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Sprint, Clearwire Close to Joining Forces

Deal would introduce ultrafast wireless for phones and laptops

By Sam Gale Rosen, Newser Staff

Posted May 6, 2008 5:13 PM CDT

(Newser) – Sprint and Clearwire are close to a long-awaited deal that would allow superfast wireless access for cellphones and laptops, the Wall Street Journal reports. Investors gave their final approval to the deal today, but the venture still needs regulators' approval. Comcast, Google, Intel, and Time Warner Cable are some of the entities funding the new venture, which takes some pressure off Sprint but doesn't resolve the question of Nextel's fate.

A Feb. 28, 2008 file photo shows a Sprint store in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File )

The Clearwire wireless card is shown in use Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007 at a park near the Space Needle in Seattle. The gold-ringed connection in the center is for an optional external antenna. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

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Sprint, Clearwire Close to Joining Forces

Deal would introduce ultrafast wireless for phones and laptops

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