NEW YORK (AP) — T-Mobile USA says it has agreed to buy wireless spectrum rights from Verizon Wireless and swap other spectrum holdings with the company, bolstering the ability of both to offer faster wireless data services.

Verizon doesn't yet own all of the spectrum that it wants to transfer to T-Mobile. It has agreed to buy spectrum rights from a consortium of cable companies, but that deal is facing tough scrutiny from regulators in Washington.

The T-Mobile-Verizon deal is contingent on the Verizon-cable deal going through, and gives added reason for regulators to approve it. T-Mobile is the fourth-largest cellphone carrier in the country, and is starved for spectrum compared to its larger competitors.

Neither T-Mobile nor Verizon said what T-Mobile would pay Verizon for the spectrum.