Sprint Nextel Corp. is considering combining its long-distance network with Level 3 Communications Inc. in a joint venture. Sprint Chief Executive Dan Hesse has signaled to Wall Street that he sees the carrier's nationwide fiber-optic network as a valuable asset because it plays a crucial role in ferrying wireless voice and data traffic between cell towers. The business generated $6.3 billion in revenue in 2008, or 17% of Sprint's total. If a deal is reached, Sprint and Level 3 could be a more formidable competitor to AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. in the markets for carrying data across the Internet's "backbone" and providing advanced services to large businesses and governments. Combined, the companies would have about a 17% share of that $14.3 billion market in the U.S., according to research firm Atlantic-ACM. Both have a large wholesale business carrying the digital-voice traffic of cable companies like Comcast Corp. and Cox Communications. Level 3, of Broomfield, Colo., has a fiber-optic network connecting 22 countries and spanning over 53,000 miles. A deal with Sprint would help it become a bigger player in enterprise services, where it has expanded since making a series of acquisitions in 2006 and 2007.
