This would make investors in Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR) a lot of money, says Andrew Snyder. The company is in partnership with Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) to develop the project, which has financial backing from several major internet companies.

Andrew says investors should be ready for CLWR to soar if the Baltimore experiment is a success.

This from Today’s Financial News:

It is hard to get back to fundamental investing after all of this psychological turmoil has disrupted the markets. But with all major American indices virtually flat today, it is apparent the markets are worn out and ready to get back to some semblance of normalcy.

We must get back to basics. That means uncovering news stories, following earnings reports, and searching for undervalued treasures. It looks as though I may have found one in Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR).

The company is making news with its partnership with Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) that focuses on creating a WiMax blanket across the country. Thanks to funding from industry heavy-hitters like Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and Time Warner (NYSE:TWX), the firms’ vision of a nationwide wireless Internet connection, or at least the very first step, is about to come true.

When folks from right here in Baltimore wake up tomorrow, there will be something new in the air. They will not be able to feel it. They won’t be able to smell it. And they won’t be able to hear it. But it will be there and it will allow them to wirelessly connect to the Web from nearly anywhere in the quickly growing city.

It is about time

Clearwire and Sprint have had an on-again-off-again partnership relating to the WiMax role out, but thanks to the industry funding I mentioned above, the revolutionary technology is finally making its way onto the market. Tomorrow’s role out in Baltimore will be the first of its kind in the country.

If it is successful, cities like Chicago and Washington D.C. will be the next to go online and eventually the entire country will have access to the signal. More importantly, if the new wireless network is successful, Clearwire (which is expected to purchase Sprint’s share of the program later this year) will do quite well.

Right now, the company is valued at $1.3 billion. If it can monopolize the nation’s wireless Internet market, that valuation will increase multi-fold. Thanks to the country’s economic turmoil, investors have a shot at Clearwire at a discount. Right now, shares are trading for just under $10. Last week, they were worth $12.50.

If the introduction of WiMax in Baltimore is a success, Clearwire could be catapulted to the top of its industry. There are few competitors moving in the same direction and huge possibilities for the company if it decides to grow.

Clearwire could provide everything that is great about the Internet on an entirely mobile network. Information, phone service, email, movies, news, and so on would be available anywhere under the WiMax blanket.

It is easy to see why investors need to keep a close eye on this company and its stock over the next few days. Tomorrow’s unveiling will turn out to be a make-or-break situation for the young company.

While the rest of the world is trying to guess at the Fed’s next gesture or figure out which way the markets will move next, you have a shot at traditional profit potential. Start studying Clearwire and keep a close eye on the company’s action over the days and weeks ahead.

Source: Investing in Technology: Clearwire (CLWR) Has Big Potential

Verizon Wireless is 55% owned by Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and 45% owned by Britian’s Vodaphone Group PLC (ADR:VOD).

The deal values Alltel – the fifth-largest wireless carrier in the United States – at more than eight times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). Or about $22 billion, which includes Alltel’s debts.

In November, Alltel’s $27.5 billion sale to private equity firms TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners LP, an arm of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) was nine times EBITDA.

Alltel has 13 million customers and spans rural markets and smaller cities in 34 states, comprising a 5% share of the market. It also handles calls for Verizon and AT&T in areas where they don’t have coverage.

The purchase will allow Verizon to offer service in 57 rural markets. Synergies are expected to generate incremental savings of $1 billion in the second year after the deal closes, Verizon Wireless said a statement.

“This move will create an enhanced platform of network coverage, spectrum and customer care to better serve the growing needs of both Alltel and Verizon Wireless customers for reliable basic and advanced broadband wireless services,” Lowell McAdam, Verizon Wireless president and chief executive officer, said in the statement.

An Alltel acquisition would not only shoot Verizon Wireless past AT&T as the top U.S. wireless service provider, but it will also put additional downward pressure on the T-Mobile USA Inc. and troubled Sprint Nextel Corp. (S).

Telecom Titans Getting Bigger Around the World

The high profile merger of telecom titans has quickly developed into a strong global trend.

In Europe, France Telecom SA’s (FTE) $41.9 billion offer for Finnish fixed-line provider TeliaSonera AB (PINK:TLSNF) was rejected Thursday. But that doesn’t mean the deal is over.

“The question is how much can they raise the offer,” Thomas Romig, a fund manager at Cominvest Asset Management in Frankfurt, told Bloomberg Television.

Earlier this week, Telkom South Africa Ltd. (ADR:TKG) said it received a takeover offer from Mvelaphanda Resources Ltd. and Vodaphone.

And in China, the telecom market is undergoing a massive government-ordered restructuring – with the top six companies being melded into three – as the country ramps up efforts to adopt third-generation wireless technology.

Domestically, the industry trends only makes expansion more difficult for large – but not large enough – wireless providers such United States Cellular Corp. (USM), Rural Cellular Corp. (RCCC) and Shenandoah Telecommunications Co. (SHEN) to compete.

Unfortunately, that’s their problem to deal with because the mobile industry is expanding by leaps and bounds as customers increasingly ditch fixed-line service to wireless.

And the leaders of wireless service and technology are the ones that will thrive.

Source: Verizon to Buy Alltel for $28 Billion, Vaults Past AT&T as No. 1 U.S. Mobile Provider

• The U.S. service sector grew in April for the first time in four months, Reuters reported. The Institute for Supply Management said yesterday (Monday) that its non-manufacturing index was 52 in April, up from 49.6 in March. ISM’s jobs gauge for the sector posted its biggest improvement in seven months, however, inflation pressures remain at their highest in five months.

• Morgan Stanley (MS) will reduce another 1,500 employees from its securities-firm workforce, CNBC reported. The company rebounded in the first quarter of 2008, reporting net income of $1.5 billion, but business conditions remain weak and profit margins are tight throughout the securities business.

• Shares of Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC) fell almost 15% yesterday (Monday) after a report from Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. suggested that Bank of America Corp. (BAC) back out of its takeover. The report lowered Countrywide’s price target to $2 a share, down from $7, and cut its rating to “underperform” from “market perform,” Bloomberg reported.

• Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) is considering spinning off its Nextel unit, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. In 2005, Sprint bought Nextel Communications for $35 billion. Cyren Call, a company founded by Nextel co-founder Morgan O’Brien, is trying to reel investors to buy Nextel from Sprint.

• Warren Buffett spoke to a record 31,000 shareholders at Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday for Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s (BRK.A, BRK.B) annual meeting. “There is absolutely no question” that Berkshire’s returns will decline, Reuters reported Buffett said. “Anyone that expects us to come close to replicating the past should sell their stock. It isn’t going to happen. I think we’re going to get decent results over time, but we’re not going to get indecent results.” Both classes of Berkshire Hathaway stock slumped over 2% yesterday (Monday).

• Late yesterday (Monday) afternoon, Principal Financial Group Inc. (PFG) announced first quarter revenue fell to $2.5 billion from $2.66 billion for the same period last year. The results were below mean analyst expectations of $2.87 billion, Thomson Financial reported. Shares slumped 74 cents, a 1.28% decline, to close at $57.18 after the announcement.

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) announced yesterday (Monday) that it would expand its generic prescription drug program to cover over 1,000 over-the-counter medications for $4 or less. “We expect that today’s extension will generate additional pharmacy volume for the company, especially given the current weak consumer environment and rising health-care costs,” wrote Uta Werner, a retail analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co, in a research note, Reuters reported.