US WiMAX service provider Clearwire used its first-quarter results announcement yesterday to reveal plans for a new Samsung smartphone supporting the technology and also fuelled further speculation it could move to LTE. In addition to the high-profile HTC Evo (dubbed as the world’s first WiMAX smartphone), Clearwire also said it expects to launch “an Android-based 3G/4G/WiFi device optimised for heavy video and video communications use” from Samsung by the end of 2010. Meanwhile, Clearwire revealed it has changed the terms of an agreement it had with Intel, one of its largest investors, that could lead the way for Clearwire to dump WiMAX and switch to LTE. The initial agreement had forced Clearwire to use WiMAX through November 28, 2011, but an executive on yesterday’s results call said either party can now exit the agreement with just 30 days notice. GigaOM notes that CFO Erik E. Prusch said the overall ecosystem for ‘4G’ was converging and, as such, the market won’t have the technology wars in the future as had previously been seen. Clearwire will “keep evolving as we move forward,” GigaOM cites Prusch as stating. In March the head of Clearwire called for greater integration between competing next-generation mobile standards WiMAX and LTE, suggesting that the company is keeping a very close eye on the momentum behind LTE.

Clearwire’s first-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations, with the company posting a 72 percent year-on-year rise in revenue (to US$107 million) and a loss of US$94.1 million. It ended the quarter with 971,000 total subscribers (including 157,000 wholesale subscribers via its partners Comcast, Sprint Nextel and Time Warner Cable), with quarterly net additions of 283,000. In a statement, Clearwire said it continues to expect total subscriber levels will triple in 2010 from the end of 2009 levels and that it will end 2010 with more than two million total subscribers. Average revenue per retail customer rose to US$42.77 from the fourth quarter’s US$39.86. Clearwire also yesterday announced plans to launch WiMAX services in 19 additional cities this summer. The company’s stock was up 3 percent after the results announcement, to US$7.79.