Sprint Is Said to Suggest Dish Partnership

Sprint Nextel Corp. has approached Dish Network Corp. about a partnership that would allow the satellite-TV company to offer mobile-phone service over the carrier’s network, two people familiar with the matter said.

Under the potential arrangement, discussed in recent months, Sprint would get access to Dish’s mobile airwaves, which aren’t currently being used, the people said. The companies could then share revenue from customers who sign up for a Dish wireless service, or Dish may pay Sprint a fee to use the network, according to one of the people, who asked not to be named because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly.