EU expands Slovak Telekom anti-trust probe to Deutsche Telekom (Europe)
European Commission, the European Union’s highest antitrust authority has extended an investigation into whether Slovak Telekom violated anti-monopoly rules to the telco’s parent, German heavyweight Deutsche Telekom (DT).
In 2009 the commission began probing the incumbent Slovakian PSTN operator, which uses the T-Com brand, concerning alleged infringements mainly relating to broadband internet access services.
In a statement, it confirmed that the inquiry had now been broadened to the parent group, claiming the extension of the proceedings to Deutsche Telekom is to establish whether Deutsche Telekom may have been involved in one or more of the suspected infringements or may be held liable for one or more of them.
Deutsche Telekom extends CEO Obermann’s contract until 2016?
The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Telekom has decided to extend Ren© Obermann’s contract as Chairman of the Board of Management of Deutsche Telekom by a further five years at its meeting today. His current contract expires on October 31, 2011. The new contract will run until the end of October 2016.
According to Prof. Ulrich Lehner, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Telekom, Ren© Obermann has done a first-class job over the last few years. He is the right man for the future of the company, because he combines an understanding of the market with determination and the will to strike a balance between different interests. As such, he will lead the Group to even greater success.
According to Ren© Obermann, he is grateful for this demonstration of confidence from the Supervisory Board and their recognition of my previous work. He will continue to fight for the future success of Deutsche Telekom with the support of my Board of Management colleagues and every employee. They will implement their new strategy consistently and use high-speed networks and innovative products to tap new growth areas for the Group, offsetting the decline in the tightly regulated areas. The next few years are all about pushing ahead with the transformation of Deutsche Telekom.
The contract is subject to the new regulations on Board of Management remuneration that were approved at the shareholders’ meeting in May 2010. The medium-term goals and the employee and customer-satisfaction parameters are anchored in these regulations, ensuring that the remuneration is not only tied to financial developments, but is also linked to a greater extent to sustainability KPIs and other indicators focused on the interests of key stakeholders.
Deutsche Telekom takes over Poland’s PTC
Deutsche Telekom AG has settled a long-running dispute with France’s Vivendi SA and a Polish corporation over the ownership of Polish mobile network PTC, allowing it to take full control of one of the country’s major operators.
According to Deutsche Telekom, it will pay a total of US$1.9 billion to Vivendi and Poland’s Elektrim under the agreement.
The dispute was focused on a 48% stake in Polish mobile network Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC) on which Deutsche Telekom claimed that it had exercised a call option in 2005. At that point, it already held 49%.
The agreement will help the German company take 100% ownership of PTC. The company is acquiring the final 3% by taking control of two holding companies owned by Vivendi and Elektrim.
According to Deutsche Telekom, Chief Financial Officer Timotheus Hoettges, the absolute legal certainty that is now recognized by all parties is a clear message regarding PTC’s strategic development and paves the way for the future. The company has untangled the knot.
As per Vivendi, it will receive some US$1.65 billion under the agreement and give up any rights to PTC shares. The deal also will allow Elektrim to exit bankruptcy, with all its creditors being repaid. The agreement is subject to the completion of several legal steps in Poland.
Deutsche Telekom stated that PTC is the third-biggest mobile operator in Poland, by far the largest of the once-communist eastern countries that have joined the European Union over recent years. It operates Cellphone services under the Era brand and has a market share of 29%, only just behind competitors PTK Centertel and Polkomtel.
Seven telcos bid for Telekom stake (Serbia)
Serbia’s Ministry of Finance has announced that seven companies have applied to participate in a tender for the 51% stake in Telekom Srbija being sold by the government.
The seven companies include Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, Telekom Austria, America Movil, Weather Investments, Turkcell and VimpelCom. According to a statement from the ministry, the seven qualify to participate in the tender and have been given the green light to take part in the next step in the process, which will be to submit a guarantee of payment in order to view Telekom’s sale documentation.
According to State Secretary of Finance Vuk Djokovic, the seven companies will be required to submit binding offers no later than 21 February 2011. If there are several offers, a tender auction will be organized at the end of February.
He stated that the winner will be the company that offers the highest price. The winning firm will have to then obtain the approval of the anti-monopoly commission in Serbia, as well as in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro where Telekom Srbija has subsidiaries. Djokovic expressed the hope that the entire process could be completed by the end of the first half of 2011.
FNA cuts mobile termination rates by half
Germany’s network regulator, the Federal Network Agency (FNA), has proposed a 50% cut in mobile termination rates (MTRs), in a move to bring the fees in order with European Commission targets.
With the starting of this month the rate chop down to US$0.043 for Royal KPN’s local unit E-Plus and drop to US$0.044 for Spain’s Telefonica O2 Germany, from a previous rate of US$0.093 for both firms. The market’s two largest operators, UK-based Vodafone and incumbent Deutsche Telekom, will see their call termination charges fall from US$0.086 per minute to US$0.0436 for the former and S$0.044 latter.
