The Clearwire/Sprint merger may have been approved by the FCC earlier this month, but that doesn't mean the new WiMAX company is now 100% free to forge ahead with all of their plans. At least two companies have expressed a distaste for the merger - first AT&T, who tried to block the merger earlier this year, and also Illinois-based Sprint partner iPCS, who has a history of blocking Sprint from providing service from merged companies in their territories. Citing exclusivity clauses in their contract with Sprint, iPCS has gone to the courts in hopes of barring Sprint from offering any service from the new Clearwire network in their territories, which include areas of Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio and Tennessee (check out the map above for more detail on where iPCS reigns).

Fortunately for Sprint/Clearwire, on Monday an Illinois circuit court told iPCS that they must immediately withdraw their request for a restraining order, meaning Sprint/Clearwire can move forward with their WiMAX development plans. This is great news for the new company, especially considering the precedent that was set when the Illinois court sided with iPCS when they complained about the Nextel merger. The court did provide an allowance for iPCS to re-file in the future, but for the time being Clearwire will be allowed to continue their development unfettered.

It has been reported that Clearwire plans on rolling out services in iPCS territories in July of 2009, and they have agreed to notify iPCS of their plans 60 days before launch. While it was reported that July 2009 would be the soonest WiMAX would be deployed in those regions, it was not made clear where exactly the service will become available first or which parts of the region will be covered.

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