The on again off again relationship between Clearwire and Sprint continues. New and presumably level headed management at Sprint has prompted new talks between the two, but the only agreement so far has been to use a common architecture:

Clearwire Corp. and Sprint Nextel Corp. still haven’t resurrected their now-defunct plan for a collaborative nationwide mobile WiMAX buildout, Clearwire CEO Ben Wolff said in a conference call this morning.

However, the two companies aren’t ignoring each other, either.

“The companies have aligned on common network architecture,” Wolff announced at Clearwire’s investor conference in Portland, Ore.

“The teams have made a lot of progress in the last 60 days,” Wolff said, adding that both companies are “making significant progress on the terms of our roaming agreement.” (from RCR News)

As the saga continues it appears that the 2 companies recognize some synergy between them is possible. If they could make a roaming agreement, and deploy in cities for maximum joint coverage they would do one another a great deal of good. Another access choice, especially one without a wire would be very good for America as well.

A review of what WiMax represents in a singular instance. An advanced wireless environment changes the concept of Place. No longer is Work locked to Place. Yet Consumerism will be intimate with Place. From the article –

My cell phone rang just as I pulled my car into a park along the Puget Sound. I needed to add something to a news story I had written a few hours earlier, but I really didn’t want to give up my evening stroll.

Instead of driving back to the office or hunting for a Wi-Fi hotspot, I booted up my laptop, plugged in a PC card, connected to the Internet and updated my story - all from a bench near the water, with a dreamy view of snowcapped mountains.

Such a feat is no surprise to anyone with a wireless card from a cellular carrier, but I wasn’t connected to the networks of Verizon Wireless, Sprint or AT&T. Instead, I used an early version of the relatively new technology WiMax, which is being offered in Seattle by Clearwire Corp.

What’s exciting here is the availability of yet another pipe for accessing the Internet at home, in the office and on the go. It raises the possibility that it not only will be faster but also - in theory - cheaper than the competition.

Full article here.

Clearwire’s stock has jumped based on a possible acquisition. Rumor has it might be a consortium headed by Intel. BUT IT IS RUMOR at this point. Link.

[Update:] Forbes —

Without releasing any major news on Friday, shares of Clearwire skyrocketed on what analysts considered bogus rumors.

In early November telecommunications firms Sprint Nextel (nyse: S - news - people ) and Clearwire (nasdaq: CLWR - news - people ) announced they were ending their WiMax partnership, but each claimed the breakup was mutual. Clearwire investors took the news as negative, sending shares into a nosedive, while Sprint’s shareholders were less worried.

Clearwire Chart for the week.

Forbes link.

Disclaimer.

Ok we have spent considerable as has the press on the Sprint - Clearwire XOHM relationship. Its on. Its off. Its why. Well all the bits may have been for naught or maybe not. But the web site Unstrung is reporting that there might be a rekindling of the relationship next year –

Financial analyst firm ThinkEquity Partners issued a research note Thursday morning suggesting that the WiMax relationship between Clearwire LLC (Nasdaq: CLWR - message board) and Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S - message board) may not be dead after all.

ThinkEquity Analyst Eric Kainer writes that the firms could renew their wireless broadband cooperation next year as Sprint launches its nationwide WiMax network. “This launch is likely to be delayed to 2H08 as Sprint hires a CEO and re-establishes its relationship with Clearwire,” notes Kainer.

But don’t get your hopes up –

A Sprint spokesman this week told Unstrung that any talk of a renewed Clearwire partnership “falls under the category of rumor and speculation.”

Got that? Good. Then please forward us the answer will ya?

Linky.

Clearwire has expanded into Charlotte, NC. From the press release –

“Clearwire is changing the way Charlotte consumers connect online and with one another by offering an advanced wireless broadband-connection process coupled with portability and great customer service,” says Curtis Heffelfinger, Clearwire’s general manager in Charlotte. “The service will free users from broadband access that is location-based, allowing residents to access high-speed Internet wirelessly across the city.”

Clearwire’s wireless modems are now available at kiosks in two Charlotte malls (South Park and Carolina Place), as well as online at Clearwire.com.

Maybe Clearwire ought to just buy Sprints effort out and just do it. Too bad their balance sheet is a little low on cash right now.

Linky.

Our regular readers are aware of the fact that Wimax is red hot, almost everywhere except in North America. Why is Wimax so popular? It is an inherently open networking technology that can delivery a  variety of services, rather than a technology dedicated to one or two services. Only troubled Sprint and and former partner Clearwire are attempting to build a significant presence in the US. Part of the problem may be lack of spectrum. The spectrum Sprint is using is a block allocated to education that was never used, and the company has been privately acquiring rights to it in a piecemeal fashion. American spectrum is is public property as defined by law. Our governments’ FCC, however,  is quite happy to perpetuate the myth that when the temporary right to use of a block of spectrum is “sold”, it becomes the permanent property of the property of the entity it is “sold” to or allocated to.

In an interview with Midwest Business, Motorola’s Tim Mitoraj made a few telling comments:

The activity is where the spectrum is and that’s almost everywhere. The countries that have the most demanding implementation requirements are moving the fastest. In Chile, the carriers that got the spectrum license had to implement in one year or they would pay a penalty. They had to move fast.

In other countries, it’s more driven by economics. It’s based on the regulatory framework, degree of competition and other local factors. It depends on when the carriers are going public because they would like to get as far as they could without alerting their competition to what they’re doing.

I’m beginning to feel that the FCC does not care about allowing the use of more spectrum for Wimax services because AT&T and Verizon don’t want it here. Aggressive implementation of US Wimax would require the wireless cartel to invest heavily in new infrastructure to compete. It could also be very disruptive to the duopoly’s under served fixed line customers who continue to wait to have any broadband service. It’s time to review how we license spectrum and to be more proactive in it’s allocation. That means some big players may have to lose rights to some spectrum they have not productively utilized.