Legal troubles could threaten Sprint/Clearwire deal

Sprint Nextel's plan to spin off its WiMax network and form a $14.5 billion joint venture with Clearwire may have hit a speed bump. On Monday iPCS, Sprint Nextel's largest affiliate, said it will try to block the deal that was announced last week. iPCS, which serves 640,600 subscribers in seven states, said three of its subsidiaries have filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois against Sprint for violating an exclusivity contract. iPCS , which sells wireless services under the Sprint brand in states like Illinois and Iowa, says it has the exclusive right to sell services under the Sprint brand in 81 markets. In its lawsuit, the company says that the new Clearwire service would compete against its iPCS's service, violating the exclusivity contract it has had with Sprint since 1999.
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9942218-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2...