Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheus Hoettges (pictured) vaunted the company’s growth prospects in the US in its first earnings statement incorporating the newly-acquired Sprint [1], though urged policy action in Europe to avoid what he termed a digital suicide.
During the company’s Q2 earnings call, Hoettges said it was spending large amounts of money on improving infrastructure in its European markets and “fighting to ensure Europe is not left behind in its digital transformation”.
However, he added to there was a need to make significant changes in regulatory framework.
Within Germany, he noted operators faced lengthy delays in the approval process for installing new masts and called for greater support from authorities to speed deployment of infrastructure across fixed and mobile.
“Even before the pandemic it was clear we [in Germany] had a lot of catching up to do in terms of digitisation,” he added.
In the US, he reiterated DT’s aim to lead the market [2], and pointed to organic growth in user numbers during the first half of 2020, even when stripping out those acquired from Sprint.
Huawei
Addressing long-running speculation around the use of Huawei equipment [3] in 5G networks in Germany, the executive said it looked like authorities had “no intention of expressly excluding any providers”, but noted the country was in the process of amending general communications regulations.
Within updated rules, Hoettges called for the inclusion of laws related to open RAN technology, something the company has been a vocal supporter of.
“We’re getting more independent from hardware manufacturers anyway,” he added. “So I would plead for legal foundation for open RAN.”
Numbers
Second quarter revenue was up 37.5 per cent year-on-year to €27 billion, due partly to the inclusion of results from acquired US operator Sprint [4]. Costs associated with integration in the US business contributed to the reduction of its profit by 20 per cent to €754 million.
The company’s bottom line was also impacted by a fall in roaming revenue as a result of Covid-19 (coronavirus) lockdown measures, and declines at enterprise unit T-Systems.
[1] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/legere-leaves-as-t-mobile-sprint-complete-merger
[2] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/home-banner/dt-ceo-places-crosshairs-on-verizon-att
[3] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/china-warns-germany-over-potential-huawei-ban
[4] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/home-banner/t-mobile-targets-enterprise-gains-chalks-att-off-list
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