Upstart MVNO FreedomPop today announced that the company is expanding its free-based business model further by running it over Sprint's 3G network. The company's efforts had previously been hamstrung by the fact their service was only available via Clearwire's network. The Sprint deal provides the company with significantly broader coverage, and FreedomPop plans to piggyback on Sprint's LTE network later this year.

The company has turned heads by offering users 500 MB of data per month for free. Users then have the option to buy additional buckets of 2 GB or 4 GB at rates the company claims are 50% cheaper than AT&T or Verizon, with no contract.

Reviews have been decidedly mixed when it comes to signal strength, speeds and connection reliability -- though much of that has been courtesy of Clearwire's limited footprint. Users also complain about a $2.99 per month "service charge" that technically makes FreedomPop's base tier cheap, but not free.

To access the Sprint network, FreedomPop is selling a mobile hotspot named the Overdrive Pro.

Numerous Verizon executives are on record stating that Verizon has more than enough spectrum to deploy LTE nationally -- before Verizon nabbed another massive swath of spectrum from the cable industry. Studies have shown Verizon has plenty of spectrum, particularly after re-farming spectrum currently being used for 2G and 3G (EVDO) services.

The Dish, SoftBank, Sprint and Clearwire tango continues to get more entertaining. After being outmaneuvered by Sprint in an effort to acquire Clearwire and failing to have the deals slowed down or blocked by regulators, Dish has now taken things to another level -- offering $25.5 billion in cash and stock to acquire Sprint.

The FCC this week stated that Softbank's $20 billion acquisition of Sprint is on track for a late May ruling, with all signs pointing to approval. The FCC's 180 day "shot clock" for approval ends on May 29.

Making Dish network's already unlikely Clearwire takeover bid even less likely, Clearwire this week announced that they will be taking more Sprint money after all. According to a company press release, Clearwire will be getting an $80 million payment from Sprint on top of the $2.97-per-share existing offer by Sprint to acquire the rest of Clearwire. Dish had previously stated they'd withdraw their own $3.30-per-share counter-offer if Clearwire accepted that funding. Despite the fact the Sprint financing means the Dish deal is likely dead, Clearwire continues to insist they're engaged in ongoing negotiations with Dish.

Broadband Reports has confirmed that Clearwire is testing new tiered pricing plans in several new markets. Clearwire's new trial pricing plans offer users 2 GB of usage for $20, 40 GB of usage for $40, or an unlimited offering for $60.

From the "well that's incredibly unsurprising" department comes news that Sprint is in talks with Clearwire to acquire the 49% of the company it currently doesn't already own. Anonymous sources tell CNBC that while deal "is not imminent," talks are ongoing and a deal could be announced by the end of the year (which sounds somewhat imminent to me).

Anonymous sources tell Bloomberg News that Sprint has no plans (yet) to fully acquire Clearwire after Sprint itself was recently acquired by Japanese carrier SoftBank. Sprint currently owns a 49% stake in Clearwire and faces no pressure for full ownership given they've already paid Clearwire $900 million to lease needed spectrum.

We've noted that there's several companies exploring pricing models that include base free wireless tiers, and one of the earliest is a famliar name: NetZero. The company formerly known for dial up service back in March announced that they've partnered with Clearwire to start offering WiMax service, and this week announced users can give away up to 1 GB of data to Facebook friends.

Numerous users have written in to note that Clearwire's e-mail systems suffered a glitch last Friday resulting in users getting numerous e-mails stating they hadn't paid their bills. Some users complain that they received e-mails saying they didn't pay -- despite having cancelled their service months earlier.

Clearwire says the company will begin building their TD-LTE network during this quarter, with plans to significantly ramp up the build by the fourth quarter of this year. Speaking at an investment conference this week, Clearwire re-iterated that their goal is to have 5,000 LTE cell sites up and running by June of 2013. The company had previously suggested they would start the build in the first quarter of this year, claiming that their LTE network will be capable of top theoretical speeds of 168 Mbps downstream. Clearwire will of course be needing money and some new investors; Google offloaded their investment in the company in the first quarter, and Time Warner Cable sold their 7.8% stake this week.

