Do you find yourself out and about in the city enough that you hardly use your broadband at home? Neither do I, since said broadband is usually downloading the latest this-and-that while I’m gone, but it might be nice to have a “second line” of high-speed internet for when I don’t want to compete with 20 other people for a cafe’s wi-fi. Others, in cities where free wireless isn’t quite as plentiful as in Seattle, may find wireless broadband a more compelling option, and pretty soon you’ll be able to get it through Comcast in a few choice areas.

I find it interesting that Comcast says they’ll be offering the service, when really they’re doing no such thing. They’re offering Clearwire’s service and splitting the bill. At any rate, if you have Clearwire in your area, chances are you’ll soon be able to get it through Comcast and bundle it with your TV and stuff for a better price. Portland will be the first to see the service, so you Oregonians can do your little victory dance. I’ll wait.

The service, called “Comcast High-Speed 2go Metro” because someone thought that was a good idea, will run you $73 a month, but call now and you can get it for $50, a savings of $23(RIP Billy Mays)! You can also throw down an extra $20 to get access to Sprint’s 3G network. Not my style, though. For a blogger, the internet is his leash, and if you’re carrying it around with you, you’re never off. That’s assuming we’re ever really even on.

As expected, Clearwire and Sprint have announced that they’ve merged to become a $14.55 billion wireless comms company. The newly formed company will be called Clearwire with Sprint Nextel having a 51 percent stake while Clearwire will control 27 percent. Another 22 percent goes to Intel, Google, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks in return for their $3.2 billion investment. Clearwire hopes for a US WiMAX deployment of 120 million to 140 million people by 2010.

The boards of all companies have signed off on this deal and should be sealed in Q4. Clearwire’s current CEO Benjamin Wolff will continue to lead the pack while Sprint’s CTO Barry West will serve as president.

Speaking of Xohm, Sprint’s WiMAX initiative, rumors are swirling around Wall Street that Sprint will announce a partnership with Clearwire tomorrow, unifying their two disparate networks as one nationwide WiMAX network.

This is fantastic news for WiMAX fans and a step in the right direction if the technology is going to take on competitor LTE, or Long Term Evolution, a wireless standard backed by AT&T and Verizon, among others.

The partnership would also include Google, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Intel and would likely take the form of a joint venture. It could be announced as early as tomorrow morning.

Sprint needs to trim some fat, but at the same time it needs to get its WiMAX network, which it’s already spent billions of dollars on, on its feet. Clearwire’s already in operation in many markets across the country, and by joining together both the networks and billing, it can do both.

In order for Sprint and Clearwire to really get this WiMax thing underway nationwide, they’re going to need some pretty substantial moolah — like $3 billion.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Comcast, the nation’s largest cable operator, would put up as much as $1 billion, while No. 2 Time Warner Cable would add $500 million” along with smaller cable operator Bright House Networks chipping in another $100 million to $200 million. Google’s another possible funding source as well.

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Dan Hesse, Sprint Nextel’s new CEO and the man in charge of turning the troubled company around, said in a conference call yesterday that Sprint’s still exploring the possibility of a WiMAX partnership with Clearwire.

“Sprint has an enormous asset—nearly 100 megahertz of un-utilized spectrum—and we have the opportunity to have a three-year head start with our Xohm service, true wireless broadband with multi-megabit speed,” he said, according to a mocoNews.net article. “We have had wide ranging discussions with Clearwire on potential relationships but no final agreements have been reached.”

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It appears a new Nokia tablet is making the rounds in the rumor mill and this one comes WiMax-enabled. We’ll see what happens at CTIA in April.

WiMax N810 Leaked, To Be Announced At CTIA? [via Into Mobile]

Remember the joint venture Sprint’s CEO, Hesse, was looking to form a couple weeks back that might help save WiMax? Well, it looks like Intel has taken the bait and Clearwire is joining in. According to sources close to the aforementioned companies, Intel is pitching in with $2 billion. Other backers are expected to be announced when the new deal is officially announced in the coming days. I can’t wait for WiMax!

Sprint, Clearwire Near WiMax Deal [The Street]

Despite recent hiccups for Sprint in the last four to five months that may have led many to believe that Xohm aka WiMAX was dead in the water, we’ve learned that things are still on track for a spring time launch. However, it won’t be a full roll out of the service, but, rather, a soft launch, which is somewhat disappointing unless you’re in Baltimore, Chicago, or Washington, D.C.. Sprint’s vice president for technology development, Ali Tabassi, confirmed the roll out at MWC. When asked about a national roll out he was quoted as saying that he’s waiting “for finalization of our budget.” Yikes. It’s also worth mentioning that Sprint had anticipated reaching 100 million subscribers this year, but Tabassi put the kibosh on that as well.

Sprint’s Limited WiMAX Launch Imminent [PC World]

Recent shakeups at Sprint have caused many to speculate that the WiMAX deal they had going with Clearwire would be dead in the water, but recently appointed CEO Dan Hesse is proving the naysayers wrong and looking to bring it back up to speed. What Hesse has done is put together a plan that would bring in outside funding by forming a joint venture with Google, Intel and Best Buy. That’s about all the WSJ states other than facts we already know about why each of the aforementioned parties would be involved in the WiMAX fun. Nothing is set in stone just yet, but WiMAX is the future and it was never not going to happen in the first place.

Sprint Nextel in New WiMax Bid [WSJ]

Sprint is supposed to roll out its WiMax network in Chicago and Washington, DC by the end of the year and it says it’ll still do that despite news today that it met for dinner with Clearwire, said “it’s not you, it’s me,” and split.

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Now this is what I’m talking about. I keep hearing about Clearwire and their “wireless” broadband. While it technically is wireless, meaning that you don’t need to run any cable to your house, it’s not “wireless” in the way that we generally use the word “wireless”, meaning truly mobile. Clearwire till now has had you rely on a base station for access, which acted as a DSL or Cable modem. It plugged into your wall for power, and you’d need a switch or hub to share that connection to your home PCs, not really wireless in the modern sense.

But now Clearwire’s offering a PC card that gives your laptop a connection straight through to its WiMAX network. This is truly mobile, you can take your portable anywhere you have WiMAX coverage and have real broadband access. In our opinion this is what Clearwire should have been doing all along. Read More

Today Sprint and Clearwire announced that the two companies will be partnering to create a nationwide mobile broadband network. Using the 2.5GHz spectrum as the foundation, this network looks to be one of the first of its kind. With super-fast speeds and availability from New York to San Francisco, this could very well be the boost Sprint needs for its image in light of recent consumer-related events.

But Sprint and Clearwire are helping more than just a dude with $60 a month to burn. Government facilities, schools, universities, and public works will all be able to use the WiMax network to benefit employees. Of course, this is all provided that everything clears with the FCC and Department of Justice within the next 60 days. Hit the jump to see what both companies have to say about the announcement:
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If draft-N wireless still isn’t good enough for ya, then keep your eye out later this year for a Motorola manufactured card for Clearwire’s WiMax service. Clearwire Mobile just got the OK from the FCC to sell their new WiMax laptop card. You’ll get high speeds with Peyton Manning-esque ranges (as in long, long long distances) all on the 801.16e spectrum.

No word yet on pricing, but according to The Giz, it’ll only be Vista and XP compatible, which means OS X users yet again get the wireless shaft.

Clearwire Cleared for First WiMax Laptop Card; Is It Moto’s Baby? [The Giz]