Sprint and Clearwire have broken off plans to develop a national wireless network. Is it curtains for WiMAX?For a time, it looked like there was no stopping WiMAX, a form of wireless broadband that can blanket whole cities for less than rival technologies cost. WiMAX is backed by a who's who of telecom and consumer electronics firms and carriers around the globe with grand plans to roll it out in the coming months.
That rosy future turned cloudy Nov. 9 on news that Sprint Nextel (S), the No. 3 U.S. wireless provider, was shelving a plan to build and operate a nationwide WiMAX network with Clearwire (CLWR), the provider formed by cellular pioneer Craig McCaw.
Clearwire and Sprint said in July they would join forces in the creation of a nationwide network by the end of 2008 (BusinessWeek.com, 7/19/07). But they were unable to iron out a final agreement that suited both parties. Executives at the companies declined to identify the sticking points, and representatives of both parties left open the possibility of a revised deal in the future. "It's fair to say we are looking and exploring all of our potential strategic options," Clearwire CEO Ben Wolff told analysts on a Nov. 9 conference call.
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