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    Cricket signs on with Clearwire for its LTE network

    Cricket signs on with Clearwire for its LTE network

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    Clearwire, which is building a 4G LTE network for US carrier Sprint, has now signed a deal with Cricket to provide extra capacity for its forthcoming LTE network.

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    Clearwire hasn't inspired much investor confidence in its switch from WiMAX to LTE, but budget-friendly carrier Cricket has chosen the struggling company to help bolster its forthcoming 4G network. The two companies have signed a deal for Clearwire to supply extra capacity for Cricket's own LTE network, which went live in Tucson late last year and should expand to two-thirds of customers over the next couple of years. This makes Cricket the second company (after Sprint) to sign on with Clearwire for LTE.

    The two companies declined to disclose financial details, but we'd guess that Cricket got a fairly good price, especially since Clearwire's first cell sites won't go live until next year. Unlike Sprint, Cricket won't be relying exclusively on Clearwire, making this likely more of a way for the smaller carrier to offer consistent LTE without shelling out money for extra cells in intermittently busy areas. The future is still uncertain for Clearwire, but if it can keep on track with its LTE rollout, things might be looking up.