NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) May 7, 2008—Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that Overland Park, Kan.-based wireless carrier Sprint Nextel Corp.?s announcement that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Clearwire Corp. to deploy a nationwide mobile WiMax network does not have an immediate affect on Sprint Nextel's ratings. The new company will be named Clearwire. As part of the transaction, Intel Corp. (A+/Stable/A-1+), Comcast Corp. (BBB+/Stable/A-2), Time Warner Cable Inc., and Bright House Networks have collectively agreed to invest $3.2 billion in the new company. Sprint Nextel will contribute all of its 2.5 GHz spectrum and networks assets and will have a 51% equity ownership stake in the new company. The joint venture will target 120
