I sat in on the Intel/Clearwire briefing at CTIA and was not surprised by Intel's investment in the company. Intel needs insurance that an operator will deploy WiMAX as soon as it's available and Clearwire needs cheap equipment to make its business model work.

I'm certain that Clearwire won't be the only operator to deploy WiMAX nationally, but operators are notoriously slow to deploy any new technology. In their defense, operators have been burned in the past by deploying technologies before they were truly ready for prime time; they're wise to ease into them today.

I spoke with a few other analysts at CTIA and there doesn't seem to be much enthusiasm over the deal. WiMAX in general and Intel in particular are suffering a backlack for all the WiMAX hype generated thus far. Perhaps Intel could have managed expectations better but perhaps the backlash was unavoidable. The proof is in the deployments and Clearwire is now onboard, although it did take a "significant" investment from Intel to make it happen.

Here's the really interesting thing about the deal. As much as analysts would like to dismiss WiMAX they can't dismiss Clearwire CEO Craig McCaw. The man has huge credibility in telecoms and when he says he's bullish on WiMAX, people take him seriously.

I have a number of questions about the deal which I will follow up on offline with Intel, Clearwire and NextNet and will report on in our new monthy newsletter, Great Unwired. If you'd like a sample copy, shoot me an email at jyunker@greatunwired.com.