T-Mobile CEO Fires Back After Losing BlackBerry Sales Arrangement

BlackBerry and T-Mobile executive’s should read Jordan’s #love column. Breaking up over the Internet is rough on everyone.

In a letter released this evening, T-Mobile’s outspoken CEO John Legere talked about BlackBerry’s separation with the wireless carrier and reassured BlackBerry customers that their devices will continue to operate on T-Mobile’s network.

Earlier this week, BlackBerry announced that it would not renew its sales arrangement with T-Mobile at the end of April. This came several weeks after T-Mobile launched a marketing promotion that was decidedly anti-BlackBerry.

Legere’s T-Mobile is currently attempting to re-brand the company as a so-called “un-carrier“. As he spoke to in his letter, this includes doing things different, which is exactly what the original promotion attempted to do by offer BlackBerry customer’s a great deal on an iPhone 5s. Since undergoing this makeover, T-Mobile has dropped annual contracts and allowed customers to upgrade to newer devices whenever they want.

BlackBerry itself is also changing under new leadership. Since John Chen took over BlackBerry, the company has gone on the offensive against leaks and saw key executive’s leave as the company attempts to stay afloat. For better or worse, the BlackBerry of today is not afraid to burn bridges.

An Open Letter – and Offer – to BlackBerry Loyal

By John Legere, President and Chief Executive Officer

April 3, 2014

Being America’s Un-carrier is simply this. It’s about listening to and advocating on behalf of US wireless consumers. That’s it. The simple act that first ignited this Un-carrier revolution – and set T-Mobile apart from the entire US wireless industry – was that we listened to the customer. And that changed everything.

And, of course, that goes for the BlackBerry loyal, too. We hear you and stand with you. We always have and always will. So, obviously, we were disappointed in BlackBerry’s decision this week to end their agreement with us.

But here’s what really matters most for BlackBerry owners. Whether you’re an individual customer or business customer, nothing changes. Nada. Zero. Zilch.

If you’re already with T-Mobile, you can continue to count on us for the great service you’ve come to expect, the regular OS updates, and, of course, America’s fastest nationwide 4G LTE network. None of that changes as far as we’re concerned.

And, if you own any BlackBerry that works on our network and also want the fairness and freedom that comes with being a T-Mobile customer, you can bring in your BlackBerry any time and enjoy Un-carrier benefits like no annual contract, unlimited everything with no overages on our wicked-fast network, no hidden device costs, no upgrade wait – and international roaming at no extra cost. And, don’t forget, you get to enjoy your BlackBerry with all of these Un-carrier advantages on America’s fastest nationwide 4G LTE network.

In fact, to show our appreciation for all current consumers so passionate and loyal to all things BlackBerry, we’re offering a $100 credit toward any new device, including the BlackBerry Q10 or the Z10. And this offer is good through the end of the year. So you can take your time.

One thing you can count on from us: we’ll keep listening to you and finding new ways to meet the needs of BlackBerry users – individuals and businesses – everywhere. But we’re not done. Stay tuned for another Un-carrier offer that gives you more value and even more reasons to stay with America’s fastest growing wireless company.

I’ll always fight for you. And our team remains committed to providing the same great Un-carrier experience to all BlackBerry users. At the end of the day, this has got to be about you – the customer.