It seems that every month there's a new story out about the future of T-Mobile USA, the fourth biggest mobile operator in the U.S. Last month, BusinessWeek reported that Deutsche Telekom -- the parent company of T-Mobile -- was contemplating an initial public offering.

Now, Reuters reports that Bellevue-based T-Mobile is considering a joint venture with its neighbor, Kirkland-based Clearwire. Those rumors have circulated before.

But this time, Reuters quotes T-Mobile USA CEO Robert Dotson who confirmed that talks are going on.

"We continue to look at JV opportunities for additional spectrum... there are a number of different options we look at, (we) have been talking with cable companies, with Clearwire," Dotson reportedly said at an investor conference today. Dotson also downplayed the possibility of merging with Sprint Nextel, another rumor which has surfaced in recent months.

Shares of Clearwire were down more than two percent today.

There are some interesting connections between T-Mobile and Clearwire which expand beyond their geographic proximity. One of the Clearwire's board members and investors is John Stanton, who served as chairman of VoiceStream Wireless -- the predecessor of T-Mobile USA -- from 1994 to 2004.