Rumors in financial circles suggest that Sprint could soon be sold to British Telecom, Reuters says. Although the third largest cellular service in the United States, Sprint has lost substantial market share, causing its stock prices to drop by a third since April of last year. This has fueled speculation that several companies may want to take advantage of the situation, BT among them. The rumor drove a 3.5 percent increase in Sprint share prices on Friday; Korea's SK Telecom recently denied it was pursuing a purchase, however, and private equity groups have also been mentioned.

If Sprint were to be bought by BT, it would not be the only American carrier with significant foreign ownership. T-Mobile is an extension of Germany's Deutsche Telekom, and Verizon Wireless is partly owned by England's Vodafone, which has a $45 billion stake.