What does T-Mobile US CEO John Legere have to say about comments from parent company Deutsche Telekom this week calling his “Uncarrier” approach unsustainable?
“Its total bullshit,” according to a brief response from Legere referring to comments made by Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheus Höttges in an interview earlier this week.
According to Re/code, Höttges “admitted that T-Mobile’s current approach is not sustainable” during the interview: “The question is always the economics in the long term … and earning appropriate money,” Hoettges said. “You have to earn your money back at one point in time.”
Höttges also noted that he was “intrigued by the idea of having a combination with Sprint and being the ‘super-maverick’ in the market,” referring to T-Mobile’s plans for a merger with the company that fell through last year.
On sustainability, Höttges claimed T-Mobile’s aggressive discounts and Uncarrier approach would not work long-term as the company invests approximately $4-$5 billion each year to keep up with the other carriers.
Despite disagreements on sustainability, Höttges did briefly attempt to praise Legere’s work during the interview: “His management style will never be adaptable to Germany,”Hoettges said, although he added that Legere’s competitive nature and desire to win are very much in line with the company’s culture. “I like people being disruptive… I like people who are brave. He is very much fitting to our DNA, how we want to be, even if he is very American in his approach.”
