The $3.2 billion WiMAX joint venture between Sprint, Clearwire, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Intel and Google was nailed down on Wednesday, signaling a huge win for Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse, who had directed considerable investment in a technology that had been deemed too expensive by some and even dead-in-the-water by others at a time when Sprint's stock was flagging. But in swept the likes of Clearwire and Intel, and later, Comcast, Google and Time Warner Cable, to save the project with their collective billions. Even so, Fortune says the new joint venture landed "with a cold thud" when …

Ad Age talks to advertisers who express their disappointment that the Microsoft-Yahoo deal never came through. Why, because they think a stronger challenge to Google would have been healthier for the business. "We're all a bit disappointed really," said Laura McFarlane, managing partner-chief strategy officer at WPP's Beyond Interaction. "It's the search piece that concerns us." Adam Kasper, senior VP-director of digital media at Havas' MediaContacts, said he's not usually a big fan of mergers like this, but this one was an exception. "It's all about Google," he added, not some magic advertising platform born out of a Microsoft-Yahoo …

The New York Times' Miguel Helft says Google's investment in WiMAX, announced as $500 million earlier this week, could help solidify its mobile future. By joining an industry consortium led by Sprint Nextel and Clearwire, Google will be part of a project to build a fast, broad-reaching next-generation wireless network. The company has supported initiatives that promote "open" Internet access in the past, spearheading an intense lobbying effort to force the FCC to impose "open access" rules on the C-block spectrum in January's wireless spectrum auction. Google's bet is simple: if given a choice, and open access preserves that …

Microsoft executives on Tuesday claimed that the Yahoo debacle is now behind them, indicating that no future bids would be made for the Sunnyvale, Calif. Web giant. "We've withdrawn the (Yahoo) offer and moved on, and now are focused on how we grow as fast as possible organically," said Brian Hall, general manager of Windows Live, speaking at a Merrill Lynch technology conference. While "organically" would indicate that Microsoft isn't looking at any major acquisitions, Hall did talk about Time Warner's AOL, admiring its strong position in email and instant messaging in particular. "They certainly have a large customer base …

It's a question of economics: do-it-yourself ads are cheaper. They're cheaper for advertisers and cheaper for ad sellers, eliminating the need for middlemen to make deals happen. Of course, do-it-yourself does require that marketers plan, buy and track the campaigns on their own, or hire someone else to do so. Even so, The Wall Street Journal proclaims that, "Just as the ability to buy plane tickets online steered business away from travel agents, the self-service options promise to shake up the $20 billion online-advertising market." Google popularized (and profited massively from) the do-it-yourself model with search; the next front, …

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Yahoo shareholders are so mad about failing to secure a Microsoft deal that they now want to launch a proxy fight to oust Jerry Yang and the Yahoo board themselves. Shareholders hope the move would convince Microsoft to return to the bargaining table. The rumors sent Yahoo shares up 6% in Tuesday trading. However, organizing a proxy fight takes time, something opposing shareholders don't have now that Yahoo has set its annual shareholder meeting for July 3. "People have talked about it, but nobody I know of has actually committed to doing …

AT&T is joining forces with some 10-15 telecom carriers, including British Telecom, Deutsche Telecom and NTT, to build a Skype competitor, according to research published by ThinkEquity analyst Anton Wahlman. GigaOm is quick to point out that the research paper is only a theory, but that Wahlman has a history of theories that were proven right. In any event, the Wahlman said thinks that carriers will soon offer a voice-over-Internet Protocol client that runs over broadband/3G wireless piping and uses a backend platform that allows users to make free calls to anyone logged into the VoIP network. Just like …