T-Mobile, Sprint ink $26 Billion Deal, agree to merge

he agreement would leave just three major wireless carriers in the US

TMOBILE-SPRINT/ Smartphones with Sprint logo are seen in front of a screen projection of T-mobile logo | Reuters

US wireless carriers T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp. have finally inked about a $26 billion deal after years of negotiations punctuated by two breakups.

It comes after months of negotiations between, Deutsche Telekom which is T-Mobile's controlling shareholder and Japan's SoftBank, which controls Sprint.

The agreement would leave just three major wireless carriers in the US. The combined company would take on the name T-Mobile, leaving just it, Verizon and AT&T, CNN Money reported.

The combined company, which would be called T-Mobile, is designed to create a fiercely competitive firm with about 130 million customers, according to several media reports.

It is the third time in the last four years the two rivals have attempted the combination.

T-Mobile chief John Legere said the new firm would spend $40bn on building a 5G mobile network in the next three years.

"Together, we will build the highest-capacity mobile network in US history!! I'm talking 30X more capacity than T-Mobile today!!" he said in one of a series of Tweets.