Clearwire reportedly clearing out of retail

Clearwire (Nasdaq: CLWR) is reportedly ready to step back and let its partners--Sprint (NYSE: S), Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC-WI) and Bright House Networks--run wild in the 4G retail space.

The WiMAX player, perpetually in financial straits and seemingly abandoned by its partners when it comes to more money, will be announcing results next week. Sources say that somewhere along the line Clearwire will stop putting money into retail expansion (it already has 140 stores) and concentrate on wholesale. This would clear the way primarily for Sprint, but also cable partners, to market fourth generation wireless services without competition.

A Clearwire spokeswoman, of course, stuck to point, noting, "We've not announced a change in strategy. We'll provide an update on the business on Feb. 17." As a point of clarification, here, it's pretty obvious the company has not announced a strategy change; it wouldn't be reported by unnamed sources if it had.

For more:
- Bloomberg has this story

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