Clearwire has become a hard-strapped effort to build a new LTE-Advanced network on a limited budget while prospective mobile operator wholesale customers are engaged in a  round of capital intensive upgrades and fresh deployments. The operators that make up the target market for the bulk of wholesale service Clearwire hopes to provide must place their own networks as a priority.  This creates a scenario that is both more durable in the long run but also comes with its own set of conflicts, particularly in competing needs for capital and serving of end markets over the next three years or so.  

This is nowhere more apparent in the complex relationship between Sprint and Clearwire: While Sprint owns the largest share of Clearwire and invested what many consider their most distinctive asset for long term competition, the 2.5-2.6GHz spectrum rolled into New Clearwire, they have competing needs for use of limited capital  for network upgrades and new LTE deployments.  In addition, while Sprint's planned deployments of LTE will allow Clearwire to fit in nicely with broader availability of multiple-mode 3G+4G mobile devices and network equipment, this also creates a 1-3 year period during which Clearwire's network is less needed.  Similarly, T-Mobile, LEAP Wireless, AT&T, Verizon will not be at a lack of capacity as the new networks come up and remain relatively unoccupied by new or converted subscribers.

Clearwire's funding agreement with Sprint provides them with fixed payments through 2013 and a mandate to pursue LTE-Advanced TD-LTE deployments - about as soon as equipment and device supply is ready. That potentially fills a period of transitional demand gap and network conversions that jumps forward to market conditions where higher wholesale capacity will become more broadly required.  However, several financial analysts have registered doubts about Clearwire and their largest supporter, Sprint's, ability to support downstream capex needs.

Into this scenario questions have been raised about the wherewithal for other partners to continue to support Clearwire.   This has raised increasingly as defections of the cable companies, Comcast, BrightHouse, and Time Warner and sale of stock by Google sent doubts about Clearwire's financial backing and market position further into doubt.