Comcast is preparing to give up on the Time Warner Cable merger, according to several sources citing staff within the Department of Justice, Comcast and the Federal Communications Commission.

After months of review, Comcast has either been hit with large conditions or blocks from the two departments overviewing the merger, resulting in the cable provider backing away from the merger.

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Comcast and Time Warner Cable's stock were up earlier today with news the merger had been cancelled.

It ends a long process of the FCC and DOJ deciding whether or not the $45 billion merger was in the public interest. Millions of online users have signed petitions to the FCC and DOJ, asking for the merger to be blocked on grounds Comcast and Time Warner Cable already provide less than satisfactory service.

At the front of the review was the question of whether Comcast's merger with Time Warner Cable would cause too much control of the broadband and cable industry, where Comcast is already the lead provider.

Comcast offered the condition it would upgrade speeds and offer data plans to millions of U.S. citizens currently unable to get fast broadband in rural areas. The breakup of the deal will cost Comcast nothing, since there are no legal fees if both parties decide against the merger.

That wasn't enough to entice the two departments. Comcast already had a poor reputation for not sticking to conditions set in the NBC Universal acquisition, including using NBC to get better deals with other providers.

The most recent case of this is Apple's apparent TV service not getting NBC on the grounds Apple won't work with Comcast.

With net neutrality laws already looking to be passed without major issue -- unless the Republicans throw everything at stopping the laws from being passed - it's about to go from bad to worse for Comcast.

Add to that the growth of Google Fiber in the past few weeks, and both Verizon and Cablevision looking towards newer and less expensive cable and broadband solutions, it looks like a hard time for Comcast to reap any more dollars from U.S. citizens.

TagsComcast, Time Warner Cable, FCC, DOJ, cable