A representative for Clearwire confirmed to PhoneNews.com today that inactive CLEAR iSpot 4G modems are, as of now, glorified bricks. They cannot be reactivated on any Clearwire service, nor can they be converted to standard Clear Spot devices.

This follows on our reporting, early this morning, that Clear iSpot devices on suspended monthly service plans have until February 10 to reactivate service, or face their devices being similarly bricked.

In Clearwire’s defense, the company does rightly note that the iSpot is an antiquated WiMAX modem. More modern devices like the Clear Spot Apollo provide superior reception, and faster connection speeds.

Clearwire also affirmed that users who maintain active service accounts can continue to use their groundbreaking, $25 per month unlimited WiMAX data plans. However, as Clearwire has cautioned previously, they cannot support future iOS devices (or even current models) due to Apple’s attempts to thwart the iOS-device-only plans. As we covered in our previous report, Clear iSpot faced several market issues, largely interference from Apple, that prevented iSpot from working with current and newer Apple iOS devices, without forcing Clearwire to offer Internet to unplanned devices such as MacBooks and iMacs.

However, it is rare for a wireless provider to completely deactivate devices, rendering them useless, before a network technology becomes obsolete. Clear iSpots, as the Clear Spot models they are based off of, are Mobile WiMAX Wave 1-compliant devices. Despite being inferior to newer WiMAX modems, the devices are fully-functional, and capable of providing Internet service with Clearwire’s network today.

It appears, though Clearwire did not elaborate, that they are simply trying to close the door on the failed iSpot devices. With rooting and other exploits readily available, Clear iSpots have been sold for hefty premiums on sites like eBay. PhoneNews.com has seen iSpot units sell for between two and four times the original no-contract price-point of the device. The reason is simple; a rooted iSpot can access Clearwire’s WiMAX network at half the standard price-point for unlimited mobile 4G data.

The iSpot wind-down also points to another failure of WiMAX as a technology, to usher in a future of unlocked device compatibility. Both Sprint and Clearwire, the two major WiMAX providers in the United States today, touted that their WiMAX networks would support activation of foreign WiMAX devices. However, neither Sprint nor Clearwire permit activation of each-other’s devices, despite running on compatible networks.

It appears that Clearwire Corporation is giving iSpot customers less than 72 hours to sign up for new service.

The carrier quietly let customers who have iSpot accounts in suspended animation (or inactive status) know that they have until February 10th to reactivate their service, otherwise their accounts will be terminated. The more shocking news in the email to customers is that after the 10th, any lapse in service will make it impossible to reactivate the iSpot in the future.

The Clear iSpot was Clearwire’s attempt to draw in Apple iOS customers, many of whom were facing metered data on carriers such as AT&T. The device was a firmware-modified version of the original Clear Spot, which featured an unlimited $25 per month 4G WiMAX plan, running at 6 mbps down, and 1 mbps up.

However, Clearwire faced several challenges that ultimately forced them to pull the product from the market. Apple, not having certified the device, began randomizing the MAC (network serial number) address ranges of iOS devices, and used ranges previously reserved for Macintosh computers. This left Clearwire in a bind, many iOS customers could not use iSpot.

For Clearwire to have allowed all iOS devices under the new MAC addresses, would have also required Clearwire to let Mac users have unlimited data for $25/month. Worse, some Mac models were already able to access the iSpot’s data plans, having MAC addresses close enough to the original iOS range, and were hampering the Clearwire network excessively.

To add to Clearwire’s woes, hackers quickly rooted the Linux-based iSpot, and removed the MAC address restrictions. Web sites even rolled out one-click rooting processes. Even if Clearwire were able to patch these firmware loopholes, it would not fully fix the problem. Jailbreakers had figured out how to use an $80 first-generation iPod touch as a relay router, feeding iSpot’s Internet to any computer, which could in-turn power a whole household with Internet for $25 per month.

The company did make clear though that anyone who keeps a Clear iSpot active going forward will be grandfathered into the $25/month plan, provided they maintain continuous service going forward. This will likely remain until Clearwire shuts down the Clear WiMAX network, expected by outsiders sometime within the next 12 to 72 months. Clearwire has not yet given any timeframe for when they plan to roll out their LTE network fully, and when they plan to dismantle their WiMAX network.

