OK this isn’t big news, but it does introduce some interesting possibilities. As part owner of the Clear service build that began as a partnership between Clearwire and Sprint, Comcast could add quite a bit of muscle to the marketing push for the new service.It’s beginning to look like a service that will be sold under many brands. One service with many brands, outlets and potentially different service levels is something we haven;t seen before in the wireless or broadband space

The so-called fourth-generation (4G) wireless service, is the first execution of a partnership between Comcast, Clearwire Corp and other companies that use the emerging WiMax high-speed mobile technology.

Many consumers already update their blogs and watch videos using their mobile phones. Cable companies such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable Inc do not want to become irrelevant by restricting subscriber access to the home.

The new service, called “Comcast High-Speed 2go,” is expected to deliver data to laptops, netbooks and other devices over a wireless network at faster speeds than has been commonly available to date.

Comcast said it will offer download speeds of up to 4 megabits per second. Existing 3G wireless networks typically offer download speeds between 1 and 1.5 megabits a second. (Reuters)

4G handsets are already available in other parts of the world, so it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to have one for sale in the US.  Last week Sprint made it clear they’re ready to offer such a device. The devil’s always in the details of how devices and networks are actually implemented, but I’m optimistic that this could jump start the 4G market. If it does, it just may provide more “stimulus” than all of the alleged broadband stimulus that Congress funded with the future earnings of our children last week.

The actual form factor is “still being finalized,” said Scott Lane, director of marketing and sales for Sprint’s 4G unit, in an interview today.

Lane called the coming device a “trimode handset,” meaning it would function in three wireless modes. Including WiMax and CDMA, the third mode will most likely be Wi-Fi, although that piece has not been confirmed. “It will more than likely have Wi-Fi,” he added.

The WiMax portion could make the device the first stand-alone handset with WiMax capability. It will work over Clearwire Corp.’s Clear WiMax network, which Sprint helped create last year in an ambitious joint venture with Clearwire, Intel Corp., Google Inc. and three cable companies.