Sprint's WiMAX dreams get a $3.2B shot in the arm

Just a month ago, Sprint's plans for a national, $5 billion WiMAX network looked decidedly shaky; the planned launch of a handful of markets was delayed, Sprint's balance sheet looked iffy, and rumors that tech titans such as Google, Comcast, and Time Warner would come to the rescue didn't materialize.

But today's announcement gives Sprint's hopes for a national WiMAX network—one that could potentially bathe the country in wireless broadband goodness—new life, as well as a strategic jump on competitors AT&T and Verizon Wireless. 

So, here's the deal: Sprint and its once-skittish dance partner Clearwire have agreed (at long last) to combine their WiMAX businesses into a single entity, to be known henceforth as, well, Clearwire. (Sprint's Xohm unit—and the cool "Xohm" name—will be absorbed into the new company.)

Meanwhile, Google, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, are back in the picture, along with Intel and cable provider Bright House, and they've all agreed to sink about $3.2 billion into the new Clearwire venture.

According to the New York Times, Google could potentially become the search engine for the new WiMAX network, while Intel will work on the chips that'll drive the technology.

And why the interest by cable operators Bright House, Comcast, and Time Warner? Well, look at it this way: A national WiMAX network could threaten the broadband cable business (if we all had WiMAX access, who'd need a cable modem?), so the carriers want a piece of the wireless action.

It looks like many details still need to be worked out—for example, the exact timing of a full, nationwide WiMax rollout—but overall it's exciting news. Ubiquitous wireless broadband is the future—it's just a question of how soon. With the proper funding, the first commercial Sprint/Clearwire WiMAX markets could start popping up by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the 4G LTE networks planned by AT&T and Verizon Wireless are still a few years out.

If you're still not clear on this whole WiMax thing, click here for our primer.

So—who's ready to ditch their broadband DSL/cable modems and go totally wireless...eventually?

Related:

A Technology Consortium Plans a Wireless Network [The New York Times]