Stiff Competition
January 31, 2008
Rene Obermann, 44, became CEO of Deutsche Telekom in November 2006. Prior to that, he served as CEO of T-Mobile International, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.
DW-RADIO: The Federal Network Agency, Germany's telecommunications authority, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Is that a reason for you to celebrate?
Rene Obermann: In the past 12 months, we've done much better in this field of regulated competition and increased our market share. I think that regulation is there where the market is intensely competitive, which is the case with us. We have price cuts of 90 percent in some areas and a lot of competitors. Regulation is, then, a part of general competition law. For me, the regulation authority is, for the most part, an example of successful politics.
You've said Deutsche Telekom has an 80 percent market share when it comes to standard telephone customers [which the authorities view as being too high]. When will the regulation authority leave you alone in this area and let you do your work?
It's a bit speculative, but even when the anti-trust commission and the regulation authority believe that we no longer have a monopolistic position -- which will take time, I think -- we will still forego telephone connections. There's no way around it. The important thing is that we continue to grow with broad-band and mobile connections and with innovative value-added services.
You're not the only ones in Europe in this situation. Other former monopolies like France Telecom have similar problems. How do you see yourself in comparison to the other European telecommunications companies?
Stronger and stronger. We've worked on our competitiveness and taken a serious look at our cost structures. We've made progress in innovation, for example with Internet-based television and with mobile Internet. We're well positioned. Our marketing department is the strongest in Germany and our service is getting better and better. Deutsche Telekom is developing in the right direction.
Where do you see Deutsche Telekom in 10 years?
As one of the leading international providers of services for networked living and working -- I'd say among the top three. That would be something to aim for in the next 10 years.