BT- DT Partnership based on promise of All-IP, New IP & Cloud Services
The changeover from the legacy PSTN to All-IP networks may be at the heart of Deutsche Telekom’s (DT’s) decision to own 12% of the entity formed by BT’s merger with mobile operator EE rather than accept additional cash. A DT executive said the transition would help pave the way for the introduction of new IP-based technologies.
It might not be immediately obvious why DT would prefer 12% of BT to additional cash. Outside the UK, there is little overlap between the two operators’ footprints. While BT is expanding into the TV, mobile and ultra-fast broadband markets in the UK, DT is heavily focused on building a “pan-European” network in central and eastern Europe.
According to Axel Clauberg, Deutsche Telekom’s vice president of aggregation, transport, IP and fixed access, all-IP investments are also laying the foundations for the rollout of New IP technologies like SDN and NFV.
All-IP and New IP could provide a financial rationale for cross-border takeover activity, according to financial analysts. The scenario is that an operator buys a network in a neighboring country, dispenses with that player’s service platforms (along with some facilities and employees needed to support them) and bolsters its sales and margins accordingly. This could justify a takeover of BT. (See All-IP DT Could Drive Euro M&A, Say Analysts.)
Besides their all-IP ambitions, though, BT and Deutsche Telekom share an interest in expanding their enterprise-sector businesses through the rollout of cloud services, as do many large telcos (e.g. Verizon and AT&T in the U.S.). It remains to be seen if that effort will be at all sucessful.
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