In a piece of less than felicitous timing, mobile broadband company Unwired the Company that Intel tipped over $35 million was forced to remind the market yesterday of a longstanding sponsorship arrangement it has with shock jock Alan Jones’ employer, Macquarie Radio.

The announcement came as newspapers ran excerpts from Chris Masters’ biography Jonestown, which among other things, recalls the earlier cash-for-comment era.

Macquarie absorbed $1.3 million of Unwired funds in the quarter ended September 30, as part of an exclusive three-year deal, struck in July 2005, that gave Unwired sponsorship of the Alan Jones show. It earned exclusive advertising rights in the Internet services category.

“As Australia’s undisputed talk-back king, Alan Jones will play an important role in helping Sydney to understand the simplicity and the potential of Unwired’s wireless broadband offering,” Unwired CEO David Spence said at the time.

A combination of cash and equity, year one of the agreement saw Unwired issue 3.3 million Unwired shares to Macquarie Radio, and in year two, a $1.2 million cash payment. The final year calls for $1.5 million in cash or shares.

Unwired reported a cash balance of $10.3 million in the September quarter, down from $15.9 million in the previous quarter. Customer revenue was up 7.1 percent, from $7.3 million in the previous quarter, to $7.8 million. Customer numbers rose from 53,405 to 59,446, according to Unwired.