Sprint, T-Mobile in early stages of regulatory review, no decisions yet - source

U.S. antitrust enforcers are in the early stages of reviewing T-Mobile US Inc`s plan to buy Sprint Corp for $26 billion, and have reached no conclusions on how many wireless carriers the country needs, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Sprint shares were up 9.8 percent at $6.17 and T-Mobile rose 7.3 percent to $66.03 at mid-afternoon, after the New York Post reported that U.S. regulators believed that just three national providers were needed, removing an obstacle to the deal.

The two companies compete against AT&T and Verizon to provide U.S. wireless service.

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The source, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record, said "at least" three carriers were needed, and that the report`s assertion that regulators have decided on just three carriers was not entirely accurate.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. T-Mobile and Sprint declined to comment.

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