Clearwire is clearly trying to close the door on iSpot. We have emergency calls into Clearwire as to if fully-deactivated iSpots can be reactivated at this late time, or if only those on hibernation plans can reactivate. We’ll update this report when we hear back from Clear.

Update: Clearwire has confirmed our initial report, which we have expanded on in a follow-up article.

Clearwire confirmed to PhoneNews.com today that they have stopped activating new service for customers in pre-WiMAX markets. This does not affect markets that are selling CLEAR 4G WiMAX coverage, nor does it affect any customers who have already enrolled in Clearwire pre-WiMAX service.

The legacy, pre-WiMAX technology dates back to Clearwire founder Craig McCaw’s vision of delivering broadband Internet wirelessly, with a focus on delivering broadband to rural markets that do not have easy access or multiple choices for broadband Internet service.

Originally, Clearwire told PhoneNews.com that it expected all pre-WiMAX markets to get a quick upgrade to WiMAX. It’s a story, and timetable that we followed closely, being that this article is being written from one of the Clearwire markets that is still stuck in pre-WiMAX coverage. That coverage provides speeds up to 3.0 mbps, but lacks modern interfaces… like USB… or even ExpressCard. The only devices that work with the service, are bulky modems designed for fixed wireless, or a PCMCIA/CardBus card (we don’t even have a laptop that has that slot anymore).

Rural customers though persisted, we met multiple customers lined up at iPhone launches that ran their Clearwire pre-WiMAX gear in their car, powered into routers… all being driven by a DC power inverter. Unfortunately, the lack of a simplistic, consumer-friendly solution ensured that only the tech-savvy, and desperate, really took full advantage of these pre-WiMAX offerings.

The technology gap underscores Clearwire’s painful migration from pre-WiMAX, to WiMAX, and now to LTE. The changes in network hardware have prevented Clearwire from having one consistent technology to market to rural and urban customers alike. Clearwire’s majority owner, Sprint, pushed Clearwire to abandon its rural transition goals, in order to focus on rolling out WiMAX in coveted urban markets as quickly as possible.

Now, customers in these rural markets will have to wait until late this year, when Clearwire will unveil its LTE network. It is not even assured that these markets will be upgraded at that point. After missing its 2010 timetable for rural market upgrades, pre-WiMAX customers have been given no guidance from the company, other than to stay tuned to press releases and email updates.

Clearwire continues to struggle. While receiving a cash infusion of a billion dollars from Sprint, largely under pressure-and-observations that Sprint was betting on Clearwire to fail, the company now is working hard to develop an LTE wholesale network, as well as prepare to upgrade CLEAR 4G customers to an LTE Advanced-ready network platform.

Following a December filled with changes to its business model in the wake of its forthcoming transition to LTE while continuing to support WiMax until its planned switchover, Clearwire has posted its preliminary fourth quarter 2011 financial results, which see slight improvements in terms of year to year revenue, immediate cashflow and operating profit but still have a long way to go before reaching a self sustaining level without relying on further debt sales, of which a new round of secured notes will be offered that will total $300 million. Read more for the breakdown.

Starting with quarterly revenues of approximately $362 million are estimated for fourth quarter 2011, representing a more than doubling of revenues from the fourth quarter of 2010. Retail revenues are estimated to be approximately $198 million and wholesale revenues are estimated to be approximately $164 million for the period, representing 1% and 20% sequential growth, respectively, over third quarter 2011 retail and wholesale revenues which were a marked change from the losses of the third quarter triggered by the continuing economic slowdown and then active expedition for outside funding to continue operations before the Fall 2011 debt sale.

Fourth quarter 2011 net wholesale subscriber additions are expected to total approximately 900,000 customers, resulting in approximately 9.1 million total wholesale subscribers, or 11% growth over third quarter 2011 wholesale subscriber numbers. Added to the approximately 1.3 million retail subscribers at the end of the year, the company expects total subscribers as of December 31, 2011 to be approximately 10.4 million, representing approximately 140% year over year growth in new subscribers.

