Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S - message board) says that it now expects to pay $2.5 billion deploying its nationwide Wimax network through 2008, thanks to its recent deal with Clearwire LLC (Nasdaq: CLWR - message board).

    The operator says that's a savings of 20 percent on what it initially expected to spend on the deployment.

    The $2.5 billion spend now factors in the cost of upgrading backhaul to handle broadband services, which it didn't before. The operator is expecting the WiMax business to be cashflow positive by 2011.

    The Reston,Va.-based operator also revealed today that it will brand the WiMax service as "XOHM," which is meant to kind of rhyme with "zone" [ed. note: if you've got a cork lodged in your throat]. Sprint reiterated that it will start up initial WiMax markets at the end of the year, switch on the nationwide network in April, and cover 100 million people by the end of 2008.

    Sprint's CTO and 4G chief, Barry West, says the operator is hoping to build up the business quickly by taking a slightly different approach to cellular with its device plans and adopting more of an "open access" approach regarding what devices it allows on the network. "As long as you're WiMax certified, you'll be able to connect to the network," he says.

    West says Sprint wanted to get embedded devices onto the market, which is why it sought out partners like Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC - message board), Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK - message board), and Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT - message board) to kick-start the endeavor. "I know a lot of you think we asked them to put up money for our network," West says. "We didn't. We asked them to put some skin in the game for the embedded model."

    To that end, Sprint has commitments from partners to deliver 50 million embedded WiMax devices in the U.S. -- everything from phones and PCs to TVs. "By 2010," says West, "the air cards that we have for WiMax will only be a very small part of our business."