By Aditya Soni, Jaspreet Singh and Milana Vinn (Reuters) -Charter Communications on Friday agreed to buy privately held rival Cox Communications for $21.9 billion, combining two of the largest U.S. cable and broadband operators in their battle with streaming giants and mobile carriers.

Charter Communications announced plans to buy rival Cox Communications, which serves much of San Diego County, for $21.9 billion.

Charter Communications, known more widely as Spectrum, has more than 32 million customers in 41 states. Cox is the third largest cable television company in the country, with more than 6.5 million