T-Mobile's CEO ramps up rivalry

T-Mobile's CEO John Legere is taking his "bad boy" image and feud with AT&T to the next level: he crashed a party thrown by AT&T at the International CES gadget show in Las Vegas, and was thrown out after being discovered.

The incident late Monday night occurred amid a recent escalation of the intense rivalry between the two companies. It was reported by CNET and confirmed by Legere on his Twitter feed. AT&T representatives had no immediate comment on the incident.

Legere took the job as CEO of T-Mobile US Inc., the country's fourth-largest wireless carrier, in September 2012, and has made a point of breaking with the status quo of the wireless industry, both in terms of personal style and business models. Legere dresses flashily and swears at company presentations. He has branded T-Mobile the "Un-carrier" and eliminated traditional two-year service contracts.

Since T-Mobile and AT&T use similar network technologies, Legere has launched initiatives aimed at luring iPhone users from AT&T to T-Mobile. In an apparent response, AT&T last week offered $200 to T-Mobile subscribers for switching to AT&T. -- AP