Deutsche Telekom reaffirmed that it had no intention of selling its US wireless operation T-Mobile USA. Rumors of the sudsidiary's sale have been building over the last year while the market consolidated. The company said T-Mobile USA is its growth driver so its sale would be unreasonable. According to many industry insiders, T-Mobile USA's profits fund DT's European wireless 3G network deployments. Funding a stagnant market in Europe over the company's self-proclaimed growth market in the US has led many analysts to question DT's overall strategy. Rumors of T-Mobile USA's impending sell have circulated in the industry for almost 2 years, despite DT's persistent denial of these stories.
T-Mobile USA said it plans to bid on new frequencies next year. The move puts the company far behind its rivals. Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless have already launched EV-DO, and Cingular offers WCDMA data services in some markets.
For more on the future of T-Mobile USA:
- check out this story from AFP