T-Mobile CEO John Legere. (T-Mobile Photo)
T-Mobile CEO John Legere. (T-Mobile Photo)

AT&T made some waves in the wireless industry this week when it announced that it would offer T-Mobile subscribers a $200 payment in exchange for leaving the Bellevue-based carrier.

Now, T-Mobile CEO John Legere has blasted back with his signature bravado, calling the plan a “desperate move by AT&T on the heels of what must have been a terrible Q4 and holiday for them.”

For his part, Legere seems unconcerned about AT&T’s offer, saying that consumers won’t be interested in moving to his company’s larger rival because though the cash might be nice, they’d still feel the “same old pain that AT&T is famous for.” T-Mobile has been working to draw customers away from AT&T with its “Uncarrier” moves, which have left the company scrambling to catch up.

AT&T’s plan, with its specific focus on T-Mobile, seems like a pointed response to rumors that the company’s “Uncarrier 4.0” announcement at CES would include an offer to pay new subscribers for switching from another wireless company to help alleviate the pain of their contract’s early termination fees.

The whole situation is complicated further still by the fact that both Softbank, which owns Sprint and Dish Network are both rumored to be preparing bids to buy the T-Mobile this year. A previous acquisition attempt by AT&T was stopped by U.S. regulators, who said that having only three major wireless carriers would hurt competition.

Here’s Legere’s statement in full:

This is a desperate move by AT&T on the heels of what must have been a terrible Q4 and holiday for them. I’m flattered that we have made them so uncomfortable! 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! 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!

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