a high tech industry problem). The solution... Developmental Contracts, where the major players (in NVI's case - SBC, Verizon, Alcatel, Intel) enter into individual technology development contracts whereby they don't get equity, they are allocated a portion of production over the course of 1-3 yrs at best price (whatever the best price is over time). No equity is exchanged, and the money is not a loan. The initial product is developed to meet the contracts specifications; tweeked to meet the individual needs of each customer (max 3-5 customers who will truly commit to bringing the technology to market). I can't imagine why some sort of developmental contract can't be negotiated if Embarq is truly an industry solution simply waiting to be implemented. In my friend's case, the largest industry players are practically begging to help little David slay Goliath. Why, because all ships are lifted when the tide rises. Everyone (everyone in the telco field, in NVI's case) wins if the new technology can be brought to market."
