The fight for the No. 3 spot among the nation's four largest wireless carriers just got a lot more heated. According to T-Mobile, Sprint has already been relegated to fourth place, although the truth may be a bit hazier.

T-Mobile's eccentric CEO John Legere made the claim during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call. The CEO had made numerous declarations during 2014 that T-Mobile would overtake Sprint that year. As the year drew to a close, however, Legere admitted that it hadn't happened and that goal would have to wait for 2015.

Looks like he changed his mind, however.

When asked about passing Sprint, Legere replied, "Well, we did."

Wireless carrier statistics are pretty hazy, and quarterly earnings reports usually factor a number of additions that the normal consumer wouldn't consider a true subscriber. T-Mobile's argument that it did pass Sprint lies in one of these gray areas.

According to Legere, Sprint counted 1.7 million customers from resale partners that haven't shown any activity in "at least six months." This, Legere argues, is simply padding the numbers, and don't reflect Sprint's true reach.

T-Mobile, on the other hand, reported 2.1 million total net adds during the fourth quarter of 2014, bringing the year's total to 8.3 million. The company also added 1.3 million branded postpaid customers during Q4 2014 for a yearly total of 4.9 million additions and 1 million branded postpaid phone net additions in Q4 for a yearly total of 4 million.

T-Mobile also reported aggressive revenue growth, expansion, and network additions including the deployment of 700MHz A-Block spectrum in several markets.

"Our guidance is we won't stop," Legere said in a phone interview with USA Today. "We've become the player that is competing on brand with the bigger players having to compete on price to hold their base."

Legere was also confident in stating that T-Mobile's best times were still ahead. T-Mobile has revitalized the wireless industry with a series of "Un-carrier" moves, including doing away with contracts. Un-carrier deals have helped T-Mobile lure customers away from Verizon and AT&T, despite the two carriers' larger coverage footprint. While there is no indication of what the next Un-carrier deal will be, Legere hinted that it will be bigger than anything before, and that it could come as early as next month.

"Do you really think that customers are stirring out there waiting with bated breath for a small price change from AT&T?" he said.

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