Sprint Nextel will be the third largest mobile phone operator in the U.S with more than 35 million customers Sprint and Nextel Communications have agreed to a multi-billion dollar merger that would create the third largest mobile phone operator in the U.S., the companies said Wednesday.Under a deal that had been widely rumored this week, the telecommunications providers will create a new company called Sprint Nextel that will have about $40 billion in combined revenue and more than 35 million mobile phone customers, they said.The deal, structured as a “merger of equals,” values each company at $35 billion. Technology Industry