Highlights in the first quarter of 2023

For further information on these and other events, please refer to our media information.

For comprehensive information on the T-Share, please visit our Investor Relations website.

Guidance raised for the 2023 financial year

In view of the sound business performance in our United States operating segment, we are raising our guidance for adjusted EBITDA AL of the Group for the 2023 financial year. Instead of around EUR 40.8 billion, we now expect to post adjusted EBITDA AL of around EUR 40.9 billion.

Transactions

Sale of GD Towers. On July 13, 2022, Deutsche Telekom agreed to sell a 51.0 % stake in the cell tower business companies in Germany and Austria (GD Towers), hitherto assigned to the Group Development operating segment, to DigitalBridge and Brookfield. After all necessary regulatory approvals had been duly granted and all other closing conditions met, the transaction was closed on February 1, 2023. Deutsche Telekom retains a 49.0 % stake, benefiting from future value upside at GD Towers. We have largely leased back the sold passive network infrastructure in Germany and Austria, enabling Telekom Deutschland and T‑Mobile Austria to maintain their mobile network leadership.

Agreement on the acquisition of Ka’ena in the United States. On March 9, 2023, T‑Mobile US entered into a Merger and Unit Purchase Agreement for the acquisition of 100 % of the outstanding equity of Ka’ena Corporation and its subsidiaries including, among others, Mint Mobile, for a maximum purchase price of USD 1.35 billion. The upfront payment is expected to be approximately USD 950 million, before working capital adjustments. The acquisition is subject to certain customary closing conditions, including certain regulatory approvals and is expected to close by the end of 2023.

Share buy-back program continued and majority stake in T‑Mobile US secured. In the first quarter of 2023, T‑Mobile US bought back around 33 million additional shares with a total volume of USD 4.8 billion (EUR 4.4 billion) under its share buy-back program. Taking the treasury shares held by T‑Mobile US into account, Deutsche Telekom’s stake in T‑Mobile US stood at 50.2 % as of March 31, 2023.

For further information on these corporate transactions, please refer to the section “Group organization, strategy, and management” in the interim Group management report and the section “Changes in the composition of the Group and other transactions” in the interim consolidated financial statements.

Network build-out

Germany. As of the end of the first quarter of 2023, our 5G network was available to 95.1 % of the German population, and a total of around 5.7 million households have the option of a direct connection to our fiber-optic network.

United States. As of the end of the first quarter of 2023, T‑Mobile US’ 5G network covered around 98 % of the U.S. population, with 275 million people already benefiting from Ultra Capacity 5G.

Europe. As of the end of the first quarter of 2023, our national companies covered 51.1 % of the population in our European footprint with 5G, and a total of around 8.2 million households have the option of a direct connection to our fiber-optic network.

Sustainability

2022 Corporate Responsibility Report. Our CR Report illustrates the progress we made in 2022 with our activities and efforts to become more sustainable, focusing on the ESG pillars of the environment, social commitment, and governance. The report also contains a special section entitled “Experiencing sustainability,” an interactive special on the circular economy, and practical tips for saving resources in daily life.

Cooperations, partnerships, and major deals

Fiber-optic cooperations. Consistent with our strategy regarding the shared use of networks, in the first quarter of 2023 we both agreed and finalized further fiber-optic cooperations. In addition to regional partnerships in the Stuttgart region (Stadtwerke Nürtingen), Upper Franconia (Städtische Werke Überlandwerke Coburg), and Bavaria (Stadtnetz Bamberg), the fiber-optic partnership of Magenta Telekom and Meridiam, Alpen Glasfaser GmbH, started operations in Austria in March 2023.

Major deal for T‑Systems. The European Space Agency (ESA) has chosen T‑Systems as a service provider for the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, one of the world’s largest public platforms for Earth observation data. The data can be used to conduct trend analyses for science, industry, and politics. The public, including more than 600 thousand registered users, have had access to the new Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem since January 24, 2023.

For further information, please refer to our media report.

Products, rate plans, and services

Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023. “Giving technology a heartbeat” was our motto at MWC Barcelona from February 27 to March 2, 2023, where we showcased technology and innovations for people, the environment, and businesses. The focus was on resilient and sustainable networks, e.g., for seamless connectivity across space via 5G (joint commitment with ESA) and IoT (in collaboration with Intelsat and Skylo), for the commercial deployment of Open RAN (with partners Nokia, Fujitsu, and Mavenir), and for easy access to application programming interfaces (APIs) via a cross-country and cross-network platform (e.g., T DevEdge in collaboration with T‑Mobile US).

For further information, please refer to our media report.

Awards

Brand. For the first time, BrandZ rates Deutsche Telekom the most valuable German brand with a brand value of USD 67.2 billion in its March 2023 study Top50 Most Valuable German Brands. Deutsche Telekom is already ranked Europe’s most valuable company brand for the first time with a brand value of USD 62.9 billion, according to the study Brand Finance Global 500 published in January 2023.

Networks. Both T‑Mobile US and our national companies in Europe once again received accolades for their networks in the first quarter of 2023, including the Ookla® Speedtest Award™ for the best mobile network in Croatia and the Czech Republic, and for the fastest fixed-network internet in Austria.

Business Customers. T‑Systems is a recognized Amazon Web Services (AWS) Networking Competency Partner, successfully meeting AWS’s high technical bar and quality requirements for connecting customers’ existing infrastructure to the cloud. In addition, together with its consulting company Detecon, T‑Systems has been rated as a leading provider in all German categories by the analyst firm Information Services Group (ISG) in its survey Digital Business Enablement and ESG Services 2022, and by Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC) in its Innovation Radar Leaders in Sustainability-related IT Consulting & Services in Europe 2023.

For information on awards for responsible corporate governance, please refer to our website.