Earthlink has returned from the somewhat dead to partner with Clearwire for a new wireless project. Earthlink of course has failed utterly to remain relevant to the broadband market, despite ventures in MVNOs, municipal Wi-Fi, and broadband over powerline. A joint press statement indicates that Earthlink's again putting a toe into the wireless broadband waters, striking a wholesale arrangement with Clearwire that will allow them to offer high-speed fixed and mobile broadband service using Clearwire's 4G network under the Earthlink brand. EarthLink's wireless service will initially target consumers for in-home use, and is expected to launch in early 2013 says the companies. Future product offerings will "include mobile devices and new services for small business customers," says the statement.

A Sprint continues with their multi-billion LTE deployment and base station retrofit, they're also slowly shuttering the company's push-to-talk iDen network. In the process however, they're apparently taking some of Clearwire's Mobile WiMax network offline as well. Light Reading directs our attention to the fact that Sprint has already decommissioned 9,600 iDEN cell sites this year, and because some Clearwire WiMax gear is housed alongside it -- WiMax hardware as well. "Clearwire has wholesale customers offering service on its WiMax network that were likely counting on another couple of years left in the network -- or at least to be supported until Clearwire's own (LTE) network is up and running mid-next year," notes the website. Neither the website or Sprint have provided just how many WiMax cell sites will be sacrificed to the upgrade gods.

Hoping not to be forgotten with all the moving and shaking and LTE deployments going on with Sprint, AT&T and Verizon, Clearwire took to the CTIA trade show earlier this month to proclaim that they're building an LTE network they hope will put all of them to shame. According to Clearwire, the company says that by 2014, they'll have a network capable of handling peak downstream speeds of up to 168 Mbps downstream. Clearwire says that while they're spectrum holdings for a nationwide LTE launch aren't ideal, they'll be using an LTE-Advanced technique know as carrier aggregation to deploy wider pipes capable of the faster speeds. You'll of course never actually see anything close to those maximum theoretical speeds, but hopefully the effort keeps Clearwire relevant in a market that desperately needs the added competition.

• Will Apple or Google Buy Sprint to Break Into the Wireless Network Biz? [ecommercetimes.com]
• Canadian banks issue landmark NFC payments guidelines that focus on open mobile wallets and consumer data protection [nfcworld.com]
• Nationwide wireless emergency text alert system launching this month [ubergizmo.com]
• Why is UK ISP TalkTalk’s year-old porn filter suddenly big news? [pcpro.co.uk]
• New Report Lists Top 10 Legitimate Sites Blocked by UK Adult Content Filters [ispreview.co.uk]
• Amped Wireless Unveils the Industry's Most Powerful, Long Range, Indoor Wi-Fi Solution [yahoo.com]
• LightSquared’s bankruptcy is Washington’s failure too [gigaom.com]
• Bell Mobility hit with $100-million class-action lawsuit alleging that expiry dates on its pre-paid wireless services are illegal [cbc.ca]
• Clearwire: Our LTE Advanced network will be able to hit 168 Mbps [fiercewireless.com]
• FBI Sounds Alarm on Hotel WiFi Caper [technewsworld.com]
• Why Anonymous ‘might well be the most powerful organization on Earth’ [nationalpost.com]

• Mobile Operators: Creating Artificial Demand for Capacity [broadbandconvergent.com]
• White House calls for new law targeting 'offshore' Web sites [cnet.com]
• Frontier completes assimilation of 4.8 million Verizon access lines and over 1 million broadband customers from rural markets in 14 states [telecompetitor.com]
• Google TV is coming to Europe this September [gigaom.com]
• iPhone top seller at AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint [informationweek.com]
• Japan Launches First Smartphone-Only TV Channels [wirelessweek.com]
• Canada gets two new LTE networks thanks to Rogers [gigaom.com]
• Virgin UK cuts speeds of over limit users in half [zdnet.co.uk]
• China promises faster, cheaper Internet to more people following complaints that monopoly by state-backed companies hurt service [totaltele.com]
• Hackers can steal credit card data from used Xbox 360s [zdnet.com]
• Lawsuit Says Circumstantial Evidence Enough To Prove e-Book Conspiracy [paidcontent.org]
• Mac Flashback trojan exploits unpatched Java vulnerability, no password needed [arstechnica.com]

