Glossary

Refers to the fourth-generation mobile communications standard that supports higher transmission rates (see LTE).

New communications standard, which offers data rates in the gigabit range, converges fixed-network and mobile communications, and supports the Internet of Things – rollout starting 2020.

An all-IP network makes services such as VoIP (Voice over IP), IPTV (Internet Protocol Television), data transfer, etc. available to all users anywhere at all times. The data is transmitted in switched packets using the Internet Protocol (IP).

For details on the AT&T transaction relating to T-Mobile US and the effects of the termination of the agreement on the sale of the former T-Mobile US to AT&T, please refer to the 2011 Annual Report (in particular pages 76 and 182 et seq.).

Wholesale service used by alternative telephone companies to provide broadband lines.

A bot (short for robot) is a computer program that processes repetitive tasks in a largely autonomous manner without the need for interaction with a human user.

A telecommunications network operator.

CDP is an initiative involving more than 822 institutional investors with total investment assets of 95 trillion U.S. dollars (as of 2015). The CDP aims to promote dialog between investors and companies on climate change issues. Currently, some 11,000 (as of 2013) of the world’s largest companies are involved in the project and provide information on their greenhouse gas emissions and climate protection strategies. The CDP collects and publishes the data on an annual basis.

Refers to the dynamic provision of infrastructure, software, or platform services online. Apart from a high level of automation and virtualization, the services provided have to be multi-client-capable and include standardized hardware and software. Customers source these services on demand and pay based on actual usage. The communication infrastructure may be the internet (public cloud), a corporate network (private cloud), or a mix of the two (hybrid cloud). Dynamic Services is a T-Systems product for the flexible procurement of ICT resources and services.

Contract concluded over a long period of time with defined advance payment and minimum purchase requirement. In return, the resellers pay a reduced monthly charge for VDSL. This allows them to put together interesting offers for their own consumers without having to invest in fiber-optic lines of their own. This improves the utilization of Telekom Deutschland GmbH’s existing VDSL network. The current “contingent model” is being developed further to reflect the network build-out in terms of availability and bandwidth.

Protection against internet crime.

Global desktop services involve a variety of support services, including the outsourcing of entire IT networks. In this context, Deutsche Telekom offers a full portfolio of corporate IT services, from server infrastructure and PC workstations through to application management and call center services that provide user support.

Refers to systems that help deploy an organization’s resources such as capital, equipment, and human resources as efficiently as possible in order to optimize business processes.

Fairphone is the first smartphone manufacturer to receive the Fairtrade certificate for the gold used in its devices. Fairphone sources rare minerals from conflict-free mining areas and continually monitors the working conditions along its supply chain. The Fairphone is also designed for longevity and easy repair, making it a particularly low-waste device.

Sum of all FTTx access lines (e.g., FTTC/VDSL, vectoring, and FTTH).

Lines in operation excluding internal use and public telecommunications, including IP-based lines. The totals reported in the combined management report were calculated on the basis of precise figures and rounded to millions or thousands. Percentages were calculated on the basis of the figures shown.

The merger of fixed-network and mobile rate plans for customers that have fixed-network and mobile contracts with Deutsche Telekom.

The merger of telecommunications and ICT solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises. Mobile communications, fixed network, mobile internet, broadband internet, and cloud/ICT products are bundled in one rate plan.

In telecommunications, FTTB means that the fiber-optic cable is terminated in the user’s house (basement).

In the FTTC architecture the fiber-optic cable is not terminated inside users’ homes (see FTTH) but in a cable distribution box (gray street cabinet). Existing copper technology is used for the last section of the connection to the user.

In telecommunications, FTTH means that the fiber-optic cable is terminated right in the user’s home or apartment.

This includes the three options for fiber-optic rollout: FTTB, FTTC, and FTTH.

The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol divides emissions of greenhouse gases into the categories of Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3, depending on their source.

• Scope 1 includes all emissions directly generated in the Company, e.g., as a result of the consumption of fuel or fuel oil.
• Scope 2 covers all indirect emissions associated with the generation of energy purchased by the Company from external sources, e.g., electricity and district heating.
• Scope 3 applies to all other emissions generated along the corporate value chain. This comprises both indirect emissions in the company itself (e.g., business trips, commuting), and emissions from upstream value chain stages (e.g., procurement, logistics) and downstream stages (e.g., during customer use of products and services, during disposal).

GeSI is a joint initiative established by the world’s leading ICT organizations with the objective of improving sustainability in the ICT sector. Deutsche Telekom is a member of GeSI, as are many other leading enterprises.

Combines the strengths of the DSL/VDSL fixed network and the LTE mobile network. While using the internet at home the hybrid router transports the permanent data load with first priority via the DSL/VDSL line. During peak load the router automatically connects to the high-speed mobile network for down- and uploading.

Routers that are able to combine the customer’s fixed and mobile bandwidths.

See MTR.

Information and Communication Technology

The IoT enables the intelligent networking of things like sensors, devices, machines, vehicles, etc., with the aim of automating applications and decision-making processes. Deutsche Telekom’s IoT portfolio ranges from SIM cards and flexible data rate plans to IoT platforms in the cloud and complete solutions from a single source.

Non-proprietary transport protocol in Layer 3 of the OSI reference model for inter-network communications.

Refers to the digital transfer of television programs and films over a digital data network using the Internet Protocol (IP).

