US WiMAX service provider Clearwire yesterday reported a Q4 loss (before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of US$83.1 million but believes it could be close to renewing its previously scrapped venture with Sprint Nextel. According to an Unstrung report, the CEO of Clearwire said on the company’s earnings call Tuesday that the operator has made “significant progress” towards a revitalised partnership with its potential WiMAX rival Sprint, and a deal might be sealed “soon.”

Media interest concerning a renewed WiMAX venture first emerged last month following a Wall Street Journal report that Intel’s venture capital arm could invest up to US$2 billion into a Clearwire-Sprint alliance. A tie-up between the two operators would help both to reduce the costs of deploying a nationwide 2.5GHz WiMAX network. Clearwire is yet to turn a profit since launch by Craig McCaw in 2003. Its Q4 loss compares to a loss of US$62 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenues were up to US$45.4 million from US$23.7 million. According to Unstrung, the firm expects to generate between US$205-215 million in revenues for full-year 2008, from a subscriber base of between 510,000-530,000. The report adds the company closed 2007 with a subscriber base of around 394,000 users, each paying an average of US$36 a month for its service.