DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

An unlikely alliance of titans from the cable, Internet and chip industries are investing $3.2 billion in a company that will deliver Web access for cellphones and laptops at speeds much faster than what is available today using a technology called WiMax.

Analysts say the venture, valued at more than $12 billion, will have a two year head-start on rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) (T), which are just beginning to sketch out plans for their next-generation wireless networks.

The venture includes wireless provider Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE:S) (S) and Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ-NMS:CLWR) (CLWR), a start-up backed by cellphone pioneer Craig McCaw and which will be the name of the venture. Other big-name backers include cable-TV giants Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ-NMS:CMCSA) (CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE:TWC) (TWC), Internet giant Google Inc. (NASDAQ-NMS:GOOG) (GOOG) and chip maker Intel Corp. (NASDAQ-NMS:INTC) (INTC).

The firms' investment values Clearwire shares at $20 each, a 22% premium to Tuesday's closing price.

After closing, Sprint will hold the biggest stake in the new Clearwire at 51%, with existing Clearwire shareholders at 27% and the new investors, which also includes wireless veteran John Stanton's Trilogy Equity Partners, at 22%.

The deal gives the cable operators and Google (NASDAQ-NMS:GOOG) prominent roles in shaping the future of mobile Internet access and a new outlet as growth begins to slow in their traditional content businesses. Intel (NASDAQ-NMS:INTC) gains new support for WiMax, a technology standard the company has championed and that will be used in the venture's high-speed network. The venture must still be approved by federal regulators.

The deal is most of all a coup for Sprint Chief Executive Dan Hesse, who four months ago was charged with rescuing Sprint from near-disaster. This alliance resolves one of the major issues that confronted him and now allows him to put full attention on problems in Sprint's core cellphone business, which has been hemorrhaging Nextel customers for a year and a half. Hesse next must consider a spinoff or sale of Nextel, acquired just three years ago.

A mild-mannered 54-year-old, Hesse served as CEO of AT&T Wireless in the late 1990s and more recently as chief executive of regional phone company Embarq Corp. (NYSE:EQ) (EQ) before joining Sprint in December. It was a job that other industry veterans saw as a dead end. Its former CEO, Gary Forsee, had been forced out as Sprint's market share collapsed. Despite his own reservations, Hesse saw the job as an opportunity to turn around a high-profile public company with a rich history dating to its roots as the Brown Telephone Co.