Sprint and Clearwire Marriage Official: WiMax Network Branded ‘Clear’

The Sprint/Clearwire joint WiMax venture announced back in July is a done deal, as is the $US3.2 billion investmentfrom Intel, Google and others. The WiMax network will branded Clear, replacing the stupid Xohm moniker.

Initially, the network will deliver an average of 2-4Mbps downstream, with the first devices outside of laptops and USB modems arriving in the middle of next year—stuff like mobile internet devices and MP3 players. Another interesting tidbit: Clearwire is building the Clear network with equipment that can be used for LTE, meaning they can upgrade to it if they have to. And the way things are going for LTE—everyone is on board with it as the pick for 4G—that’s a pretty smart move. [Clearwire via GigaOM]