Network usage by wholesale customers increased approximately 22% compared to third quarter 2011, driven primarily by growth in smartphone usage, which increased approximately 30% over the same period. Total 4G network usage by wholesale and retail customers increased 165% during 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. Clearwire has also estimated that cash on hand and cash equivalents and investments as of December 31, 2011 were approximately $1.11 billion compared to $711 million at September 30, 2011, an extensive increase from its previous holdings which were at risk of being depleted at the beginning of 2011.

Excluding net proceeds from the issuance of additional shares of $716 million and payment of $237 million interest on debt in December, cash utilized during fourth quarter 2011 was approximately $82 million, which is a marked improvement from the ~$100 million plus used in the third quarter before the aforementioned debt sale in the wake of being unable to find outside investment since the fourth quarter of 2010, when it was soliciting offers and seeking outside investment to continue day to day operations before former partner Sprint stepped up with lifelines to keep Clearwire running in the Fall.

With Clearwire’s August 2011 transition to a flat-rate model with no agreements, Clear WiMax service is helping to fund the company’s transition to LTE along with a new wholesale agreement reached with MVNO infrastructure provider Simplexity announced yesterday in order for Clearwire to make the process of reselling services to new wholesale customers easier, though the company will still handle direct wholesale transactions for those that prefer to have a direct connection to the company.

Clearwire is currently providing wholesale services to sprint for its lineup of WiMax devices, with Sprint transitioning to LTE beginning in the middle of the year and no new WiMax devices planned for release after the forthcoming launch of the Sierra Wireless Tri-Network Hotspot later this year ahead of Sprint’s LTE network launch. Clearwire will post complete results in the following weeks.

Sprint is using CES this week to confirm the first details on its forthcoming LTE network launch later this year starting with the first three devices and confirming additional details on what bands the devices will run on this year.

Staring with the Galaxy Nexus on Sprint, the phone will launch with Google Wallet support and will launch in the 32GB version first announced last year.

Sprint has also confirmed that LTE on the Galaxy Nexus will run on 1900MHz, along with the LG Viper 4G LTE, which features a 1.2GHz dual core processor and two cameras in a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and a VGA front-facing camera for video calls, a 4-inch WVGA resolution NOVA display, mobile hotspot support and a microSD slot with DLNA support for streaming with NFC support compatible with Google Wallet.

Lastly, Sprint will also launch its first LTE capable hotspot in the Sierra Wireless Tri-Network Hotspot. It will be the first tri-mode (3G, 4G WiMax and 4G LTE) mobile hotspot with support for to up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices with a microSD slot.

Sprint has also confirmed during CES that it will not continue to manufacture tri-mode devices outside of the initial Sierra Wireless mobile hotspot due to the expense with the focus on new 4G devices shifting to dual-mode CDMA/LTE and CDMA/WiMax for smartphones and other devices during the rollout until 2013, when the rollout is expected to be completed. Aside from confirming LTE on the 1900MHz band for the initial launch, the carrier also confirmed that it wanted to launch the Galaxy Nexus and LG Viper at the same time, but would not offer a specific date.

Sprint over the past week has dropped some tidbits on when to expect their innovative Network Vision cell site technology to begin going online, and when to begin expecting LTE-enabled devices.

The embattled carrier created Network Vision as a way of mitigating the five current network platforms that it will power: iDEN, CDMA & EVDO, WiMAX, and LTE. All five have unique spectrum and tuning requirements that have stalled Sprint’s growth over the years. The difference between Sprint CDMA and Nextel iDEN alone cost Sprint millions of consumers, a fact Sprint has begrudgingly admitted, and attempted to correct with three iterations of Direct Connect (iDEN, QChat, and the current “remixed” QChat platform). Adding in Clearwire’s WiMAX, and Sprint’s eventual decision to go to LTE… and Sprint had to create its own solution to this spectrum problem.

Network Vision, as we have covered from the day it was announced, will allow Sprint to toggle resources and spectrum remotely, without accessing towers. This will allow Sprint to dynamically raise and lower spectrum for each of these platforms based on demand, ensuring that customers on legacy CDMA and WiMAX devices can keep using them, and that LTE will operate properly as iDEN is phased out.

