Sprint pulls out of WiMax deal with Clearwater

Oh, we were so psyched up for WiMax. We often talk with friends in the wireless industry about the perils of Sprint, and in every conversation someone say, “yeah, but they’re getting WiMax.” It’s almost like a ray of hope for the nation’s No. 3 carrier. But that ray has been covered by clouds, as Sprint has announced that they are breaking off the agreement. While they haven’t made clear their reasons, it seems pursuant to the departure of CEO Gary Forsee (and we still lament that, because we really think he was the guy to turn around Sprint).

Sprint was to spend $5 billion to create a WiMax network that would reach 100 million people two years from now. WiMax start-up and recent IPO Clearwire (CLWR) was also building a network. It was probably going to need to spend as much as Sprint planned to. Both companies decided to link up and cooperate on the build-out and allow one another’s customers to have free roaming privileges around the US.

Doesn’t that sound great? A service that benefits all Americans. And then Sprint goes and messes it all up. So Clearwater is left with a much less appealing service, one which they’ll be hard pressed to offer nationwide.

Thankfully, other companies such as Intel, Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola have a stake in the service. They could all dump a ton of money into Clearwater in order to get this thing built and released to the public.

Don’t get your hopes up, though. Douglas McIntyre of 24/7 Wall St. puts it aptly: “But, it will take something at least a bit extreme to keep WiMax in the US on track.”

[24/7 Wall St.]

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