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Japanese mobile operator Softbank Corp is near a $20 billion deal to acquire control of U.S. carrier Sprint Nextel Corp, sources familiar with the matter said, as the firm led by billionaire Masayoshi Son seeks a foothold in the U.S. market.

Sprint Nextel said Thursday that it is considering selling a majority stake to Japan’s SoftBank, the latest deal among industry underdogs who are scrambling to catch up to the leads of giants Verizon Wireless and AT&T.

T-Mobile and MetroPCS have agreed to combine their struggling cellphone businesses in a deal aimed at letting them compete better with their three larger rivals. The combined company will use the T-Mobile brand and have 42.5 million subscribers.

T-Mobile USA agreed to sell the rights to about 7,200 of its towers to Crown Castle International for $2.4 billion in cash.

T-Mobile USA, the only "Big 4" phone company that doesn't sell the iPhone, now wants to snag used ones from AT&T. Starting Wednesday, when Apple is expected to reveal a new iPhone model, T-Mobile will start advertising that AT&T iPhone owners who are out of contract can switch to T-Mobile.

The Federal Communications Commission will propose on Friday a plan to auction off television airwaves to wireless carriers that will use them to create faster and more reliable networks, according to an official familiar with the plans.

T-Mobile has pulled off a mobile industry first: it has reinstated the unlimited data plan after a year’s hiatus, showing that there may be a plausible business case after all for unfettered access to the mobile internet. Starting Sept. 5, it will begin offering an unlimited option to its smartphone plans.

Sprint Nextel Corp., the country's third-largest wireless carrier, on Thursday reported a wider loss for the second quarter as wrote down the value of its moribund Nextel network.

AT&T Inc pulled back its outlook for business services this year, sending its shares down 3 percent despite its better than expected quarterly profit as it reduced costs from customer upgrades to smartphones such as the Apple Inc iPhone.

Following in Verizon's footsteps, AT&T Inc. said Wednesday that it will introduce wireless plans that let subscribers connect up to 10 phones or other devices. Connected phones get unlimited calling and texting, and all devices get wireless data access. The devices tap into a limited pool of data usage, which gets renewed each month.