Sprint and Clearwire have already launched WiMax services in Baltimore, but the plan from the start was to complete a 4G network ahead of At&t and Verizon Wireless by at least 2 years.  According to analysts there is now serious doubt as to whether the company will be able to raise the billions more needed to keep up such an aggressive pace.  Recently Clearwire raised $3.2 billion, but it is expected that the Washington-based operator will need another $3 billion to $5 billion to complete its network.  Ben Wolff, Clearwire’s CEO, has said it once, and told the WSJ again that the company has the option of slowing down its build schedule if the funds don’t become available, “or we could be more aggressive and we’d have to look to acquire more debt or equity in either late 2009 or early 2010.”  With future funding sources becoming more and more limited as the U.S. economy dwindles amid the credit crunch and dare we say it, recession, will Clearwire and Sprint be able to deliver their nationwide WiMax network on time?

According to analysts if Clearwire slows down the rollout of their 4G network, the risk of giving At&t and Verizon time to catch up could prove costly far beyond current predictions.  Since we know that both At&t and Verizon will be using LTE for their 4G networks and Verizon expects to have its first network up and running by the end of 2009, time is critical. [WSJ]