• Austin, TX tops San Francisco in download speed study; Fort Worth & El Paso TX at bottom of list [smeet.org]
• The Solution To The Wireless Spectrum Shortage: More Wires [forbes.com]
• Public Knowledge asks FCC to investigate data-capped broadband plans; Urges FCC to ask why caps are necessary and how consumers are affected by them [broadcastingcable.com]
• Why 2012 Is LTE’s ‘Breakout’ Year [cable360.net]
• Wi-Fi is more important than ever, but standards are lacking [fiercewireless.com]
• Clearwire CFO Lays Out Trump Card: Capacity [wirelessweek.com]
• 2012: The year of the App-ocalypse? [cnet.com]
• Sprint needs - and can handle - next iPhone, analyst says [Kansas City Business Journal]
• Report: Operators cut handset subsidies to safeguard data revenue gains [fiercewireless.com]
• ValCom sues Megaupload for up to $900 million in damages [thenextweb.com]
• Massive Conflict Of Interests In ICANN Called Out By CEO, Start To Get Some Attention [techdirt.com]
• US broadcasters put the squeeze on small-town cable TV [theregister.co.uk]
• Facebook says it may launch legal action against employers who ask for user passwords [thenextweb.com]

Sprint finally got the iPhone last fall, but they had to pay a fortune for it: Sprint’s 10-K report filed last month confirmed Sprint will pay at least $15.5 billion just to start, and will take a massive hit on profitability for some time. Still, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse insists it was the right thing to do in order to remain competitive with AT&T and Verizon.

Clearwire should benefit greatly from the fact that LightSquared's 35 wholesale partners are now looking for a new home. Clearwire has made it, uh, clear that the company is primarily now going to be a wholesale company with retail operations an afterthought. Today the company announced a new five year network sharing deal with Leap Wireless and Cricket, the second agreement Clearwire has signed for their upcoming LTE network. Clearwire says they should have the first 5,000 of these upgraded LTE sites operational by June of 2013. Leap meanwhile hopes to cover 25 million people with LTE by the end of 2012.

• Uh-Oh: Sprint's Dan Hesse just got a warning notice from his board [cnet.com]
• Say What? - TracFone Is the Top Wireless Carrier in Customer Experience Ratings: Large-Scale Research Study [prnewswire.com]
• San Jose plan reintroduces large-scale municipal Wi-Fi coverage just a few years after such networks were declared all but dead [networkworld.com]
• Cox Won't Ride UTOPIA's Fiber [lightreading.com]
• AT&T on iPad tethering: We're working on it [networkworld.com]
• Clearwire LTE Plans Intact as Partner China Mobile Hits Snag [wirelessweek.com]
• Google to UK: High speed broadband absolutely critical to your country's economic well-being - good luck finding the money to build network out [cable.co.uk]
• T-Mobile USA could try and eke more data download speed out of its current HSPA+ network even as it plans to move to 4G LTE in 2013 [lightreading.com]
• Will 4G LTE devices ever roam internationally? [cnet.com]
• Next move in the battle for streaming radio supremacy: Spotify family plans 'definitely coming' [theverge.com]
• Arm's latest processors aim to stretch the Internet's reach [bbc.co.uk]
• Samsung may have let slip Apple's iPad Mini plans [cnet.com]
• Apple patches steaming heap of Safari bugs - Fixes record number of security vulns, adds speed [theregister.co.uk]
• DLNA blesses HomePlug Ethernet-over-mains tech [reghardware.com]