Talks between AOL Time Warner and AT&T over a possible sale of the phone company's broadband unit have entered a new phase since they signed a confidentiality agreement, press reports say.

AOL Time Warner, the number one cable provider, signed the agreement with AT&T so they could exchange sensitive financial information over a possible sale of AT&T's 14.4 million cable subscriber division, according to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times.

The development, sourced in each newspaper by people familiar with the negotiations, would place AOL Time Warner as the third company to sign a confidentiality agreement with AT&T about a possible sale of the division. AOL Time Warner is the second largest cable provider in the nation with about 12.7 million subscribers.

Comcast Corp., the number three cable provider with about 8.4 million subscribers, signed a confidentiality agreement with AT&T, as did Cox Communications.

AT&T has set a Nov. 30th deadline for companies looking to bid on the cable division's assets, the reports said.

The development helps fuel speculation that AT&T may not spin off the cable unit as part of its original plan to split into four companies, an announcement that essentially put the cable unit in play.

Even though AT&T rejected Comcast's $44.5 billion stock bid for the unit last July, the two sides have since resumed discussions. Despite the interest from the other two suitors, many experts view Comcast's bid as the best price and fit.

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