T-Mobile Boss Legere Skewers Competitor’s Moves as “Hilarious”

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

john-legere-ir2016T-Mobile US CEO John Legere trash talks his three main competitors in an interview with Business Insider. He had especially caustic words about Verizon, calling the carrier’s acquisition of AOL last year and Yahoo this year, “hilarious.”

“Oh my God, you not only bought Yahoo, but they’re a mess before you brought them in,” Legere said. He was referring to Yahoo being the victim of perhaps the largest hack in history, with as many as 1 billion users affected.

Post-interview, the New York Post reported Verizon is re-considering the $4.8 billion acquisition and now seeks a $1 billion discount. Legere gets why Verizon moved to acquire Yahoo, however even if the closing and subsequent integration goes well, wireless customers should see it as a sign that the carrier has too many balls in the air to improve its wireless business, according to Business Insider. He understands the advertising and customer-information components of the arrangement but adds “it’s not the business they’re in.” Legere claims they’re not in the wireless business, either.

AT&T, meanwhile hasn’t added a postpaid customer on the voice side since Q2 2014. “Every now and then we get their attention, and then they decry us, and then it’s ‘me too.’”  But he also praised AT&T. “They do have some good stuff. If I had a content and a cable asset along with my wireless, I would start putting these things together, instead of bundling them.”

Of Sprint, Legere said: “These guys are playing the game for two quarters, kicking the can down the road, trying to survive. The financials, it’s pretty much walk around the house and use anything that’s not nailed down to raise money so we can go to the next quarter.”

And what about his own company? Legere says he’s pleased with T-Mobile’s growth and is playing the long-game, noting that each of the other three carriers “have been donating customers to me every quarter for three years.” That, he adds, will make T-Mobile “the largest wireless player in the country.”

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.