T-Mobile CEO Calls AT&T's Bid to Poach His Customers a "Desperate Move"

T-Mobile CEO John Legere shrugged off AT&T’s latest bid to win over his customers, saying their poaching bid amounts to a “bribe” that won’t fool anyone.

Earlier on Friday, AT&T announced a limited-time offer giving T-Mobile customers up to $450 in credit if they switch over to AT&T.

“This is a desperate move by AT&T on the heels of what must have been a terrible Q4 and holiday for them,” Legere said in an email to Re/code. “Consumers won’t be fooled. … Nothing has changed, customers will still feel the same old pain that AT&T is famous for. Just wait until CES to hear what pain points we are eliminating next. The competition is going to be toast!”

When AT&T called off its plan to buy T-Mobile, it had to pay a ton of cash to the smaller carrier — money that Legere said has been used to create a better alternative.

“We used AT&T’s cash to build a far superior network and added ‘un-carrier’ moves to take tons of their customers – and now they want to bribe them back,” Legere said. “I’m flattered that we have made them so uncomfortable!”

T-Mobile is expected to launch its latest offer at CES, in what it has dubbed “Un-Carrier 4.0.” Last year, T-Mobile made a series of moves including dropping long-term contracts and phone subsidies, offering the Jump early-upgrade program and giving free and low-cost options to customers traveling overseas.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on.

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall.

That’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via