Deutsche Telekom (DT), parent of U.S. mobile operator T-Mobile, is holding talks about gaining access to spectrum controlled by Clearwire (CLWR) and MetroPCS (PCS) as a way to build out 4G wireless service, according to Bloomberg, which cites “two people familiar with the matter.” The story says the company is also in talks with Sprint (S), which owns 51 percent of Clearwire. Recall that last week there were rumors that DT might want to acquire Sprint and merge it with T-Mobile.

The story notes that both MetroPCS and Clearwire own spectrum suitable for 4G networks. T-Mobile has yet to announce a 4G expansion plan; both Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) have begun upgrading their networks and plan to use the LTE standard.

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Clearwire (CLWR) today announced the launch of its a developer version of 4G service in the Bay Area. The developer version of the WiMax-based network covers “more than 20 square miles” in Santa Clara, Mountain View and “parts of downtown” Palo Alto. (Parts? Downtown Palo Alto isn’t that big; it only cover parts of it?) Clearwire notes that the service area includes the headquarters of both Intel (INTC) and Google (GOOG); the Cisco (CSCO) campus will be adding “in the coming months.” All three companies will be
“partners” in the project, the company said.

Clearwire plans to launch full service in the Bay Area in 2010.

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Clearwire (CLWR) isn’t the easiest company to analyze; still in a development stage, and now combined with the old Sprint Xohm business, trying to draw conclusions from the WiMax-based wireless carrier’s financial results is challenging, to say the least. But here’s what I can tell you about the company’s Q4 results, which were reported after the close:

• Pro forma revenues were $59.7 million, a bit below the Street consensus at $60 million.
• The company posted an adjusted EBITDA loss of $157.3 million.
• CLWR had 5,000 net subscriber adds in the quarter, and now has 475,000 total.
• ARPU rose to $39.70 a month, from $36.09.
• Churn bumped up to 2.8 percent, from 2.4 percent a year ago.
• But costs per gross add fell to $468, from $550.
• Clearwire now covers territory with 18.2 million people, up from 16.3 million a year ago.
• The company has $3.1 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.

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Google (GOOG) today reported a year-over-year decline in fourth-quarter profit, hurt by $1.09 billion in write-downs related to AOL and Clearwire (CLWR). Operating earnings rose, however, and revenue climbed 18 percent to $5.70 billion from the year-earlier period.

Google’s revenue, excluding traffic-acquisition costs, was $4.22 billion, above the Thomson Reuters estimate of $4.12 billion. Earnings per share, excluding certain items, was $5.10, beating estimates. The company also announced plans for an options exchange program for workers whose stock options are underwater.

Updates from its conference call with analysts:

4:33 p.m.–The host introduces today’s conference call participants: Google CEO Eric Schmidt, dialing in from New York; CFO Patrick Pichette and SVP of product management Jonathan Rosenberg, in Mountain View, Calif.; and Omid Kordestani, SVP of global sales and business development, in London.

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Last week, President-elect Barack Obama’s call for a delay in the Digital TV transition, long scheduled for February, sent tech and telecom firms into a tizzy. Both Verizon (VZ) and the Consumer Electronics Association have been pushing back hard against any postponement of the move from analog to digital broadcasting, while AT&T (T) has joined the Consumers Union and several prominent Democratic legislators in supporting the call to give the troubled transition more time. Among those with a vested interest in the debate over a DTV delay is Clearwire (CLWR), which has been racing to deploy its 4G WiMAX networks ahead of competitors wedded to the LTE standard. And Ars has learned that Clearwire Executive Vice President R. Gerard Salemme has been playing a key advisory role on the DTV changeover within the Obama transition team. 

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Clearwire shares are down sharply following negative comments on the company this morning from analysts at J.P. Morgan and Stanford Group.

The company’s shares gained ground yesterday following the completion of its deal to acquire Sprint’s (S) Xohm wireless broadband business; it also closed a $3.2 billion investment from Google (GOOG), Comcast (CMCSA), Time Warner Cable (TWX), Intel (INTC) and others. But there are concerns that the company still faces daunting challenges, including a highly competitive market and a need for substantially more capital.

J.P. Morgan’s Mike McCormack resumed coverage with a Neutral rating, from Overweight previously. That’s an eye-opening change, given that Morgan was one of Clearwire’s advisers on the Sprint deal. He has a $6 price target on the stock.

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The FCC voted 5-0 today to approve a plan to combine Sprint’s Xohm network with Clearwire’s (CLWR) own WiMax network. Investors in the newly combined company include Google (GOOG), Intel (INTC) and a group of cable companies.

According to the AP, the Justice Department has already indicated that it will allow the deal to proceed, but will continue to monitor it.

Both Sprint (S) and Clearwire today built on robust gains posted on Monday.

Sprint, which rose 87 cents yesterday, added 15 cents in today’s regular session, and has advanced another 42 cents to $4.57 after hours. That brings the two-day rally to $1.44, or 46 percent.

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Wimax broadband Internet service provider Clearwire (CLWR) last evening reported second-quarter sales for the June-ending quarter that beat estimates, at $58.56 million, versus $54.2 million. Excluding some costs, the company’s net loss was 98 cents per share, according to an email I received from a company representative.

That’s better than the $1.01 loss per share the Street was expecting, though I would note that the 98-cent loss figure is nowhere in the actual press release. Including all charges for the quarter, the net loss was $1.21.

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