Germany Telecoms News

Group boasts of “record” Q3 results, but numbers shadowed by strategic and operational challenges. Dividend trimmed to keep spend taps flowing and offset US and balance sheet pressures. Capex guidance raised. German broadband “softness” tackled. Leadership looks forward to All-IP completion for German go-to-market. Romanian difficulties continue: “all possibilities” ...

Partnerships & Alliances
Vodafone seen as “natural” tower buddy for Deutsche Telekom
Ill feelings for European enemy pushed aside, superseded by common goal of better capital utilisation.
Public Affairs
Huawei shadow lengthens on Deutsche Telekom’s home turf
Chancellor under pressure to take harder line on Chinese supplier. TDE faces risk of shutting down “unsafe” network components. Hungary, UK indicate willingness to ignore US calls for Huawei clampdown.
Events
Höttges supports European enterprise push at Digital X
Germany’s move for shared European cloud infrastructure backed. CEO laments lack of European rivals to tech giants from America, Asia. TDE announces upcoming campus network products. NatCo signs strategic partnership with Teradata. T-Sys unveils new public and private cloud propositions.
Financial & Performance
Vilá quietly confident in Telefónica’s steady progress
Organic growth in key metrics puts Group broadly on track to hit guidance for the year, although Mexico a drag. Management maintaining focus beyond near‑term for 5G and digital transformation. Services beyond connectivity slowly feeding MNC growth.
People
O2 Germany creates unified CTIO role
Mallik Rao now succeeds both Cayetano Carbajo Martin and Guido Eidmann. Germany follows suit from Group, with unified role.
People
Telefónica Europe People Moves, October-November 2019
Latest people movements include: Hans Jordan, Mattias Karlsson, David Blázquez, Daniele Sidoti, Jon Angus, Kirsty King, Markus Lloyd, Catherine Marks, Duncan Morris, Hiran Ravat, Helen Roberts, Victor Aloi, Gary Stewart.
Partnerships & Alliances
O2 Germany teams with Tele Columbus for fixed access
O2 Germany now able to offer speeds up to 1Gbps in select regions. Tele Columbus agreement the latest in a series enabling O2 to build a fixed‑line and pay‑TV delivery platform without infrastructure investment.
Suppliers & SCM
O2 Germany picks Infinera for 5G open transport
Infinera, a long‑term Telefónica partner, picked up a new contract to upgrade Telefónica’s mobile transport network in Germany.
Public Affairs
O2 Germany wins round-one in Drillisch price reviews
O2 won a legal battle with its wholesale customer on the cost of sharing spectrum assets, but multiple legal reviews continue. Hundreds of millions of euros at stake. 1&1 Drillisch takes financial hit, but O2 remains vulnerable.
Partnerships & Alliances
O2 partners Discovergy to monitor network energy consumption
Telefónica Deutschland (O2 Germany) signed a contract with utility metering solutions provider Discovergy that will see the operator’s base stations equipped with power-use monitors over the next two years.
Strategy & Change
Merkel gives Deutsche Telekom Group cause for Huawei optimism
Political ructions after Chancellor appears to green-light Huawei involvement in 5G. Group hopes to count on Chinese supplier might still be dashed. TDE woos government at inaugural 5Germany event.
Suppliers & SCM
Zenterio buyout raises questions for Deutsche Telekom
Once-close partner appears to have been damaged by DT supply refresh.
Network & Infrastructure
Netcracker lands a win in Telekom Deutschland automation drive
Efficiencies drive expands to provisioning, optimisation, and orchestration.
Network & Infrastructure
Deutsche Telekom Technik gets creative with small-cell modelling
Further signal that NatCo is gearing up for long-awaited densification push.
Innovation (R&D)
T-Labs secures government backing for AI projects
Telekom Innovation Laboratories (T‑Labs) secured government backing and kudos for two partnership-based artificial intelligence (AI) projects.
Products & Services
Telekom Deutschland and rivals support Advanced Mobile Location
Telekom Deutschland (TDE) and rivals Telefónica Deutschland and Vodafone Germany began supporting Advanced Mobile Location (AML), which enables emergency services to pinpoint the exact location of a handset when a user makes a 112 emergency call.
M&A
German broadband infrastructure market narrows as EQT Infrastructure acquires Inexio
The breadth of Germany’s broadband infrastructure market continued to narrow following the acquisition of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) player Inexio by EQT Infrastructure.
Content & TV
Telekom Deutschland boosts TV content line‑up with basketball and football coverage rights agreements
Telekom Deutschland (TDE) boosted its TV content line‑up with further basketball and football coverage rights agreements.
Products & Services
Deutsche Telekom mobile encryption app enabling German government agencies make confidential calls iPhones
Deutsche Telekom (DT) signalled that its mobile encryption app is enabling German government agencies to make confidential calls on Apple iPhones for the first time.
Public Affairs
BNetzA imposes new porting charges on German mobile operators
Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), Germany’s telecoms regulator, made a ruling on porting charges that will affect Telekom Deutschland (TDE) and the country’s other mobile operators.
Enterprise (B2B)
BT Global brings SD-WAN to Rexel
Cisco’s role as a virtualisation partner underpins BT’s latest heralded contract.