Well, what do you know? Sometimes even the most repetitive of rumors finally comes true. Barely 12 hours after the Wall Street Journal reported that a deal between Sprint, Clearwire (and just about everyone) else was dangerously close to going down, it seems as if the bottom lines have indeed been signed. Details are pretty light at the moment, but we definitively know that Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. will be merging their "next-generation wireless broadband businesses to form a new wireless communications company." Quite simply, the new WiMAX-pushing outfit will be called Clearwire, even though Sprint will hold around 51-percent of the firm, while existing Clearwire shareholders will own 27-percent and the new investors will hold 22-percent. New investors? Ah yes, Intel, Google, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks will collectively invest $3.2 billion in the new company, but that figure is "based on a target price of $20 a share of Clearwire's common stock, and is subject to a post-closing adjustment."

[Via CNN]

We've definitely heard this one before, but the buzz around a proposed $12B WiMAX partnership between Sprint, Clearwire, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Intel, and Google is deafening right now, all based on a report in the Wall Street Journal. The plan is for Sprint to merge its XOHM wireless broadband division with Clearwire, and then take a total of $3.2B in investments from a host of other players: $1.05B from Comcast, $1B from Intel, $550M from Time Warner Cable, $500M from Google, and $100M from Bright House. The resulting company will be worth some $12B, and the WSJ says investors have given their final approval for the deal -- a rumor we've already heard with no meaningful result, so take it with a grain of salt. Or a whole salt lick, actually. We're not certain why Big Cable is so eager to dump money on Sprint after two previous ventures both folded recently, but if this goes down, it's a pretty big boost for WiMAX, which was looking pretty sickly lately. Still, asking consumers to have faith in Sprint and Comcast and Time Warner Cable is pretty ballsy -- between the three of them, they've probably burned everyone in America. We'll see where this goes -- we should have something official pretty soon, according to the Journal.

As unlikely as this sounds, rivals Time Warner Cable and Comcast are apparently in talks with Sprint and Clearwire over establishing a nationwide WiMAX network. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the companies are scrambling to get a deal wrapped up by CTIA -- which takes place at the beginning of April -- and could see an influx of cash from both Google and Intel in excess of $1 billion. It seems the odd-couple partners are keen to cut into heavyweights Verizon and AT&T's ever-expanding range of at-home and mobile services by offering their own take on a high-speed data and voice system to consumers. Clearly this combination would deflate AT&T and Verizon's big FCC bandwidth-nabs a little (and it explains why the cable players weren't interested in the 700MHz auction), but it's questionable whether this rag-tag team of wild card players would seriously court the public's eye. They say America loves an underdog -- even if it's a gigantic, super-rich, corporate underdog.

[Via mocoNews]

It seems that Sprint and Clearwire have been hooking up and breaking it off for nearly as long as Qualcomm and Nokia have been brawling, but just weeks after hearing that the two were on speaking terms once again, we're now learning that a deal may be closer than ever. Reportedly, both firms are "close to announcing the formation of a WiMAX joint venture funded in part by a $2 billion injection from Intel," and if the agreement is indeed landed within the next few days, it would "create a new company that combines Sprint's licenses in the 2.5GHz wireless spectrum and Clearwire's spectrum in the same and adjoining air waves." On paper, the deal seems to make sense for all parties involved, but at this point, we aren't about to assume that's enough to actually see this thing through.

Ready for untethered 3Mbps to 5Mbps downloads and 1Mbps to 1.5Mbps upload speeds while on the go? Us too, especially our Chicago-based brethren waiting for Sprint to properly soft-launch their Xohm service onto the nation. Backed by 50 or so WiMax exhibits with product on display at Mobile World Congress, Sprint's VP for technology development, Ali Tabassi, assured us that April would indeed see the fledgling Xohm service soft launch into Chicago, Baltimore, and the DC areas. However, he conceded that the billions required to reach the goal of 100 million subscribers by year end have not been approved. Sprint will at least cooperate with Clearwire -- a former Xohm partner -- on roaming agreements so that the two don't duplicate coverage. Come on Sprint, we know it's been tough for you lately as you bleed subscribers (and profits). But if you build it, we will come back.

Hey, breaking up is hard to do -- which is why we totally understand these reports that Sprint and Clearwire have been back in touch after two companies split back in November. Apparently all that interest in Clearwire from ICO, Amp'd, and DirecTV was enough to get Sprint back to the table, and Reuters is reporting that the new venture could see additional funding from Google and Best Buy to keep costs down. Still, we hate to see hearts break, and if this one doesn't work out, well, maybe it's time to set some boundaries, get some distance and seek out some new national telecom companies to partner with -- you two deserve better than this.

Don't look now, but it seems Google is teaming up with wireless broadband provider Clearwire in order to bless its customers with the Google Apps communication suite. Though no definitive date was provided, Clearwire will "soon" begin migrating its users to Gmail / Google Calendar sometime during the first half of this year, and furthermore, these same folks will also have access to Google Talk. Beyond all that, however, is quite a bit of lovin' coming from both sides, and Clearwire's chief strategy officer Scott Richardson even went so far as to say that he "looked forward to expanding its working relationship with Google." Quite the interesting tag team, wouldn't you say?

