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Feb. 28, 2007

Deutsche Telekom's wireless unit yesterday said that its primary focus will be to grow its U.S. and European businesses.

However, it didn’t rule out the possibility of expanding into emerging markets.

The mobile phone market in Europe is mature in terms of overall penetration, and the U.S. market actually isn’t far behind.

Today, many European countries have cell phone densities of 100 percent, while U.S. rates surpass 77 percent.

These numbers reflect the slowing opportunity for growth in those markets.

For T-Mobile to make an important increase in its customer base, it would need to invest in other markets, like the Middle East, India or Africa, where the growth potential is still very good.

For now, though, that doesn’t seem to be T-Mobile’s strategy.

T-Mobile CEO Hamid Akhavan said “our first priority is Europe and the U.S. That doesn't mean we are ruling out looking for growth opportunities elsewhere.”

T-Mobile competitor Vodafone’s recent acquisition of India’s Hutch Essar has initiated speculation about growth opportunities for other European mobile operators in emerging markets.

T-Mobile’s CEO also mentioned that the company was open to partnerships with other wireless operators.

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Source: Wireless Week