T-Mobile Boss Rips Into Competitors with Comedic Flair

It's easy to see why T-Mobile USA appointed John Legere as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of its business unit back in September of last year. He's a charismatic dude, and if T-Mobile didn't snag him, Comedy Central might have. That's the impression you get after listening to him lambast AT&T and other wireless competitors. Legere didn't pull many punches at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, calling AT&T's 3G network "crap" before laying into Sprint and Verizon.

"Does anyone use AT&T in New York City?," Legere asked the audience at CES, according to PCMag.com "Is anyone satisfied with their service? Of course not. The network's crap."

He later backpedaled by refuting he called AT&T's network "crap," adding "it's just not as good as ours," even though that's not "the common person's understanding," but he didn't back down from picking on his other competitors.


With regards to Verizon, Legere lauded the wireless carrier's investment in building out an expansive 4G LTE network, and then quipped that porn would be its downfall.

"Shared data plans are a thing of the past," Legere said. "A 10GB, 5-device shared data plan, when Joe Schmoe Junior starts to watch porn on his phone, isn't going to work."

Legere also made fun of Sprint's LTE track record, and even pointed out T-Mobile's own shortcomings. The way Legere sees it, T-Mobile needs to regain its "cool factor" while also becoming a bit of a "nerd company." Basically, it's an issue of brand perception, or so he thinks.