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Despite ongoing rumors (and presumably desperation from investors hoping to see some sort of dividend ever again), Sprint CEO Dan Hesse remains cagey about a potential WiMAX deal with Clearwire that would see the two companies merge their networks.  In an earnings call yesterday Hesse admitted that Sprint was sitting on "an enormous asset" in the shape of the WiMAX spectrum, but refused to be drawn on further roll-out plans.

"We have had wide ranging discussions with Clearwire on potential relationships but no final agreements have been reached" Dan Hesse, CEO, Sprint

"I am extremely encouraged with what I have seen. Our soft launches in Baltimore, Washington and Chicago offer confidence in the performance of the technology Sprint has an enormous asset—nearly 100 megahertz of un-utilized spectrum—and we have the opportunity to have a three-year head start with our Xohm service, true wireless broadband with multi-megabit speed" Dan Hesse, CEO, Sprint

Nonetheless, Hesse did confirm that the carrier will be launching dual-mode CDMA and WiMAX handsets later on this year, though whether this would be in advance of further WiMAX soft launches or alongside them wasn't clear.

While rushing Xohm into service could undoubtedly lead to problems, Sprint do need to at least give solid confirmation of their intentions for the next 12-24 months.  Investors are still reeling from yesterday's dividend freeze, and the share price looks increasingly unsteady.  Publicising their plans might set deadlines that could be hard to meet, but with expectations of the under-performing network at an all-time low there doesn't seem much harm in attempting to reassure those with a vested interest that Sprint are still in the game.

[via mocoNews]