The deal seemed all but imminent back in July, but apparently, Sprint and Clearwire never actually signed a definitive agreement to cooperate on a WiMAX build-out. Now, it seems that Sprint is going down the same road it traversed this summer, as it looks for creative ways to handle its $5 billion WiMAX situation which it "remains committed to." Aside from actively seeking a new CEO, higher-ups in the outfit are considering a potential merger with Clearwire, which would enable the resulting entity to be publicly traded. According to The Wall Street Journal, other options include seeking a "strategic investor for its WiMAX unit, acquiring Clearwire outright or formalizing the deal struck in July." As it stands, however, it doesn't look like any major WiMAX restructuring will take place until a new head honcho clocks in, but it was suggested that Sprint was in talks with Google to "carry devices based on Google's new operating system," which opens up a whole new can of worms...

The latest saviour of wireless broadband is at hand. Clearwire is finally shedding those clunky external modems, and is launching its very first pre-WiMAX data card to bring what it deems "True Broadband" to laptops. The PC card uses Motorola's pre-WiMAX OFDM tech, and doesn't require any extra power sources beyond your laptop's own precious juice. If you're luckily enough to be living in some random part of Clearwire's primarily-podunk US coverage area, you can be getting some 1.5Mbps wireless internets for $59.99 a month, plus a $6.99 a month fee to lease the PC card. You can buy the card straight up for $230, but that seems a bit excessive given the "pre" nature of the thing at the moment.w

Just as the company's CEO hinted at this past spring, DirecTV will indeed begin offering service bundles that include broadband over powerline, with the Maryland-based Current Group opening up access to its Dallas / Fort Worth BPL network starting at the end of the year. This tie-up is the latest move by the satellite company -- following June's deal with Clearwire -- to strengthen its ability to offer high-speed internet, putting it in a better position to compete with the attractive triple- and even quad-play bundles being touted by cable providers and telcos. It also follows DirecTV's failure to secure any of its own spectrum in last years FCC auction, as you'll recall. Current has stated that as its network grows out beyond Texas, the agreement between the two firms allows DirecTV to market to those customers as well.

[Via MarketWatch]

Amp'd's virtual network may be dead and gone (not really, it got acquired; you know what we mean), but the MVNO had arguably one of the better exclusive content packages out there. Ironically, we've heard that Amp'd ultimately spent only a very small fraction of its once-$400 million fortune on the content itself, but hey, maybe they spent that money somewhat wisely. Anyhoo, it seems Peter Adderton and his jolly gang have been shopping themselves around as a one-stop-shop package deal of content, and fixed wireless provider Clearwire may be getting ready to bite. Details are slim at this point, but the synergy is pretty obvious: the former Amp'd crew can concentrate on what it does best -- produce entertaining content -- and let Clearwire worry about the infrastructure. Lil' Bush wouldn't look half bad over WiMAX, yeah?

Sprint's open mindedness to hooking up with Clearwire for a national WiMAX network has blossomed into something just a little more serious, it seems. The two companies have announced that they'll be collaborating on making mobile WiMAX a reality in a comprehensive agreement that covers roaming and combined marketing efforts under a single to-be-announced brand name. Specifically, Sprint will be responsible for covering about 185 million potential customers with Clearwire swooping in for another 115 million over the next few years; 100 million total are expected to be covered by the end of 2008, which is curiously the exact same number Sprint had been throwing around on its own accord before the agreement was announced. This is a pretty serious deal, too -- the two are bound in holy matrimony for at least 20 years with options for up to three 10-year renewals. Looks like that hot WiMAX smartphone from Palm might still be in the cards, eh?

While we already knew that Sprint was pondering a Clearwire alliance in order to potentially please investors and garner more value from its massive WiMAX expenditures, it doesn't seem that ditching the effort completely was ever truly on the table. According to a followup from Don Stroberg, VP for global broadband strategy at Sprint-Nextel, the company "is not getting out of the business of WiMAX by any means," but he did leave the possibility of a joint venture open for discussion. Referring to Clearwire's markets that "bump up against" Sprint's own, Don stated that "it would make sense to cooperate on how to utilize spectrum, how to coordinate on cell-site builds, on benchmarking, and so on," and concluded by proclaimed that "we wouldn't have to imagine too far to see how those things could work into other types of cooperation." Take it as you see it, but it doesn't sound like the higher-ups at Sprint would object to a partnership at this point in the game, no?

Looks like Sprint's feverish approach to WiMAX just swallowed a chill pill, as the firm is reportedly "exploring new options for financing its ambitious plan." In a presumed effort to "soothe investor concerns about the cost of the WiMAX plan," the company is actually investigating a partnership or joint venture with Clearwire in order to simultaneously remove a potential competitor and gain access to the critical Clearwire markets in the southeastern US. Of course, Clearwire isn't one to shy away from high stakes partnerships, and the FCC nod for a WiMAX-class laptop card that it garnered just last month could fit in quite well here. Still, Clearwire is refusing to comment just yet on whether this possibility is even feasible, but the mere mention of a spinoff likely means that Sprint isn't feeling all too peachy about future WiMAX profitability. [Warning: Read link requires subscription]

[Via InformationWeek]