The participation of Google, Intel and three cable leaders in a $14.5 billion deal to deploy a high capacity wireless network in the U.S. will rejuvenate a technology that seemed to be losing steam, experts say.

The network which is based on WiMAX, a wireless broadband technology, will be co-owned by Sprint Nextel, Clearwire, Google, Intel, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks. (see Tech Consortium Bids $14.5B on WiMAX)

The deal brings Google a proponent of open mobile networks along with its Android mobile operating system, and its growing following of mobile application and device developers into the WiMAX sphere.

It also brings cable operators Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House – firms that have long sought differentiated wireless services to better compete with AT&T and Verizon.

“Everyone involved in this deal will have to stimulate innovation from the partner communities to make people want to use the network,” said Tim Farrar, president of Telecom Media and Finance Associates.

“Having more capacity than any other wireless network is only useful if you have the applications and the devices to make optimal use of it,” he said.

WiMAX offers higher bandwidth speeds at much longer distances than cellular data services deployed by both AT&T and Verizon. It in fact competes primarily with wireline services such as DSL and cable modems.

And both DSL and cable modems are very well entrenched and relatively inexpensive so Clearwire, the name inherited by the new WiMAX firm, will have to offer more than just bandwidth, Mr. Farrar said.

The cable operators have made a number of forays into the mobile world. They have purchased spectrum at auction, and done reseller deals with Sprint, but both efforts have remained in limbo. So the cable operators could be looking for video related wireless applications.

“This deal creates as many opportunities for the cable operators as it does for the WiMAX ecosystem, so it has major benefits both ways,” said Rehan Jalil, CEO of WiChorus, a San Jose-based maker of core WiMAX gear. “This influx of investment will spur innovation and opportunities for smaller vendors like us.”

To date a high percentage of WiMAX deployments have occurred in developing countries where the applications have been fairly basic focusing mainly on unvarnished connectivity.

But a major WiMAX network in the U.S. with significant financial backing from market leaders such as Intel, Google, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable could up the ante significantly.

“In many areas WiMAX has been a cost-effective substitute for basic wireline but the Clearwire deal will drive a far more sophisticated ecosystem of partners and differentiated applications,” said Danny Locklear, director of wireless business development for Nortel.

“We see a much more accelerated maturity level of devices that could be in anything from laptops to cars. This opens up the door for very innovative applications,” he said.