AT&T Inc. plans to pay $39 billion for Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile USA division to create a new U.S. mobile market leader, but the deal is likely to attract intense antitrust scrutiny about potentially higher customer bills, Reuters reported.

AT&T, the country’s second-leading mobile service provider, would gain additional capacity to expand and meet ever-increasing demands for videos and data from devices such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone, Reuters said.

For Deutsche Telekom, the deal would offload an asset that was declining in profitability and provide it with funds to pay down debt and buy back shares. The German telecom operator also would get an 8 percent stake in AT&T as part of the deal, becoming its largest shareholder and retaining some exposure to the U.S. market.

Smaller rivals, such as Sprint Nextel Corp., would be left to scramble to figure out their next step. Sprint also held talks to merge with T-Mobile.

Sprint complained that the deal would dramatically alter the wireless industry, which it said would be “dominated overwhelmingly” by two companies that have almost 80 percent of U.S. wireless contract customers.

U.S. antitrust officials fear that having fewer wireless players could drive up prices for consumers, Reuters said. T-Mobile USA now offers some of the lowest wireless service rates.

The deal would add 34 million customers to AT&T’s current 96 million, boosting its combined market share to an estimated 43 percent from 32 percent. Verizon Wireless  has 34.5 percent of the market, Reuters said.