The current roadmap that Sprint has announced calls for the deployment of WiMAX and CDMA as soon as possible, rollout has begun in many areas. One thing Sprint is keeping close to the vest however, is how much new WiMAX coverage will become available. It is not clear if WiMAX will immediately be turned on in areas where Sprint has not tapped into the backhaul of Clearwire’s network, or has sufficient resources. WiMAX simply may not be enabled network-wide ever. One thing Sprint is doing, is taking advantage of previously iDEN-only towers, and scrapping iDEN towers that will be redundant in this deployment.

The take-home message for CIOs all the way down to customer is; we’re suggesting you migrate away from that iDEN phone, be it on Boost or Sprint Nextel. iDEN customers clearly will have the most coverage impact that we have seen from source’s maps… and it isn’t a positive improvement at all.

CDMA will benefit, though the ESMR band previously used by iDEN will not be taken advantage of dramatically at first. Keep in mind, Nextel will need the ESMR frequency as long as it is active. For those with non-ESMR phones, and that’s most of you, that means you do not need to throw out your old device to get the best 3G coverage. An ESMR phone will only help in a few areas. Sprint will likely tap most of this bandwidth for LTE, so the primary benefit may lie in the long term; rural areas that see iDEN dismantled, but not WiMAX or LTE until fiber backhaul can arrive.

Sprint, this week, did drop the bombshell that LTE handsets will launch in the second half of 2012. However, this is mostly non-news that other drive-by colleagues in the mobile media simply didn’t realize was already known information. Sprint has said all along that LTE and Network Vision will be in consumers hands long before that date. It remains to be seen if Sprint will do an LTE mobile broadband trial in Q2, but this seems unlikely, as Sprint does not want to overcost hardware with tri-mode CDMA/WiMAX/LTE devices. This means that Sprint will wait until LTE coverage overlaps the vast majority of existing Sprint WiMAX coverage, and then launch CDMA/LTE mobile broadband devices.

In all, we chose to write this article based on information that actually is new, rather than regurgitate the “LTE is coming to Sprint in 2H2012″ that everyone else has reported. We wrote this instead as a primer on what you’ll expect from Sprint over the next year in terms of real-world experience.

The take-home from this is that for most users, the device you have right now will work better in the years to come, be it CDMA or WiMAX. If you buy a WiMAX phone today, you can rest assured it will work better throughout its 2-year contract timeline, and likely well beyond that too. If you have an iDEN device, we suggest getting rid of it… pronto. Sprint may not like that we’re saying that, but we see the coverage drops coming for iDEN. It’s not Sprint’s fault; AT&T did the same thing to their GSM network upon the desperate need to provide 3G/4G coverage to their customers.

Clearwire has added a new flat-rate access plan to their new contract-free service lineup with a new $35 monthly plan at 1.5Mbps down and 0.5 Mbps up that features no monthly caps, meant for mobile and home use.

The new plan follows the move to WiMax only service and flat-rate unlimited service for $50 earlier this quarter, spurred by its recent moves to transition to LTE and to shore up expenses and other capital as it faces the decision to either pay on a forthcoming $237 million debt covenant or default on it.

Should it decide to delay the debt payment, it has a 30 day grace period it can exercise, but doing so would place it in a technical default.

As Clearwire currently holds $700 million in cash on hand, it is not known how long it can continue short-term operations with its current cash reserves while it continues to search for additional funding.

Meanwhile, Sprint is still mulling over assisting Clearwire in the short term with no confirmation as of yet, though both companies are expected to announce a new three year agreement to continue its current wholesale access agreement, which expires at the end of the year.

After months of tribulation culminating in the move to LTE and the increasingly marginalized position of WiMax in the world, Clearwire has confirmed that it will eliminate postpaid agreements moving forward and will also cease sales of 3G/4G dual-mode devices as of yesterday via Clear’s refreshed portal. It will instead offer a flat-rate prepaid monthly rate of $50 per month with its current line up of 4G only hardware for both home and mobile service. Continue reading for a screen shot of the new plans.