New generation of 4G mobile communications technology using, for example, wireless spectrum on the 800 MHz band freed up by the digitization of television. Powerful TV frequencies enable large areas to be covered with far fewer radio masts. LTE supports speeds of over 100 Mbit/s downstream and 50 Mbit/s upstream, and facilitates new services for cell phones, smartphones, and tablets.

Communication between machines. The information is automatically sent to the recipient. For example, in an emergency, alarm systems automatically send a signal to security or the police.

MIMO is a multiple-antenna technology that is used, for example, with LTE and 5G. It makes it possible to increase both the data rate and the quality of the service.

In the combined management report, one mobile communications card corresponds to one customer. The totals were calculated on the basis of precise figures and rounded to millions or thousands. Percentages were calculated on the basis of the figures shown (see also SIM card).

Termination refers to the transportation of a call, e.g., from the competitor’s network to the Deutsche Telekom network. When a call is transported to the mobile communications network, this is referred to as mobile termination. If the call is transported to the fixed network, this is called fixed-network termination, or simply interconnection (IC). Termination rates are the fee a telephone company must pay for network interconnection when a call is terminated in a third-party network.

Company that offers mobile minutes at relatively low prices without subsidized handsets. A mobile virtual network operator does not have its own wireless network, but uses the infrastructure of another mobile operator to provide its services.

Channel for optical data transmission.

Provider of IP-based, platform-independent services, such as WhatsApp.

Customers who pay for communication services after receiving them (usually on a monthly basis).

In contrast to postpay contracts, prepay communication services are services for which credit has been purchased in advance with no fixed-term contractual obligations.

Global public telephone network comprising elements such as telephones, connecting cables, and exchanges.

PUE is the ratio of the entire electrical energy consumed in a data center or network node to the energy delivered to the computing equipment.

The sale of goods and services to end users, as opposed to resale or wholesale.

Refers to the use of a communication device or just a subscriber identity in a visited network rather than one’s home network. This requires the operators of both networks to have reached a roaming agreement and switched the necessary signaling and data connections between their networks. Roaming comes into play when cell phones and smartphones are used across national boundaries.

A coupling element that connects two or more sub-networks. Routers can also extend the boundaries of a network, monitor data traffic, and block any faulty data packets.

The Science-Based Targets initiative helps companies to set climate goals that comply with emissions budgets determined based on scientific data. Companies can forward their goals to the initiative for review. The initiative was set up jointly by several organizations: CDP, United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Revenues generated with mobile customers from services (i.e., revenues from voice services – incoming and outgoing calls – and data services), plus roaming revenues, monthly charges, and visitor revenues.

Chip card that is inserted into a cell phone to identify it in the mobile network. Deutsche Telekom counts its customers by the number of SIM cards activated and not churned. Customer totals also include the SIM cards with which machines can communicate automatically with one another (M2M cards). The churn rate is determined and reported based on the local markets of the respective countries.

The Sustainable Development Goals form the core of the 2030 Agenda, which the member states of the United Nations adopted in 2015 to ensure sustainable global development. The aim is to enable economic development and prosperity – in line with social justice and taking account of the ecological limits of global growth. The Agenda applies equally to all nations of the world. The 17 SDGs define goals to reduce poverty and hunger, promote healthcare and education, enable equality, protect the environment and climate, and make consumption sustainable.

Competitors whose own networks do not reach into customers’ premises can rent unbundled local loop lines from Deutsche Telekom. Their networks end at the local exchanges. The ULL bridges the distance between the local exchange and the termination point on the customer’s premises or in their home, so it is also known as the “last mile.”

Integration of synchronous communication media in a standardized application environment.

Vectoring is a noise-canceling technology that removes the electro-magnetic interference between lines, enabling higher bit rates. However, in order to cancel noise, the operator must have control over all lines. This means that other operators cannot install their own technology at the cable distribution boxes.

A computer network that uses a public network to transmit private data. The data is “tunneled” through the public network and is usually encrypted in the process. However, the term “private” does not necessarily imply encrypted transmission. The variant commonly used today is the IP VPN that connects users via IP tunnels.

Refers to the business of selling services to third parties who sell them to their own retail customers either directly or after further processing.

Wholesale product for which Deutsche Telekom leases DSL lines to the competitor and transports the datastream via its concentrator network to the associated broadband point of presence (PoP), where the datastream is handed over to the competitor. In contrast to voluntary DSL resale, IP-BSA is a wholesale service required by the regulatory authority. This product is available in conjunction with a Deutsche Telekom PSTN line or as a DSL stand-alone variant (see also Wholesale unbundled lines).

Wholesale product not bundled with a Deutsche Telekom PSTN line, which allows competitors to offer an all-IP product range to end customers.

Covers the entire virtuality spectrum: augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, and simulated reality, as well as potential future developments.

• AR – augmented reality The computer-generated enhancement of the real world with perceptual information. The information can address all the human senses. However, augmented reality often only encompasses the visual representation of information, i.e., the augmenting of images or videos with additional computer-generated information or virtual objects using overlaying/superimposition.
• VR – virtual reality A simulated experience of the real world and its physical characteristics in real time in a computer-generated, interactive virtual environment. Unlike AR, which focuses on enhancing the real world with visual representations of additional data, VR fully immerses the user in a virtual world.