T-Mobile USA tapped John Legere as its new CEO, replacing interim CEO Jim Alling, who will go back to being the carrier's COO. Legere will take the helm Sept. 22.
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Click here for a video of T-Mobile's new CEO John Legere addressing employees. |
Legere, a 32-year veteran of the communications and technology industries, is the former CEO of Global Crossing, where he helped build the company into a major global provider of IP services. Legere also served in senior positions at Dell and AT&T (NYSE:T). Alling had served as the No. 4 carrier's CEO following the late June departure of Philipp Humm, who left parent firm Deutsche Telekom to join Vodafone.
Legere's appointment comes at a critical time for T-Mobile. The company is undergoing a major $4 billion overhaul of its networks and is trying to stop bleeding postpaid subscribers. Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann said that the company was looking for "an entrepreneurial leader who could strategically guide T-Mobile and translate our strategy into measurable success."
In a YouTube video introduction, Legere said that the company's focus on its network modernization, its newly reintroduced unlimited plan and its emphasis on the business-to-business market will help it improve its competitiveness. "I couldn't be more excited and thrilled to be with your here at this time because we have tremendous things in front of us," he said.
T-Mobile plans to use its 1700 MHz AWS spectrum for LTE while it refarms its 1900 MHz PCS spectrum for HSPA+ service. The carrier plans to launch LTE next year.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) decided not to offer T-Mobile its latest iPhone 5, but T-Mobile is taking steps to make its network iPhone-ready. The company has started rolling out iPhone demonstration units to its retail stores and is training its staff to help customers switch their iPhones to the T-Mobile network. In addition, the company is developing iOS versions of its popular apps such as T-Mobile myAccount, T-Mobile Visual Voicemail and T-Mobile TV. The company already offers an iOS version of its Bobsled VoIP app.
Additionally, T-Mobile is refarming its PCS spectrum in order to offer HSPA+ speeds to iPhones designed to work on AT&T's network. T-Mobile is already starting to turn up its HSPA+ service in the 1900 MHz band in cities such as Seattle, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., and the New York City metro area.
In other T-Mobile news, the company announced its "Magenta Deal Days" Zero Down promotion. Starting Sept. 21, customers can purchase any device, including the Samsung Galaxy S III, for no down payment on qualifying Unlimited Value and Unlimited Nationwide 4G Data plans, after a mail-in rebate card.
For more:
- see this release and this release
- see this video
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