Deutsche Telekom

History

The Deutsche Bundespost was the federal German government post office created in 1947 as a successor to the Reichspost. On 1 July 1989, as part of a post office reform, Deutsche Bundespost was split into three entities, one being Deutsche Telekom. On 1 January 1995, as part of another reform, Deutsche Bundespost Telekom became Deutsche Telekom AG, and was privatized in 1996. As such, it shares a common heritage with the other privatized Deutsche Bundespost companies, Deutsche Post (DHL) and Deutsche Postbank.

Deutsche Telekom was the monopoly Internet service provider (ISP) for the German Internet until its privatization in 1995, and the dominant ISP thereafter. Until the early 21st century, Deutsche Telekom controlled almost all Internet access by individuals and small businesses in Germany, as they were one of the first German telekom units.

On 6 December 2001, Deutsche Telekom became the first official partner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

On 1 January 2005, Deutsche Telekom implemented a new company structure. The two organizational business units of T-Com and T-Online were merged into the Broadband/Fixed Network (BBFN) strategic business unit (T-Online merged with parent Deutsche Telekom in 2006). It provides around 40 million narrowband lines, over 9 million broadband lines and has 14 million registered Internet customers.

In 2008, the structure was changed again. T-Online was separated from Deutsche Telekom and merged with T-Com to form the new unit T-Home.

In 2010, Orange parent France Télécom and T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom merged their UK operations to create the largest mobile network in Britain to form EE.

In April 2010, T-Mobile was merged with T-Home to form Telekom Deutschland GmbH. This unit now handles all products and services aimed at private customers. In October 2012, Deutsche Telekom and Orange created a 50-50% joint venture named BuyIn for regrouping their procurement operations and benefiting from scale effect.

In April 2013, T-Mobile US and MetroPCS merged their operations in the United States. In February 2014, Deutsche Telekom acquired the remaining parts of its T-Mobile Czech Republic division for around €800 million. The size of the remaining stake was numbered at 40 percent.

In December 2014, it was announced that Deutsche Telekom were in talks with BT Group on the acquisition of EE, and part of the deal was to provide Deutsche Telekom a 12% stake and a seat on the board in the BT Group upon completion. BT Group announced agreement in February 2015 to acquire EE for £12.5 billion and received regulatory approval from the Competition and Markets Authority on 15 January 2016. The transaction was completed on 29 January 2016.

Operations

Deutsche Telekom also holds substantial shares in other telecom companies, including Central European subsidiaries Slovak Telekom (Slovakia), Magyar Telekom (Hungary), and Hrvatski Telekom (Croatia). Furthermore, Magyar Telekom holds majority shares in Makedonski Telekom (Macedonia), and Crnogorski Telekom (Montenegro). DT also holds shares in the Hellenic telecommunication operator OTE, which also have shares in several other companies like the mobile operators Telekom Albania, Telekom Romania and the IT&C retailer Germanos. Deutsche Telekom also operates a wholesale division named International Carrier Sales & Solutions (ICSS) that provides white label voice and data solutions to large carriers including T-Mobile.