* Motorola to finance part of $149 mln investment

* Clearwire unveiled expansion to Spain last week

HELSINKI, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Motorola MOT.N said on Wednesday it had won an order to supply WiMax-technology network for Irish firm Imagine Communication Group, in another advancement for the ailing technology in Europe.

Motorola said it would finance a portion of the 100 million euro ($149 million) network investment.

Last week Clearwire International CLWR.O unveiled its expansion into Spain, hoping to inject life into a technology that many in the mobile industry had already laid to rest. [ID:nL6465146]

WiMax has been competing for the status of next-generation mobile technology, but has largely lost the battle to Long Term Evolution (LTE), which has become mobile operators’ favoured solution as it can exploit existing infrastructure.