Deployment delays, a tight credit market, and mounting pressure from LTE competition (or more accurately LTE marketing) have eroded Clearwire's stock price 40% over the last three months. That's not good news for a company that has repeatedly stated they were going to revolutionize the broadband industry, yet has struggled to get the technology commercially launched in any city not named Baltimore and Portland. It's also not particularly good news for Mobile WiMax, once hailed by Intel as "the most important thing since the Internet itself."

When first announced, Sprint and Clearwire's Mobile WiMax joint venture received a $3.2 billion cash infusion from Comcast ($1.05 billion), Intel ($1 billion), Time Warner Cable ($550 million), Google ($500 million), and Bright House Networks ($100 million.) According to Bloomberg, Clearwire's sagging stock price has triggered a clause in investor contracts that this week boosted their ownership stake in the new project.

Primary investor Intel last month went into damage control mode, telling every reporter who'd listen that WiMax is doing just fine -- and that at least globally, the technology will reach 800 million people by 2010. Analysts saw decent growth in '08 but are issuing warnings for '09. A report from Infonetics Research says the Mobile WiMax market will be "leaner" in 2009. "Nortel has exited, Alcatel-Lucent has transitioned its mobility R&D to its LTE program, and others will have their commitment to WiMAX tested," says analyst Richard Webb.

A speedier deployment could help shore up the project's sagging image, but the company needs an additional $2 billion to $2.3 billion to fully build the network, and the company has hinted that tight credit could push some markets scheduled for a 2009 launch into 2010. Employees have hinted to us privately that a number of new launch markets are very close, with March 5 (this Thursday) referenced as a date to watch. That date may be Clearwire's long-awaited Chicago market launch -- assuming it's not delayed.

Every delay plays into the hands of AT&T and Verizon. While their LTE wireless broadband deployments are still several years away, the carriers benefit from Clearwire stumbling out of the gate, which is creating the perception (accurately or not) that the carrier may not be the game-changing contender it originally portrayed itself to be.