RESTON (WiMAX Day). The breakup pact between Sprint Nextel and Clearwire has placed Sprint in reassurance mode. Sprint asserts that it might be walking way from Clearwire, but it’s sticking to its WiMAX commitment.

The two companies scrapped their Letter of Intent signed in July over unresolved differences, but Sprint said it is reviewing its WiMAX business plans and that the company expects to comment further on WiMAX early next year.

“We are on track for a soft launch late this year in the Chicago and Baltimore/Washington markets and commercial launch in 2008,” said Sprint’s Keith Cowan president, Strategic Planning and Corporate Initiatives.

With this month’s Clearwire fallout, shares of Sprint edged lower as investors said they hoped Sprint would scale back its plan to spend $5 billion on WiMAX by the end of 2010.

Nonetheless, some analysts see WiMAX as a key ingredient in Sprint’s ability to revive: WiMAX could distinguish Sprint from AT&T Inc and Verizon Wireless, its two bigger rivals.

Sprint insiders say its WiMAX strategy involves new service models for WiMAX, and connectivity for devices that range from cameras and media players to cell phones and computer data cards. Sprint intends to provide services under the Xohm brand, supported by broad ecosystem of device, chip and other partners. That includes Intel, Motorola, Nokia and Samsung. Google has been selected for search, interactive, and social networking tools through a portal to WiMAX mobile Internet customers.