TOKYO, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Japan's No.3 mobile carrierSoftbank Corp plans to buy smaller mobile operatoreAccess Ltd through a share swap in a deal valued atjust under 200 billion yen ($2.6 billion), the Nikkei businessdaily said on its Website on Monday.

The deal, to be announced later in the day, would bringSoftbank within striking distance of No.2 mobile carrier KDDICorp in terms of cellphone users and help lower networkinfrastructure costs to support Apple Inc iPhones,which Softbank supplies in Japan, the Nikkei said.