Sprint on Thursday announced the first markets that will be upgraded with 4G LTE service this year. The company’s LTE network will launch in the first half of this year in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, CEO Dan Hesse revealed during a talk at the Citigroup Entertainment, Media and Telecommunications Conference. Hesse also said that Sprint would be upgrading its 3G coverage in those markets at the same time. Sprint was the first carrier in the United States to deploy a 4G network, but it opted...

Clearwire announced recently that it has garnered another $734 million in funding after closing its public offering of Class A common stock at $2.00 per share. The public offering earned Clearwire $384.1 million after commissions, and it pulled in an additional $331.4 million selling Class B shares to Sprint. ”This equity raise is a critical step for Clearwire to achieve its long-term business plan of creating the first wide-channel TDD-LTE 4G network in the U.S.,” president and CEO of Clearwire ...

Sprint and Clearwire on Thursday announced a new 4G LTE and WiMAX agreement that will extend over the next few years. The agreement could be worth up to $1.6 billion over the next four years for Clearwire, which it will earn selling its services to Sprint. “These agreements are a result of the technical MOU we outlined during our third quarter results call and extend our relationship with Clearwire,” Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said. “It provides Sprint improved pricing, allows us to continue to pr...

Sprint announced on Friday that it will offer new notes due in 2018 and 2021, the proceeds of which may be used in part to finance Clearwire’s build-out of a 4G LTE network. “The company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of the Notes for general corporate purposes, which may include, among other things, redemptions or service requirements of outstanding debt, network expansion and modernization and potential funding of Clearwire Corporation, and its subsidiary, Clearwire Commu...

Sprint and Clearwire are close to inking a deal that will extend an existing network-sharing agreement an additional 3-5 years, Bloomberg Businessweek said Friday. The current agreement will terminate at the end of 2012. Allegedly, the deal is not final and could still fall through. If it is finalized, Sprint is poised to pay less for access to Clearwire’s network than it currently does. Clearwire has been seeking additional funding to help it build out a 4G LTE network, which is expected to cost $600 ...

In addition to the costs needed to upgrade its network to LTE by next year, Sprint said earlier this week that it is paying Apple $15.5 billion during the next four years for the iPhone. That huge cost means the carrier may need an additional $7 billion in financing to help boost liquidity, Reuters said on Thursday. Reportedly, Sprint is seeking $3 billion of the additional funds from vendor deals and an additional $4 billion in refinanced debt. “[The] iPhone has an expensive contract, but it is worth e...

Sprint and Clearwire are negotiating a network-sharing contract that will last beyond 2012, Bloomberg recently reported, noting a 29% surge in Clearwire’s stock price earlier Wednesday. CEO Dan Hesse explained on a conference call that Sprint could take advantage of Clearwire’s network in an effort to balance traffic on its planned 4G LTE network. While Sprint is “making very good progress on the technical front with Clearwire,” a deal is not yet final or definite. Sprint announced ear...

Clearwire is in discussions to sell sell some of its wireless network capacity to Verizon Wireless and AT&T, Bloomberg reported recently. “All those discussions are under way,” Clearwire CEO Erik Prusch told Bloomberg. “I’m confident we’ll bring in new wholesale partners. Our message to the industry is that we’ve got the capacity to handle their needs.” However, it is more likely Clearwire is approaching the carriers in an effort to raise cash for its 4G LTE network plans. On August ...

Sprint is in talks to purchase Clearwire outright, Bloomberg reported on Friday. The carrier has been speaking to a number of firms including Comcast about the possible acquisition, which would help Sprint build out a 4G LTE network capable of going head-to-head with competing networks from Verizon Wireless and AT&T. Cox Communications has also been involved in the discussions, Bloomberg said. Sprint could take one of two paths: it could invest more in Clearwire, although it already owns a controlling 54%...

In a note to investors on Tuesday, BTIG Research analyst Walter Piecyk raised his rating on Sprint stock from Sell to Neutral without indicating a new price target. Piecyk had previously set his price target at $3.13, but noted that the stock now trades under five times BTIG’s 2012 earnings estimate, which is below consensus. The firm notes that it is not moving to a Buy rating because Sprint’s stock may fall further still, due to uncertain earnings, high debt leverage, lack of free cash flow and...

Clearwire on Wednesday announced its intent to adopt LTE across its network. The 4G wholesaler says it may add LTE Advanced-ready technology to its network that will provide up to 120Mbps download speeds according to network technology trials. ”Clearwire plans to raise the bar again for mobile broadband service in the United States,” said John Stanton, Clearwire’s Chairman and interim CEO, in a statement. “Our leadership in launching 4G services forced a major change in the competiti...

BGR is at Sprint’s corporate headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas this week for a few days of meetings, tours of the massive Sprint campus and, of course, delicious barbecue. Expect plenty of coverage to come, but among the first stops this afternoon was a great little Q&A session with Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. Sprint’s chief executive had plenty to say about the AT&T/T-Mobile merger as he always does, though he was very candid with us today in admitting that his mission is both personal and...

Sprint, Clearwire and Time Warner Cable announced on Tuesday that the current 4G WiMAX footprint in New York City has been expanded by 21%. The network now covers an additional 91,363 people across the New York metropolitan area in Alpine, Bayonne, Elizabeth, Fair Lawn, Newark, Paramus, Secaucus and Union, New Jersey; and Hartsdale, New Rochelle, New York, Rockville Centre and Yonkers, New York. Clearwire’s 4G network currently covers more than 130 million U.S. residents, including a total of 11,927,000...

It’s no secret that Clearwire’s going through a rough patch and, in an interview with CNET, Clearwire’s chief operating officer Erik Prusch said that the carrier may eventually switch from WiMAX to LTE. “WiMAX to date has been a very good technology choice for us,” Prusch said. “We were able to take advantage of the speed to market before LTE was even a glimmer in anyone’s eye. But we recognize the ecosystem in the U.S. will be larger for LTE than WiMAX, so we are con...