The war between AT&T and T-Mobile is definitely starting to heat up as CNET’s Roger Cheng revealed that he had accidentally gotten T-Mobile’s CEO, John Legere, kicked out from AT&T’s party, although it was suggested that perhaps Legere wanted to get kicked out in the first place in a bid to draw up some hype and drama in the process. Cheng had bumped in Legere at the party and decided to take a photo with the CEO and post it on Twitter. We guess AT&T reps were monitoring Twitter and within 15 minutes, security guards arrived and hauled Legere out of the venue.
What’s with the fierce rivalry? Why can’t it be more amicable like Sony and Microsoft? Well just last week prior to CES 2014, AT&T announced a new scheme in which they attempted to lure T-Mobile’s customers away by offering them up to $450 in credit. T-Mobile’s CEO called them desperate and promised something that would blow them away, which was the carrier’s announcement that they would be purchasing Verizon’s spectrum for $2.3 billion, essentially giving themselves a bit more clout in the telecommunications sector.
It’s interesting to see AT&T and T-Mobile’s relationship turn around from being the best of friends to the worst of enemies. It was a few years ago when AT&T attempted to acquire T-Mobile, a move that was embraced by both sides. However objections from various bodies resulted in the deal falling through, and ultimately the relationship as well. T-Mobile is expected to make another announcement this week regarding Uncarrier 4.0, and it will be interesting to see if their antics will end up working in their favor.