Wireless pioneer Craig McCaw, the chairman of Clearwire Corp, has decided to resign from his position effective December 31, the company said in a regulatory filing late Thursday.

Clearwire, majority-owned by Sprint Nextel, said McCaw's decision to resign is not due to any disagreements with the company on any matters relating to the its operations, policies, or practices.

Clearwire was the first U.S. operator to offer services using the latest in high speed wireless technology that lets consumers surf the web and watch videos on mobile devices.

However, McCaw's departure comes as Clearwire faces more well-financed rivals such as Verizon Wireless, which launched a competitive high-speed wireless data service on December 5.

Earlier, several analysts had downgraded Clearwire's stock after the company said it would cut jobs and suspend some growth initiatives in a bid to save up to $400 million due to uncertainty over whether it would be able to raise new funding.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Anshuman Daga)

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