Legere: T-Mobile to have 75 million subscribers at this time next year

Has T-Mobile CEO John Legere finally bit off more than he can chew? After adding 2.4 million new subscribers over the last quarter, the brash executive made a rather startling forecast. He said that by this time next year, T-Mobile would  have 75 million subscribers. To put that in perspective, the nation's fourth largest carrier currently has 49 million subscribers.

T-Mobile would have to add 26 million subscribers, or 6.5 million in each quarter. Considering that would be more than two and a half times what T-Mobile added to its subscriber list this past quarter, Legere might be drinking too much of his own Kool-Aid.

What T-Mobile is more likely to do next year, is jump over Sprint to become the nation's third largest carrier. Sprint has a 6 million customer lead over T-Mobile, a lead that could disappear by the beginning of 2015. Sprint has admitted to losing subscribers while it tweaks its network, and Legere and crew have momentum. So while 75 million subscribers might be impossible for T-Mobile to reach next year, there still is a reachable goal for the carrier.

If T-Mobile does overtake Sprint to become the third largest carrier in the U.S., would the regulators feel differently about Sprint buying T-Mobile? After all, it would then be the fourth largest carrier buying out number three.

source: YahooTech via BGR