T-Mobile USA parent weighs 4G options

Deutsche Telekom is still mulling its options as it decides how to proceed with its 4G strategy in the United States, according to the company's CFO.

Timotheus Hoettges, speaking to Bloomberg after a conference in Frankfurt, said that the company--the parent of T-Mobile USA--had not decided whether to enter into partnerships, wait for new spectrum licenses to be auctioned or buy spectrum licenses from another company in order to roll out 4G services. "That is not yet decided," he said. "We have to consider all options."

Last month, Bloomberg reported that Deutsche Telekom was in talks to gain access to spectrum held by Clearwire and MetroPCS for 4G. One potential plan, according to the report, was that Deutsche Telekom could provide funding in exchange for network access.

Aside from spectrum issues, Hoettges said he saw no need for consolidation in the U.S. wireless market. "There are four national players in the U.S. market for 300 million households, while in Europe, where we have 350 million households, there are 50-70 operators," he said. "We believe in our chances of being the challenger."

In September, DT was rumored to be considering acquiring Sprint Nextel. However, those rumors were quickly quashed in the following days.  

For more:
- see this Bloomberg article [1]

Related Articles:
Report: DT now wants access to Clearwire, MetroPCS spectrum for 4G [2]
Report: Deutsche Telekom may acquire Sprint [3]
Clearwire CEO leaves door open for LTE [4]
Will T-Mobile USA become the dark horse mobile broadband leader? [5]