Happy Birthday, Deutsche Telekom! Deutsche Telekom AG, a public limited company under private law, was founded 30 years ago. We take this as an opportunity to look back at the most important milestones of the last 30 years.
Until 1995, the public company Deutsche Bundespost Telekom was still a special asset of the federal government. The transformation was based on the “Act on the Reorganization of the Postal System and Telecommunications”, known as Postreform II. In 1989, Deutsche Bundespost had already been divided into three divisions - Post, Postbank and Telekom - as part of Postreform I. The transformation into stock corporations and the associated privatization were the next logical step.
Everything for network expansion: CEO Tim Höttges digs in the Magenta excavator himself. © Deutsche Telekom
Flying high: The Zugspitze is the highest Telekom radio tower. Equipped with 4G and 5G. © Deutsche Telekom
The American mobile provider VoiceStream Wireless officially becomes T-Mobile USA after the takeover of Deutsche Telekom. © Deutsche Telekom
Today, Deutsche Telekom is the most successful telecommunications brand in the world. The current brand value amounts to 85.3 billion US dollars, the highest in the company's 30-year history. The Group intends to grow even faster in the coming years. The use of global economies of scale and the consistent use of artificial intelligence (AI) as well as a data-driven business model will play an important role in this.
“For 30 years, our product has been called ”Connection". This is what Deutsche Telekom stands for with its customers. The trust they have placed in us for 30 years is the foundation of our success. Just like the tireless commitment of our employees," says Tim Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom. "Today, we are the backbone of the digital society. In the future, the even greater use of artificial intelligence, for example, will help us to further expand our leading position in Europe and worldwide."
Birthday celebrations in July
Deutsche Telekom is celebrating its milestone birthday in Bonn from July 10 to 12. Together with all employees and the citizens of the city. The Group is opening its doors at its home base and organizing a big summer party in Bonn's city center. There will also be further celebrations at locations throughout Germany.
We are the network
Deutsche Telekom is constantly expanding its networks, creating a network of networks. Fiber optics, mobile communications and satellites interlock. The network works in every corner. It is increasingly being controlled with artificial intelligence. The aim is for the network to become smarter the longer it runs. That it repairs itself. And that it recognizes problems before customers notice them.
Deutsche Telekom's landline network is an evergreen hit. Back then via copper cable, today also via fiber optics. After the reunification of Germany, the Group modernized the outdated telecommunications infrastructure in the new federal states with the “Aufbau Ost” program. Around 25 billion euros were invested in this project. It was completed ahead of schedule in 1997. In addition, Telekom digitized the entire telecommunications network in Germany at an early stage and opted for the pioneering IP technology (Internet Protocol technology).
The Internet was “new territory”. Its triumphant advance began in the mid-1990s. Deutsche Telekom shaped Internet technology and its applications through its then subsidiary T-Online. High-speed Internet - that was 64 kilobits per second back then.
Today, Telekom relies on fiber optics. One gigabit per second is now possible at home via the fixed network. That is 15,000 times faster than back then. Deutsche Telekom is continuously modernizing its network and bringing fiber optics ever closer to its customers. In the first step, to the gray boxes on the sidewalk throughout Germany. In the second step, directly to the homes. At the end of 2024, the company reached a milestone with ten million potential fiber-optic households. More than eleven million households in Germany can now get a fiber-optic connection from Deutsche Telekom. Telekom's fiber-optic network in Germany is now over 800,000 kilometers long. Telekom is currently planning and building the expansion in around 4,000 towns and communities.
In 2006, another product was added via the fixed network in the form of television: Deutsche Telekom introduced the “T-Home Entertain” television service. The service has been called MagentaTV since 2018. It offers over 180 channels and numerous, often exclusive streaming services. The highlight of the sports offering: Deutsche Telekom secured the TV rights for the 2024 European Football Championships, with all matches being shown live only on MagentaTV. With more than five million customers, MagentaTV is now Germany's leading IPTV platform.
Mobile telephony
In the early 1990s, mobile communications in particular experienced rapid growth. Telekom was involved in this dynamic market from the very beginning. Intense competition between Telekom (D1) and Mannesmann Mobilfunk (now Vodafone, D2) characterized this early phase of mobile communications. Today, over 36,000 locations provide people in Germany with 4G and 5G. The 5G network has a population coverage of 98%, 4G even more than 99%. With speeds of up to one gigabit per second, mobile data connections are becoming faster and more reliable. In the future, other technologies may supplement the mobile network. Deutsche Telekom has already carried out initial tests with satellite communication. This means that communication can also be brought to unserved areas. The same applies to drones, which the company is testing as flying mobile phone antennas.
Deutsche Telekom's networks consistently receive top marks from independent experts and win almost all network tests. In 2024 alone, best mobile network, best fixed network, but also best TV offer, best store experience, best service and best hotline were awarded a total of seventeen times.
Is regulation still appropriate after 30 years?
The monopoly of Deutsche Bundespost was broken up with the introduction of the Telecommunications Act (TKG) in summer 1996 and a regulatory authority for telecommunications and post was set up. This created an essential prerequisite for a major economic and social change. Competitors were granted access to the network of the previous monopolist. Thanks to upstream services provided by Telekom, they were then able to offer their own initial services, such as call-by-call offers. In the early days, the authorities thus promoted the emerging competition through regulation. At the same time, Telekom developed from a public authority into a highly dynamic and digital company. Almost three decades after liberalization, the telecommunications industry is facing new challenges. Old-style regulation no longer fits today's competitive situation. From Telekom's perspective, regulation and bureaucracy must be reduced so that European digital companies remain globally competitive.
Offerings for business customers
Telekom founded a new business customer division in 2000. T-Systems is responsible for the digital transformation in various industries and for the public sector. The focus industries include the automotive industry, healthcare, the public sector and public transport. With employees in 26 countries, T-Systems is now one of the leading IT service providers in Europe.
T-Systems opened a highly efficient data center in Biere in 2014 and established partnerships with AWS, Microsoft and Google for cloud services. In 2020, T-Systems developed the Corona-Warn-App together with SAP on behalf of the German government.
