Deutsche Telekom AG (German pronunciation:[ˌdɔʏtʃəˈteːləkɔmʔaːˌɡeː]^ⓘ,lit. 'German Telecom'; often justTelekom,DTAG orDT; stylised as·T·) is a partially state-owned Germantelecommunications company headquartered inBonn and the largest telecommunications provider inEurope by revenue. It was formed in 1995 whenDeutsche Bundespost, astate monopoly at the time, was privatized. Since then, Deutsche Telekom has consistently featured amongFortuneMagazine's topGlobal 500 companies by revenue, with its ranking as of 2023^[update] at number 79.^[3] In 2023, the company was ranked 41st in theForbes Global 2000.^[4] The company operates several subsidiaries worldwide, including the mobile communications brandT-Mobile. It is the world'sfifth-largest telecommunications company and biggest in Europe by revenue.

Deutsche Telekom AG

Official logo since 2022
Headquarters in Bonn
Company type	Public
Traded as	FWB: DTE DAX Component
Industry	Telecommunications
Predecessor	Deutsche Bundespost
Founded	1 January 1995; 30 years ago (1995-01-01)
Headquarters	Bonn, Germany
Area served	Worldwide But mostly Germany and US
Key people	Timotheus Höttges (CEO) Frank Appel (chairman of thesupervisory board)
Products	Fixed-line Mobile telephony Broadband Digital television Digital media IT Services
Revenue	€112.0 billion (2023)[1]
Operating income	€33.8 billion (2023)[1]
Net income	€9.0 billion (2023)[1]
Total assets	€290.3 billion (2023)[1]
Total equity	€91.2 billion (2023)[1]
Owner	Federal Republic of Germany (27%)
Number of employees	205,000 (2023)[1]
Subsidiaries	List T-Systems International GmbH Telekom Deutschland GmbH T-Mobile US (51.4%) Magenta Telekom T-Mobile Polska T-Mobile Czech Republic Telekom Romania Mobile Slovak Telekom Magyar Telekom (59%) Hrvatski Telekom (53.5%) OTE (50.86%) Makedonski Telekom Crnogorski Telekom
ASN	3320
Traffic Levels	10+ Terabit/s
Website	telekom.com
Footnotes / references [2]

As of April 2020^[update], the German government held a direct 14.5% stake in company stock and another 17.4% through the government bankKfW.^[5] On 4th June 2024, the German government reduced its total shareholding to 27.8%.^[a][6] The company is a component of theEURO STOXX 50stock market index.^[7]

TheDeutsche Bundespost was the German federal governmentpostal administration created in 1947 as a successor to theReichspost. It was also the major telephone company inWest Germany.

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 privatizedDeutsche Bundespost companies,Deutsche Post (DHL) andDeutsche Postbank.^[8][9]

Deutsche Telekom was the monopolyInternet service provider (ISP) forGermany until its privatization in 1995, and the dominant ISP thereafter.^[10] Until the early 21st century, Deutsche Telekom controlled almost allInternet access by individuals and small businesses in Germany, as they were one of the first German telecom units.^[10]

On 6 December 2001, Deutsche Telekom became the first official partner of the2006 FIFA World Cup.^[11]

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 millionbroadband 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 September 2010,Orange parentFrance Télécom andT-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom merged their operations in theUnited Kingdom to create the largest mobile network in Britain,EE.^[12]

In April 2010, T-Mobile was merged with T-Home to formTelekom 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 fromeconomies of scale.^[13]

In April 2013,T-Mobile US andMetroPCS merged their operations in theUnited States.^[14] In February 2014, Deutsche Telekom acquired the remaining parts of itsT-Mobile Czech Republic division for around €800 million. The size of the remaining stake was numbered at 40 percent.^[15]

In December 2014, it was announced that Deutsche Telekom were in talks withBT 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.^[16][17] BT Group announced agreement in February 2015 to acquire EE for £12.5 billion^[18] and received regulatory approval from theCompetition and Markets Authority on 15 January 2016.^[19] The transaction was completed on 29 January 2016.^[20]

