Twitter cage wars: Sprint and T-Mobile CEOs go head-to-head again

By Robert Nazarian August 18, 2015

twitter cage wars sprint and t mobile ceos go head to again boxing gloves shutterstock 140946424 — Shutterstock / Peshkova

You need to start using Twitter if you aren’t already. There’s no place else where you can watch two major-company CEOs argue for everyone in the world to see. It’s pure entertainment at its finest. The recent slugfest involved Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure and T-Mobile CEO John Legere. They already had a Twitter battle last month, and round two has begun.

It all started when Legere mocked Sprint’s new leasing program last night by tweeting, “First “iPhone for Life” died. Now “iPhone Forever” expires in Dec. Next up, “iPhone for eternity,” expiring this afternoon. #SprintLikeHell.”

Recommended Videos

It took a little bit of time, but Claure replied with a taut comment about how Sprint beat out T-Mobile in a recent network performance test. He said, “@JohnLegere @sprint beats @TMobile again in overall national network performance … let’s see what’s the excuse is now.”

Legere couldn’t let that trash talk go unanswered, of course, and fought back with, “You know this isn’t a reliable study, man! Why do we have to go through this every time???” and “I get that you’re proud of this bullsh*t, antiquated report, @marceloclaure — but you still came in 4th.”

Legere continued with two additional tweets, “That time of year again! Couple guys from @rootmetrics drive around, get paid by carriers to test networks on a single old-generation phone.” and “A little road trip is not an accurate network study. We trust crowd-sourced info w/ real cust results See: @Ookla. http://bit.ly/1MKs2bH ”

That time of year again! Couple guys from @rootmetrics drive around, get paid by carriers to test networks on a single old-generation phone.

— John Legere (@JohnLegere) August 18, 2015

At some point during all of this, Claure tweeted this meme based on the “Straight Outta Compton” movie.

pic.twitter.com/XOeHG0O5sp

— Marcelo Claure (@marceloclaure) August 18, 2015

Legere tweeted back, “straight outta ideas.”

Claure also appeared on this morning’s CNBC Squawk Box to talk about Sprint’s new leasing program. Along with his explanation of the program, he chimed in with the fact that Legere “has been insulting everyone for way too long.” Claure went on to say, “He’s been beating up on our employees for way too long. That’s over, we’re back and winning customers and we’re just not going to let anybody to continue to insult Sprint.”

I don’t know about you guys, but I would like to see this one moved to WWE’s Monday Night Raw.

Topics

Robert Nazarian

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Robert Nazarian became a technology enthusiast when his parents bought him a Radio Shack TRS-80 Color. Now his biggest…

News

Why the Sprint/T-Mobile merger could actually help the spread of 5G

John-Legere-T-Mobile-CEO

Both Sprint and T-Mobile have made promises about when their customers in the U.S. would start seeing 5G coverage. In spring 2018, when the two telecommunications heavyweights first announced they would be merging, their CEOs wrote a joint “open letter to consumers” promising “5G for all." Almost two years later, with the long-foreshadowed Sprint-T-Mobile merger now legally approved, it looks like it could actually happen, experts say -- but those in underserved non-urban areas may have to keep waiting.

“This merger is very beneficial for T-Mobile, but it’s also beneficial for the U.S., and where we currently are in the global race to 5G,” said Steve Vachon, an analyst at Technology Business Research. “Now, the 5G plan is much more likely to go forward.”

Mobile

Report: Judge to rule in favor of Sprint/T-Mobile merger

t mobile revvl news

It looks like the Sprint-T-Mobile merger is about to clear the last of any potential legal hurdles. According to a new report from the New York Times, the judge presiding over the case between the two companies and a coalition of state's attorneys is expected to rule in favor of Sprint and T-Mobile.

The suit was first filed in June by a group of attorney generals from 13 states and the District of Columbia. It first arose after federal regulators, including the Department of Justice, gave the deal the go-ahead. Once the deal goes through, the third and fourth-largest carriers will combine to form the "New T-Mobile." The new company will reportedly have more than 100 million customers.

Mobile

The judge in the T-Mobile merger trial isn’t interested in a drawn-out affair

t mobile sprint merger ceo

The trial that ultimately decides whether T-Mobile and Sprint can merge began in a Manhattan federal court Monday, and it's clear that the presiding judge isn't interested in a lengthy affair. U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero asked both sides to skip opening arguments to begin questioning witnesses immediately, and trim their witness lists.

Marrero, who has also presided over high-profile cases including the legality of the Patriot Act and Trump's tax returns, said he didn't want to be "beaten over the head" with testimony, according to the Wall Street Journal.