Sprint Nextel is back in talks with Clearwire to partner on the deployment of a 2.5GHz WiMAX network in the US, according to several US reports. The reports add the venture could bring in funding from the likes of Google, Intel and Best Buy to help lower its price tag. Last November Sprint scrapped a WiMAX partnership with Clearwire under which the companies would have joined forces on marketing, distribution and network access. It said at the time that it would keep talking to Clearwire.

The Wall Street Journal said Sprint and Clearwire are in serious talks on a more ambitious plan that would involve spinning off Sprint’s WiMAX unit and merging it with Clearwire. In December, Sprint said it was looking at possibilities to attract outside funding for WiMAX amid investor concerns over its plan to spend US$5 billion on the emerging technology that boasts potentially high data rates over long distances, but has yet to be proven commercially. Also in December, Sprint announced a new Chief Executive, Dan Hesse, replacing Gary Forsee, who had signed the original deal with Clearwire. Hesse last week made his mark on the operator by announcing the planned culling of 4,000 jobs and a management shakeup. The operator has previously pledged to launch commercial WiMAX services later this year in “select U.S. cities,” with 100 million customers in reach of the network by the end of 2008.