Sprint Nextel and Clearwire have revived talks to form a joint venture to build a high-speed network using WiMax technology, according to an online report posted on Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal.Citing people familiar with the matter, The Journal said the venture could bring in funding from the likes of Intel, Google, and Best Buy to help lower its price tag. The report sent share prices of both companies up sharply.
Sprint declined to comment. Clearwire could not be reached immediately for comment.
Shares of Sprint, the third-largest U.S. mobile service provider, rose 8 percent to $10.75 in early afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, while start-up Clearwire jumped 20 percent to $15 on Nasdaq.
Last November, Sprint said it had scrapped a WiMax partnership with Clearwire under which the two companies would have joined forces on marketing, distribution and network access.
In December, Sprint said it was looking at possibilities to attract outside funding for WiMax amid investor concerns over its plan to spend $5 billion on the emerging technology that boasts high data rates over long distances but has yet to be proven commercially. Earlier this month, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the carrier nonetheless said it on track to launch commercial services for its WiMax network in April.
In December Sprint announced a new Chief Executive Dan Hesse replacing Gary Forsee, who had inked the original deal with Clearwire.
The Journal said Sprint and Clearwire are in serious talks on a more ambitious plan that would involve spinning off Sprint's WiMax unit and merging it with Clearwire. But it noted there was no guarantee the joint venture would materialize, or that external funding could be secured.
©2007 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. CNET , CNET.com , and the CNET logo are registered trademarks of CNET Networks, Inc. Used by permission.
