AT&T is looking to buy up the rest of Alltel from Verizon, according to a source today. AT&T is supposedly considering buying about 18 areas that will not be contained into Verizon’s network. Another 6 areas will be left for small carriers.

It’s not clear if this deal is close being sealed but this hinted at information does come just a few days following Verizon’s attempt to receive a two-month extention for the task of finding equity firms and carriers to buy up these assets.

Verizon is currently the largest cell phone carrier in the U.S. with around 86.6 million users. With this buyout, AT&T would help boost their coverage and subscriber numbers, taking up areas where Alltel dominated like in the south and southeast.