T-Mobile close to $2 billion deal for its 7,000 towers, report says

T-Mobile USA is close to inking a deal to sell 7,000 cell towers, according to a new report.

Tower operator Crown Castle International is the lead bidder for T-Mobile's towers, the Wall Street Journal is reporting today, citing sources. The deal could net T-Mobile $2 billion and cut down on costs related to tower upkeep and service.

Talk of T-Mobile putting its towers up for sale emerged back in March. At that time, J.P. Morgan analyst Philip Cusick said that in addition to the sales price, T-Mobile could save as much as $3 billion a year just by offloading the towers.

Although T-Mobile has put its towers on the block before, the company is arguably more motivated than ever to sell them. T-Mobile is the smallest carrier in the U.S. and the only major provider that doesn't sell the iPhone. What it needs now is cash. And fast. A tower sale could help deliver that.

According to the Journal, T-Mobile's talks with Crown Castle have moved to advanced stages. However, the company is still weighing bids from rival operators American Tower and Global Tower Partners.

CNET has contacted both T-Mobile and Crown Castle for comment on the Journal's report. We will update this story when we have more information.