Numerous delays surely haven't helped Clearwire's stock, which has plummeted from more than $16 per share in February 2008 to a close of $4.98 on Wednesday. The falling price of the shares has impaired the value of its partners' investments.

Intel and the cable partners, which also include Bright House Networks, are likely to stand behind Clearwire for at least the next year or so, despite any financial pain they may suffer, industry analysts said. Intel, for one, is pushing hard to get WiMax integrated into laptops alongside Wi-Fi. But between fast wired broadband and 3G, plus the emerging LTE (Long-Term Evolution) fast mobile standard, Clearwire faces plenty of challenges.

"This isn't the kind of money-maker that I think many of these vendors envisioned," Gartner wireless analyst Ken Dulaney said. "They're going to do what they can to try to make this go (but) to make money, you've got to sell to millions of users."

WiMax would be ideal for residents in underserved rural areas, but there isn't enough population density there to support it, Dulaney said. On the other hand, for Intel, a bet on WiMax could still pay off in other parts of the world, he added.

Painful adjustments like those announced Wednesday can also help the situation, Dulaney said, recalling the Iridium satellite mobile service of the late 1990s.