Clearwire (NSDQ: CLWR) could soon be on the receiving end of a $1.5 billion boost, according to the Wall Street Journal: $1 billion from majority shareholder Sprint (NYSE: S) Nextel and another $500 million from JV partners Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) Cable (NYSE: TWC), Bright House Networks, Comcast Corp. (NSDQ: CMCSA) and Intel (NSDQ: INTC). Close Clearwire watchers may notice a name missing — WSJ’s unidentified sources say Google (NSDQ: GOOG) won’t be taking part in this round. The five partners put $3.2 billion into the WiMax network 18 months ago. Since then, Clearwire has changed CEO and other top execs; it’s pushing now to roll out in 25 markets by the end of the year.
Sources say the announcement could come as early as this week. On Tuesday, Clearwire will report its third-quarter earnings.
So far, Comcast and Sprint have been the most aggressive at rolling out 4G services, and is offering them to their customers almost as fast as Clearwire launches new markets. Time Warner has been less eager, and Bright House Networks slower yet. It’s still unclear where Google will play a role, although it is well known that it both companies are big believers in open networks. Google is also serving up some of Clearwire’s services, such as email. Clearwire must receive additional financing to roll out the network quickly. Not only are its partners looking for that scale, but Clearwire is also competing against Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ), which is working on building a 4G network based on another technology.
It was rumored that Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile USA may be in talks with Clearwire to at least gain access to some of the company’s airwaves. It’s unclear whether this deal would eliminate that possibility, or if an additional partnership is in the works.

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