May 19 - 7:10am EDT   ASUS is dropping WiMAX as a stock feature of the Eee PC 901, those inside the PC industry reportedly claim. Where ASUS had once promised that the 4G wireless service would be standard on at least one model, the company is now reportedly convinced that WiMAX, particularly through Clearwire and Sprint in the US, won't have enough coverage in 2008 for the feature to be worth inclusion. The addition will only be available through contract orders, says the report. [full story]

May 15 - 2:05pm EDT   Alltel will use Long Term Evolution (LTE) for its next-generation phone network, according to statements made during a conference call discussing the provider's latest financial results. Company chief Scott Ford explained that the technology is Alltel's pick and that LTE will have a "significant" installed base for the company's cellular network within the next three to five years. Ford doesn't say when Alltel will start its rollout, but notes that there is no short-term budget and that nothing will be underway until at least 2009. [full story]

May 14 - 8:45am EDT   AT&T's cellular Internet access will be more than five times faster in 2009 than it is this year, the company's mobility chief Ralph de la Vega said today at Morgan Stanley's annual Communications Conference. The executive says that the company's HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) network will be improved from the theoretical peak downloads of 3.6 megabits per second common across most of the network today to about 20 megabits per second in 2009. [full story]

May 12 - 7:55am EDT   Sprint this morning reported its results for the first quarter of 2008 and has revealed continued severe losses in its cellular business. The carrier says its net revenue declined nine percent year-over-year to $9.3 billion and that it lost a total 1.09 million wireless customers in the most recent period. The company says the poor results were "expected" but that it's continuing to rework its strategy, including more focused advertising, cost reductions, and larger strategic decisions. Its news last week of a team-up with Clearwire for nationwide WiMAX also points to a turnaround, according to the company. [full story]

May 7 - 8:00am EDT   Sprint and Clearwire today announced the unification of their two WiMAX Internet services into a single company that they hope will drive the 4G wireless standard. Simply titled Clearwire, the business will share the services of both the old Clearwire and Sprint's Xohm network in a single national WiMAX provider and is said to help promote the concept of an open wireless standard that allows any device and software to run; the combined build-out of the two should cover between 120 and 140 million Americans by the end of 2010, the involved companies say. [full story]

May 6 - 6:25pm EDT   Sprint is nearing closure on a $12 billion joint venture with Clearwire, backed by industry giants such as Intel, Google, Time Warner, and Comcast, among others. The Wall Street Journal reveals that Sprint would merge its wireless broadband services with Clearwire, after raising a total of $3.2 billion from the aforementioned technology and wireless firms, of which the final approval was given Tuesday. The announcement could come as soon as Wednesday, according to insiders. [full story]

May 5 - 4:30pm EDT   Sprint is strongly considering selling off its Nextel division after just three years folded into the company, the Wall Street Journal says while crediting anonymous sources. One of Nextel's founders, Morgan O'Brien, is purportedly creating a group of investors that would buy out the push-to-talk group and restore its place as a separate company. Other private companies are also an option, as is a spin-off similar to the landline Internet provider Embarq. [full story]

March 25 - 3:20pm EDT   Buzz Broadband's failed WiMAX test should not in any way be taken as a sign of problems with the standard, claims the research group Gartner. The firm's VP, Ian Keene, observes that tests have been proceeding well in a number of areas around the globe, including Asia, Europe, North America and even Africa. In fact, says Keene, "we are seeing those networks expanding as conformance-tested products become available." [full story]

February 29 - 12:55pm EST   Sprint and Clearwire are still discussing their potential WiMAX network collaboration, according to Sprint's new CEO. Dan Hesse addressed the topic in the company's most recent earnings call, but would not elaborate on proposals from either side of the negotations. “We have had wide ranging discussions with Clearwire on potential relationships," explained Hesse, "but no final agreements have been reached." [full story]

February 18 - 12:50pm EST   Having just confirmed new negotiations last month, Sprint and Clearwire may already be nearing a deal to merge the companies' WiMAX networks. Market publication The Street quotes anonymous sources, who say that the two are planning to start a spin-off firm with licenses for both Sprint and Clearwire's spectrums. An announcement could come as soon as this week, the sources suggest. [full story]

January 30 - 2:50pm EST   Clearwire has indeed resumed talking with Sprint about merging the two companies' WiMAX networks, Reuters reports. The information comes directly from Clearwire CEO Ben Wolff, who says that negotations are not only active, but have made progress. The companies are also said to be collaborating in areas beyond merging, though Wolff is refusing to elaborate on details. He has also declined to comment on whether Sprint and Clearwire's WiMAX assets would be merged with outside investments, as suggested by the Wall Street Journal. [full story]

January 29 - 3:20pm EST   Both Sprint and Clearwire are back to discussing a previously-ended deal that would see a shared WiMAX effort, according to people speaking with the Wall Street Journal. In spite of ending talks just last year after failing to come to an agreement, both companies are reportedly once again prepared to explore a deal that would let customers of either Clearwire or Sprint roam on each other's WiMAX networks, saving both companies from having to build out an entire national network themselves. The new strategy would see Sprint's WiMAX service, named Xohm, spun off as a separate entity and merged with Clearwire to create a single, unified service. [full story]

December 5 - 4:20pm EST   Some additional bidders in the FCC's auction for the 700MHz band have been revealed, according to filings and public revelations. In addition to confirmed bids by cable provider Cox and open access advocate Google, Leap Wireless (which owns the cellular provider Cricket) has submitted an SEC filing indicating that it use a subsidiary to participate in the auction. A partly-connected firm known as Denali Spectrum License will also join in, Leap notes. [full story]