Deutsche Telekom CEO Holds Out Hope for a T-Mobile US Deal

Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges said that for all of T-Mobile’s short-term gains in the United States, the company still needs greater scale in the US to battle AT&T and Verizon.

Sprint and Deutsche Telekom held talks in 2014 over a combination, but the deal fell apart after it became clear that US regulators would block any deal that reduced the number of players in the market from four to three. Hoettges, though, argued that it is the concentration of wealth and spectrum by the two largest players that remains an obstacle to true competition. Hoettges said this is underscored by the huge bids -- likely from AT&T and Verizon -- made in the current Federal Communications Commission spectrum auction.