The Associated Press

ATLANTA - Cingular Wireless and Britain's Vodafone Group Plc boosted their bids to $38 billion for AT&T Wireless Services Inc. Monday, as the board of the nation's third-largest mobile phone provider weighed which company would ultimately buy it, according to people familiar with the talks.

Vodafone matched Cingular's offers in each stage of the process and did so again Monday, a source said.

A deal with Cingular, whose latest offer is an 18 percent premium over AT&T Wireless' closing share price Friday, could slim the field of national wireless carriers from six to five, possibly easing the price wars battering the industry. However, Vodafone might have the edge because of regulatory issues, a source said.

There was no timetable on when AT&T Wireless, whose board gathered in New York, would decide which offer to select.

"We're pretty sure we'll find out soon what's going on one way or another," a source familiar with the discussions said. A second source also familiar with the talks called the situation "very competitive and very fluid."

Atlanta-based Cingular, the nation's No. 2 mobile-phone provider with 23.4 million customers, early Monday offered $14 a share for Redmond, Wash.-based AT&T Wireless, after offering $13 a share or $35 billion over the weekend, two sources said.

Vodafone PLC of Britain also bid $35 billion over the weekend and increased its bid to $38 billion Monday.