Clearwire Corp and its majority owner Sprint Nextel reached a new wholesale pricing agreement that involves Sprint paying a minimum of $1 billion to Clearwire this year and next year.

The companies have been fighting for months over how much Sprint should pay for renting space on the Clearwire network to offer Sprint-branded high-speed wireless services.

The disagreement has been cutting into Clearwire's revenue. Sprint is a 54 percent owner of Clearwire, which is seeking billions of dollars in funding to finish building its network.

The companies said the agreement involves minimum payments from Sprint of $300 million in 2011, $550 million in 2012 and $175 million in pre-payments for high-speed services to be used in 2011, 2012 and beyond.

Clearwire shares rose to $6 in early trade after closing at $5.78. Sprint shares rose to $4.79 after closing at $4.70.

(Reporting by Sinead Carew; editing by xxx)

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