New York, NY (AHN) - Sprint Nextel is reportedly discussing whether to spin-off or sell its lagging Nextel business, acquired for $35 billion in 2005. While seen as a win for the No. 3 wireless carrier at the time, the Nextel unit was blamed for a $29.5 billion fourth-quarter loss.

Although discussions are only preliminary, Sprint may sell Nextel to a consortium headed by Nextel founder Morgan O'Brien or spin-off the business, an option some investors suggest, the Wall Street Journal said Tuesday.

Talk of untying Sprint from Nextel comes amid reports Deutsche Telekom is considering acquiring Sprint to boost its share of the U.S. market.

Also, one of Sprint Nextel's largest customers said Monday it is jumping to rival Verizon Wireless. Qwest Communications announced it will move its 824,000 subscribers to Verizon. Qwest had been a Sprint customer since 2004.