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Nov. 24, 2008

Clearwire confirms that its shareholders have approved the merger with Sprint Nextel’s Xohm division along with the $3.2 billion investment by Bright House Networks, Comcast, Google, Intel, Time Warner Cable and Trilogy Partners.

Clearwire received FCC approval for the deal earlier on Nov. 6.

Sprint Nextel also was cleared for the merger by an Illinois judge who blocked iPCS’s attempt to receive an injunction. No other approvals are needed at this time, so Clearwire will try to complete the deal before the end of 2008, company officials said.

Clearwire offers fixed WiMAX service throughout the U.S. and plans to begin mobile service next month in Portland, Ore., gradually expanding after that.

At the same time, Sprint’s Xohm division recently began its own mobile WiMAX service in Baltimore, Chicago and the District of Columbia.

It is expected that the combined Clearwire will take a few years to build out in a nationwide service across metropolitan regions, although neither Clearwire nor Sprint has stated a specific timeframe for hammering their network’s golden spike.

Another mobile broadband technology, LTE, is expected to begin around 2010 from companies such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

Some experts believe WiMAX and LTE technologies will eventually merge.

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Source: Sprint Nextel.