MVS Comunicaciones, a Mexican communications firm, said it has reached a preliminary agreement with Clearwire (NSDQ: CLWR) and Intel (NSDQ: INTC) to raise $700 million to build a WiMax network in 23 cities.

Not all the details of the joint venture are clear at this point, but Dow Jones reports that the deal hinges on the Mexican government renewing the company’s spectrum licenses in about eight cities, including key markets such as Monterrey and Guadalajara. The company also must still raise the capital to build the network. Felipe Chao, MVS VP of institutional relations: “Not everyone has that [$700 million] lying around in a drawer.”

What financial contribution Clearwire or Intel will make is not certain. While Clearwire recently raised nearly $3 billion to build its own network in the U.S., it seems unlikely that it will lend the capital to another entity, given the intense scrutiny on its finances and the emphasis on speed to market. MVS hopes to start deploying a network using in the second half of 2010, with commercial service starting in several cities by the fourth quarter.