T-Mobile parent overstretched, facing difficulties

Parent company of the UK’s largest mobile operator and provider of the first Android powered handset, T-Mobile, has reported massive losses of €625 million with a further €1.75 billion tied up in its UK division.

Deutsch Telekom is now finding itself under pressure to provide share holders with a prompt return on their investments, which serves to further rumours that T-Mobile UK could go up for sale.

Being the first provider to supply a handset powered by the Android platform has worked quite well for the UK division, which recently reported 100,000 G1 sales in the handset’s first six months. But it doesn’t bode well that T-Mobile UK also has the lowest average revenue per user, or that Google’s system hasn’t seen anywhere near the impact it initially promised.

Vodafone has brought T-Mobile’s Android exclusivity to an end as well, so it now seems unlikely that Google’s platform will be the company’s saving grace. Either way, T-Mobile UK is likely to remain in business, being the largest mobile provider and the strongest division of its parent company, though tumultuous times are clearly ahead.