In September 2015, Deutsche Telekom launched the "Puls tablet", aTablet computer withAndroid version 5.^[21][22]

In February 2016, at theMobile World Congress, inBarcelona, Deutsche Telekom jointly launched theTelecom Infra Project (TIP) withIntel,Nokia,Facebook,Equinix,SK Telecom, and others, which builds on theOpen Compute Project model to accelerate innovation in the telecom industry.^[23]

Amidconcerns over Chinese involvement in 5G wireless networks in Europe, Deutsche Telekom temporarily put all deals to buy 5G network equipment on hold in 2019, as it awaited the resolution of a debate in Germany over whether to ban Chinese vendorHuawei on security grounds.^[24]

In February 2020, Deutsche Telekom joined a new partnership called HAPS Alliance to promote the use of high-altitude vehicles in the Earth's stratosphere with the goal of eliminating the digital divide.^[25]

On April 1, 2020,Sprint completed themerger with T-Mobile US, making T-Mobile US the owner of Sprint and becoming its subsidiary until the Sprint brand is phased out. The merger also ledSoftBank Group, the then-owner of Sprint, to hold up to 24% of New T-Mobile's shares while Deutsche Telekom holds up to 43% of its shares. The remaining 33% is since held by public shareholders.

In September 2021, Deutsche Telekom soldT-Mobile Netherlands for €5.1 billion to the investment companiesApax Partners andWarburg Pincus.^[26]

In September 2022, Deutsche Telekom is expanding its activities in the field ofblockchain technology. DT’s subsidiary,Deutsche Telekom MMS provides theEthereum Network with infrastructure in the form ofvalidationnodes.^[27]

In December 2023, Deutsche Telekom and Nokia withFujitsu began deploying a multivendorOpen Radio Access Network (Open RAN). The network is fully integrated into Deutsche Telekom's existing commercial network, including5G AirScale compatible with Open RAN.^[28]

For the fiscal year 2017, Deutsche Telekom reported earnings of €3.5 billion, with an annual revenue of €74.9 billion, an increase of 2.5% over the previous fiscal cycle.^[29] Deutsche Telekom's shares traded at over €14 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at US$68.4 billion in November 2018.^[30]

The key trends for Deutsche Telekom are (as at the financial year ending December 31):^[31][32]

Deutsche Telekom also holds substantial shares in other telecom companies, including Central European subsidiariesSlovak Telekom (Slovakia),Magyar Telekom (Hungary). Furthermore,Magyar Telekom holds majority shares inMakedonski Telekom (North Macedonia), andHrvatski Telekom (Croatia) holds majority shares inCrnogorski Telekom (Montenegro).

DT also holds shares in the Hellenic telecommunication operatorOTE, which also have shares in several other companies likeTelekom 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 wholesale support services to large carriers.^[33][34]OTE also used to have shares inOne Telecommunications operating in Albania. Prior to its sale it was known as Telekom Albania using DT's logo and marketing strategies.

Operation of telephone companies involves billing-software or "BSS". Deutsche Telekom'sT-Mobile billing was performed onIsraeli-backend systems until 2014, whenEricsson was selected to replace the Israeli backend.

T-Systems sells worldwide products and services to medium to very large business customers. The focus is on the marketing of complex services and industry solutions.

Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier^[36] is formerly known as Deutsche Telekom International Sales and Solutions. It is an international wholesale arm of Deutsche Telekom. The products include Voice Termination, Ethernet, IP-Transit, Mobile and Roaming as well as In-flight Internet Access for the aviation industry. It operates aTier-1 network.

Together with Inmarsat and Nokia, Deutsche Telekom develops a hybrid network for faster internet access on board the planes in Europe. It is a combination of data transmission via Inmarsat Satellite and Deutsche Telekom's LTE ground stations throughout the European continent.

• List of telecommunications regulatory bodies
• Deutsche Telekom eavesdropping controversy