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Sprint, Clearwire Call Off WiMax Network Partnership
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The number of towers each company should build and the pace of the network's deployment were among the unresolved details, sources said.
Clearwire, founded by wireless pioneer and early Nextel investor Craig McCaw, has built a wireless broadband network in two dozen markets. It said trouble reaching an agreement with Sprint has delayed deployment of its own WiMax network in some markets.
Wolff said the company needed "to be free to pursue other strategic opportunities that further Clearwire's goals and objectives . . . which may or may not include Sprint in the future."
Last week, Sprint's interim chief executive, Paul Saleh, said the company would not spend as much as expected on the WiMax project through the end of the year.
"Investors overall have been skeptical about WiMax as a strategic initiative, so there is potential for Sprint to slow its involvement," said Michael Nelson, an analyst for the Stanford Group. "I still expect Sprint to follow through on WiMax, but maybe to a lesser degree than they previously anticipated."
Clearwire's shares dropped 25 percent yesterday to close at $13.49 after the announcement. Sprint shares closed at $16.31, down 1.39 percent.
The delay is also a setback for companies such as Intel and Motorola that have invested heavily in the technology. WiMax-enabled laptops and cellphones may not hit the market as soon as anticipated, said George West, president and senior analyst of West Technology Research Solutions in Mountain View, Calif.
"It's not the death knell of WiMax, but certainly a sign that it's a little farther out that we'd been expecting," he said.
