Deutsche Telekom cuts prices for Internet TV

Deutsche Telekom AG will cut prices for Internet television and offer all-you-can-talk flat rates in Germany in a move to offset customer declines in its fixed-line unit.

Photo: Deutsche Telekom cuts prices for Internet TV

Starting in mid-April, prices for television provided via broadband Internet (IPTV) will drop by 17 percent, board member Timotheus Hoettges said on Monday at a press conference ahead of the CeBIT technology fair.

For fixed-line operators like Deutsche Telekom, IPTV is seen as a chance to compete against cable companies' all-in-one packages of video, telephony and Internet services as well as to keep and win back customers.

IPTV, short for Internet Protocol TV, currently reaches more than 17 million households nationwide, Hoettges said. It allows viewers to watch what they want, when they want, and also includes high-definition video and fast downloads.

Deutsche Telekom also hopes to generate new revenue streams with new data tariffs designed to increase mobile data usage on mobile phones and laptops.

Deutsche Telekom AG is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is the largest telecommunications company in Germany and in the EU.

Deutsche Telekom was formed in 1996 as the former state-owned monopoly Deutsche Bundespost was privatized. As of 2005, the German government still holds a 15.7% stake in company stock directly, and another 14% through the government bank KfW. 4.5% of the company is owned by the Private equity firm Blackstone Group.