Ina Fried

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T-Mobile USA Names John Legere as New Chief Executive

T-Mobile USA said on Wednesday that it has named John Legere as its new CEO, filling a spot vacated in June with the departure of Philipp Humm.

Legere, former head of Global Crossing, will have quite a task on his hands, as the No. 4 U.S. carrier has been struggling to stem a tide of customer defections, particularly among its base of contract customers.

At the moment, T-Mobile is the only one of the major carriers without an iPhone to sell. The company is also behind when it comes to offering next-generation LTE services. T-Mobile said it plans to start offering LTE next year, but Verizon already has hundreds of cities covered, and AT&T and Sprint have also begun deploying LTE networks of their own.

For the moment, T-Mobile is focused on a push to make its current 3G network more iPhone-friendly, and hopes that cheaper plans can convince thrifty customers to bring their own iPhones to the carrier.

Legere is due to assume the new post on Saturday, replacing Jim Alling, who will return to his COO post after serving as acting CEO following Humm’s departure.

“As T-Mobile moves forward with its strategic initiatives to improve its market position, including expanding its network coverage and initiating LTE service, John has obviously the right skill set to lead the business into the future,” said Rene Obermann, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile’s parent company.

In addition to his time at Global Crossing, Legere also served in executive roles at Dell and AT&T.

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