It’s Official: WiMax Is On The Way

As The Inquisitr reported yesterday, Sprint and Clearwire are joining together to build America’s first nationwide WiMax network.

The companies officially let the cat out of the bag this morning. As suspected, the deal will operate under the name Clearwire, even though Sprint is putting the most money into the investment (51 percent of the total). Comcast, Intel, Google, and Bright House Networks are all contributing money as well.

Clearwire’s shares climbed 12 percent with word of the news in pre-market trading this morning. Sprint’s went up 5.5 percent.

Once finished, the WiMax network should be able to cover entire cities with high-speed access. Engineers say it’ll end up being about five times faster than the short-range WiFi currently available.