Clearwire Can't Stray From WiMax 'Til 2011

Because of an agreement it has in place with Intel, Clearwire cannot switch from mobile WiMax to Long Term Evolution (LTE) until 2011. In a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing the company writes, "We have committed to deploy a wireless broadband network using mobile WiMax technology and would incur significant costs to deploy alternative technologies, even if there are alternative technologies available in the future that would be technologically superior or more cost effective." One of the reasons Clearwire would even consider changing technologies is that vendor support for WiMax devices and infrastructure in the future is uncertain. "We cannot assure you that... vendors will continue to develop and produce mobile WiMax equipment and subscriber devices in the long term, which may require us to deploy alternative technologies," Clearwire notes. Clearwire might also consider switching to a competing technology like LTE for competitive reasons, if, for instance, another technology comes along that allows other operators to compete more effectively and deploy more cost effectively than mobile WiMax. This is a scenario, which the filing states, "may require us to deploy such technologies when we are permitted to do so."