A court in Illinois has ruled that iPCS subsidiaries can go ahead with its litigation against Sprint Nextel over the WiMAX venture with Clearwire.

The iPCS subsidiaries allege that Sprint improperly withheld 4G technology from them in connection with the Clearwire transaction that closed in November. Their complaint seeks, among other things, a permanent injunction enjoining Sprint from "obtaining directly or indirectly the benefits of advanced technology without providing that technology and sharing its benefits with its affiliates."

The Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, also ruled that the iPCS subsidiaries' claims for relief could not include certain types of monetary relief but that, in addition to the existing claims for injunctive relief, the subsidiaries would not be prevented from making "a claim for any actual or direct damages."

In a statement, iPCS President and CEO Timothy Yager said the company is pleased with the court’s ruling. “Technological advances are central to any wireless business and we are confident that after the evidence is presented in this case, the court will uphold the business deal that we reached with Sprint over ten years ago to 'be Sprint' in our exclusive territories and offer the most advanced seamless wireless nationwide network to our subscribers," he said.

He added that the company also looks forward to Sprint’s compliance with the Circuit Court’s ruling that Sprint must cease owning and operating the Nextel network in iPCS’ wireless territory by Jan. 25, 2010.