A possible merger between T-Mobile and Sprint has been a topic of discussion and rumors for years. Last month, it was revealed that the two companies were (again) in talks of a merger, with T-Mobile's parent company Deutsche Telekom having majority ownership of the new carrier.

Another report from earlier this month claimed that the two companies were in the final stages of an agreement, and an announcement would come by the end of October. But here we are with two days left in October, and still no announcement. The Wall Street Journal now reports that SoftBank Group, Sprint's parent company, has called off the merger. Nikkei has also confirmed the deal's end.

As previously mentioned, the deal would have placed Deutsche Telekom as the majority owner of the combined carrier. WSJ claims that SoftBank's board met in Japan over the weekend, and expressed concern about giving up control of Sprint. Supposedly, Sprint plans to make significant investments in its network, instead of perusing a merger.

With 5G on the horizon, and Sprint still in last place among the major US carriers, improving its network will be a long mountain to climb.

Source: The Wall Sreet Journal, Nikkei