Sprint Nextel and Clearwire have asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reject calls for more stringent conditions to be placed on their proposed WiMAX joint venture. Rival groups AT&T, Vonage and the Rural Cellular Association were the only parties to protest to the FCC about the tie-up, while around 100 comments were filed in support of the deal, the operators say. In their statement to the regulator Sprint and Clearwire say their nationwide WiMAX operation would be a ‘new, viable broadband competitor, offering consumers greater choice in service providers, broadband technology, and innovative services and applications’. AT&T says the merger should be subject to closer scrutiny by regulators because Sprint and Clearwire have failed to disclose their full WiMAX spectrum assets. ‘The spectrum screen AT&T wants is merely a way to try to stymie a potential competitor to its DSL and wireless services,’ Sprint spokesman Scott Sloat told Dow Jones. ...
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