Deutsche Telekom funds T-Mobile’s plans to take on AT&T and Verizon

T-Mobile CEO John Legere loves to talk trash about his rivals’ networks but recent studies have indicated that T-Mobile has some work to do if it wants to match the network quality of Verizon and AT&T. Thankfully for Legere, he has a sugar daddy in the form of parent company Deutsche Telekom that for the time being is willing to lay down the cash necessary to back up Legere’s boasts.

Deutsche Telekom AG said it will invest in its T-Mobile US Inc.TMUS -2.47% unit at the expense of earnings improvement to grow the cellular operator, even if a possible sale of the business to Sprint Corp. S -3.15% fails. Sprint, the third-largest U.S. mobile network operator, is weighing an acquisition of T-Mobile US, the fourth-largest, which is majority-owned by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom. But it is unclear if such a bid would win regulatory approval. Officials at the U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission have indicated that they favor having four national carriers over three to maintain competition.