For the first time, the announced rate cuts are provisional and subject to negotiations between market participants in Germany, as well as the commission and regulators in other European Union member states. Final rates will be announced by the end of the first quarter of 2011, but will be effective retroactively from 1 December 2010 until 30 November 2012. According to the regulator, it calculated the new MTRs on basis of the costs the providers claimed to have for operating their networks, but also took into consideration the interests in their investments and costs for spectrum.
According to reports, the country’s network operators have slammed the rate cuts. As per DT spokesman Andreas Middel it is a disastrous decision, especially in the light of upcoming investment in fourth generation networks.
Although agreeing in principle that MTRs have to decrease, E-Plus spokesman Guido Heitmann claimed that the cut was too significant as it will make planning more difficult for all market participants, while Rene Schuster, CEO of O2 Germany, claimed that the FNA’s decision is not helpful for further investment and hence harms customer’s interests. Although the regulator’s calculation can be questioned, no one has the power to veto against the new MTRs, the FNA noted.
T-Mobile nearly taking control of Poland’s PTC
T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom and France’s Vivendi are reportedly close to settle the long-running dispute over ownership of Polish operator, Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC).
According to reports, the rumored deal is likely to see Deutsche Telekom take full control of the firm. Ownership of PTC has been disputed between Deutsche Telekom and a holding company controlled by Polish conglomerate Elektrim and Vivendi.
Deutsche Telekom currently has a 48% stake and it is thought that negotiations concern it acquiring a further 3% to take control of the firm. According to sources, it could be as high as US$1.30 billion. A settlement would bring to an end a legal battle that has lasted almost a decade.
German operators unveil LTE pricing
T-Mobile and Vodafone have announced their will be charging for their new LTE networks in Germany. Vodafone is to begin selling a Samsung dongle from Wednesday with monthly subscriptions costing between US$55.68 and US$94.99.
As previously signified, Vodafone’s pricing will be ‘tiered’, based on data volumes and service speed.
According to Vodafone spokesman, the top rate will reportedly get users 30GB of data and peak downloads of 50Mb/s. Its LTE network will launch initially in the town of Rammenau, east of Dresden and will be launched to several hundred towns in rural areas. The operator is planning to expand the network to 1,500 locations by next spring.
Deutsche Telekom,owner of T-Mobile has stated that it will offer LTE service called Call & Surf via Funk from next April. The tariff costs US$39.95 per month and includes fixed-line access alongside the LTE connection.
Similar to Vodafone, T-Mobile is focusing its LTE efforts on rural areas to serve areas currently underserved by fixed-line broadband. The operator has previously announced it will launch LTE in 1,000 locations before year-end using equipment from Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN).
Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone Germany and O2 Germany are all expected to deploy LTE in the 800MHz band, using frequencies acquired at auction earlier this year. It has also been reported that Germany’s mobile operators are considering a partnership for the deployment of LTE infrastructure, with the country’s competition authorities involved in the project.
Deutsche Telekom joins Mpass (Germany)
Deutsche Telekom (DT) has reportedly joined the Mpass mobile payment initiative founded by Vodafone Germany and O2 Germany.
DT’s membership boosts the target base of Mpass to over 20 million pre-registered post-paid mobile customers. The system can also be used by pre-paid customers and customers of other mobile networks with a bank account in Germany.
The operators’ service caters to nearly 70 million bank and mobile customers across the nation and provides them an experience of online shopping on their mobile phone or PC. This new payment system assures a high degree of security.
Deutsche Telekom to discuss site closures with labor union
If reports are to be believed, the head of German Telecommunications Company Deutsche Telekom AG has agreed to talk with labor union Ver.di over a dispute concerning site closure which threatens to impede an extension of the chief executive’s contract, set to expire in 2011.
According to the report, Rene Obermann told workers’ councils that he will listen to reason on the topic of Telekom’s regional presence.
But as per reports citing German Ver.di head Lothar Schroeder, their protest will only end when there is a sustainable result.
As per reports, talks on the closure of 58 of Telekom’s 86 sites for its business clients’ division, made up of 3,600 employees, will begin in early December.
T-Mobile faces tough time over contract-free Apple iPhones
T-Mobile is searching Europe for contract-free Apple iPhones it can offer to British customers, as the customers are threatening to leave for rival O2, which holds exclusive rights to sell the phone in the UK.
As per sources, Apple will be powerless to stop the ingenious plan as Apple’s contract with O2 does not prevent other companies importing SIM-free iPhones from abroad.
It will cost T-Mobile a considerable amount of cash to buy the phones abroad, but it will help it address the high number of its customers deserting the operator.
T-Mobile UK’s management is under intense pressure from its German parent Deutsche Telekom, which is exploring the possibility of selling the poorly performing operation.
