Amazon is said to be interested in buying Boost Mobile from T-Mobile and Sprint

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Amazon is interested in buying the prepaid cellphone wireless service Boost Mobile from the US carriers T-Mobile and Sprint, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Amazon is considering buying Boost mainly for an attached wholesale deal that would allow the buyer to use T-Mobile's wireless network for at least six years, one of the sources said.

T-Mobile and Sprint have offered concessions, including selling Boost, to reduce their market share in the prepaid wireless business and gain regulatory approval for their planned $26 billion merger.

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Amazon is interested in buying the prepaid cellphone wireless service Boost Mobile from the US carriers T-Mobile and Sprint, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Amazon is considering buying Boost mainly for an attached wholesale deal that would allow the buyer to use T-Mobile's wireless network for at least six years, one of the sources said. Amazon would also be interested in any wireless spectrum that could be divested, the source said.

Amazon declined to comment. T-Mobile and Sprint did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

It was not immediately clear why the US online retail giant and cloud-services provider would want the wireless network and spectrum.

T-Mobile and Sprint have offered concessions, including selling Boost, to reduce their market share in the prepaid wireless business and gain regulatory approval for their planned $26 billion merger.

The US Justice Department would need to scrutinize the buyer of a divested asset to ensure it will stay viable and preserve competition.

The carriers are also considering divesting wireless spectrum, or airwaves that carry data, to push the merger through.

(Reporting by Angela Moon and Sheila Dang in New York and Diane Bartz in Washington; editing by Kenneth Li and Rosalba O'Brien)

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