Deutsche Telekom (DT), one of the world’s largest telecom groups, says in its most powerful message since it bought a stake in OTE, and indirectly in Cosmote and Romtelecom in 2008, that the Romanian market has long-term growth potential especially when it comes to TV and Internet services.
This is why it will keep investments at the same level in the coming years. The German group, which posted revenues of EUR58 billion last year, will discuss with Romania’s government a schedule for the integration of Cosmote and Romtelecom.
“We are pursuing a real integration of the fixed and mobile operations,” said Nemat in the first interview for Romanian media. The plan is to do everything possible to provide complementary landline and mobile telephony offers for customers, she added.
DT controls via Greek OTE group 54% in Romtelecom, the largest landline telephony provider in Romania and 86% in Cosmote, the third leading cell phone operator. The two operators posted almost EUR1.1 billion revenue together last year.
Negotiations with the Romanian government (which still owns a stake in Romtelecom) started in 2010 and even though all parties to the talks agreed on integration, no progress towards it was made. Communications Minister Dan Nica has recently turned down a request from ZF to clarify the government’s plans for this issue.
Nemat said the German group is determined to continue investments in Romania, because it thinks it has long-term growth potential.
“I can see potential in Romania because it is a large country with many specific engineering and IT skills.” With these macroeconomic features, she says she believes in the long-term potential of the Romanian market and thinks that despite macroeconomic challenges “we will keep investments at the same level. This goes for Romania, too.”
The IT skills make Romania attractive, the German executive said, adding Bucharest might become an IT&C service hub for the other countries of the group in the long run.
The Romanian market is one of the most competitive in Europe and DT and OTE are competing over 20 million customers with France Telecom (Orange), Vodafone and Romanian-owned RCS&RDS.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)