T-Mobile COO: We lost our way after AT&T merger announcement Read more: T-Mobile COO: We lost our way after AT&T merger announcement

Sue Marek

LAS VEGAS--T-Mobile USA made shareholders a priority over customers in the months following AT&T's (NYSE:T) March 2011 announcement that it planned to purchase the company for $39 billion, a top T-Mobile executive said. And that shift in priorities caused the company to lose its way, according to T-Mobile COO Jim Alling, adding that the firm is now working hard to rekindle its previous passion for putting the customer first.

"Every single customer matters. That is most important thing we have to rekindle," Alling said during his keynote address at the Competitive Carriers Association conference here. "And we are on our way," he added. 

Alling, of course, was referring to AT&T's planned $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile. The company later withdrew its bid in December 2011 after facing intense opposition from both the Department of Justice and the FCC. In the months following AT&T's announced acquisition of T-Mobile, the operator saw its churn climb and its subscriber base falter as customers fled the operator in favor of its competitors.  

Until recently Alling was the acting interim CEO of T-Mobile, and during his keynote he joked about his temporary stint at CEO, calling it an "interesting summer job." T-Mobile last week named John Legere, former CEO of Global Crossing, as the new CEO of the company, with Alling returning to his role as COO.

Alling also talked about T-Mobile's support for new spectrum auctions and data roaming, both of which are issues critical to CCA members.

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