Clearwire is currently in the preliminary stages of setting up its current infrastructure for the transition from WiMax to LTE, with plans to roll out LTE-Advanced contingent upon the funding being available in order for the build out to be completed during 2012 into 2013.

As a result, Clearwire’s latest moves signal the beginnings of that transition after years of being closely linked with Sprint as its largest wholesale partner, though the elimination of dual-mode devices also signals a further change in the relationship between both companies, becoming increasingly strained in the last few months as Sprint prepares its network for LTE via its network hosting agreement with LightSquared, though both companies have signed a new short-term agreement to continue the current wholesale arrangement during Sprint’s own transition and roll out of LTE by using Clearwire’s planned LTE network as additional capacity, identical to the current agreement for WiMax service.

Clearwire leaders stated to PhoneNews.com on background that they planned to have all non-WiMAX markets upgraded by 2011. That was before the bottom fell out of WiMAX.

Fast forward to today, Clearwire has apparently halted all plans to expand WiMAX beyond its current coverage footprint. Clearwire, Sprint, and LightSquared are all putting together plans to roll out LTE in some wholesale concert, and WiMAX will remain in its current footprint, likely for years to come.

That leaves dozens of Clearwire deployments stuck in a painful limbo; LTE Advanced-ready hardware is likely a year out, at least, for many of these markets. And, worse, Clearwire has no intentions to upgrade these markets to WiMAX in the interim. Urban markets with existing WiMAX service will likely be the first to be upgraded. To help ease the pain, Clearwire to their credit has recently cut prices for service in these markets.

For users in these pre-WiMAX markets, service has fallen to a flat $32.00/month for 1.5 mbps and 2 mbps price tiers (for desktop and mobile cards, respectively). Unfortunately, the “mobile” ExpressCard and PCMCIA cards, as well as their desktop counterpart are the same dated cards from Motorola, which Clearwire was using four years ago.

With a lack of USB, or Mobile Hotspot options, many users are left toting desktop Wi-Fi adapters around to gain a connection which can be used with their modern-day devices. The demand for Clearwire service in most of these markets has dropped significantly as EV-DO and HSPA coverage has overlapped much of the legacy Clearwire footprint. With unlimited data plans and tethering, many users simply have no need for Clearwire’s services.

Despite Clearwire’s stated intentions to maintain, but not grow its store footprint, this lack of demand in legacy markets has resulted in the closure of most non-Clear 4G area retail stores.

Still, in many rural areas where Clearwire initially became popular, the offering is still a welcomed relief for users who have no access to DSL or other high-speed connections. 2 mbps is often multiple times faster than IDSN or low-speed ADSL connections, due to many still being long distances from a Central Office or DSL repeating station. Satellite Internet remains far more costly, and far more throttled than Clearwire’s own throttling endeavors.

Pre-WiMAX hardware is still sold at retail stores, by Best Buy, in Clearwire markets that have not been upgraded. The hardware is not sold online except via Clearwire.com, when entering in a zip code of a pre-WiMAX market.

Clearwire has declined to comment to PhoneNews.com officially, in regards to the estimated time of delivery for upgrading pre-WiMAX markets. The company did, however, confirm the price decrease to PhoneNews.com.

Article has been updated to clarify that Clearwire did offer an ExpressCard offering for pre-WiMAX markets. However, this variant is no longer publicized for sale, and can only be found by contacting Clearwire via telesales. Neither PCMCIA nor ExpressCard pre-WiMAX cards are compatible with Linux or Mac OS X.

Article has subsequently been updated with official comments from Clearwire Corporation.

More details have surfaced regarding the forthcoming Samsung D600 slated to launch on Sprint later this Summer. First, the branding for the phone will now be the Samsung Conquer 4G and the phone will slotted as a midrange 4G smartphone in the same range as the Evo Shift 4G with Android Gingerbread, sliding QWERTY keyboard and powered by1GHz processor, WiMax radio and front-facing camera, it also features an HVGA touch display with a 3.1-megapixel camera. The phone is expected to replace the Samsung Transform, which has been discontinued.