Home
News
You are here

T-Mobile CEO Legere says Apple iPhone closer to 3 months away than 6 months

By Alan Friedman

Updated: Jan 09, 2013, 6:24 AM

Add as a preferred source on Google

T-Mobile CEO Legere says Apple iPhone closer to 3 months away than 6 months

When will the Apple iPhone arrive at T-Mobile?

Tuesday was quite a day for T-Mobile customers, especially those who have been with the nation's fourth largest carrier for some time. Not only did CTO Neville Ray say that Las Vegas could be 2 to 3 weeks away from being the first city to receive an LTE signal from the carrier, CEO Johgn Legere now says that the mobile operator is closer to 3 to 4 months away from selling a branded version of the Apple iPhone, than 6 to 9 months away. T-Mobile customers have been slighted by Apple, but that will change in 2013.

Legere said that offering the Apple iPhone and the removal of subsidies on new phones could add 5% to the company's market share. "If the old industry structure chooses to ignore what we do," he said, "That's a potential." And besides its pending merger with MetroPCS, which could close next quarter, Legere sees further deals as a possibility. Two companies he mentioned as possible partners were Dish Network and Leap Wireless. The executive said that Leap is "one of those things that makes extreme sense for us to look at."

Meanwhile, Dish Chairman Charles Ergen said he could be months away from deciding whether to go solo as a wireless carrier, or to go with a partner. Later Tuesday, the company announced an "indication of interest" to buy wireless network provider Clearwire for $3.30 a share, topping the $2.97 offered by Sprint.

source: Reuters

$20 /mo

$25

$5 off (20%)

Offer Ends 6.1.2026 at 11.59pm ET. New members get $5/mo off the $25/mg Visible plan, $35/mo Visible+ plan, or $45/mo Visible+ Pro plan for the first 12 months. Promo code FRESHSTART required at checkout.

Buy at Visible

View Full Bio

Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

Read the latest from Alan Friedman